Todd Pruzan, HBR
Welcome to HBR Video Quick Take. I’m Todd Pruzan, senior editor for research and special projects at Harvard Business Review. As the world sets ambitious sustainability goals, companies are focusing on redefining, and in some cases reinventing, their business operations. By accelerating these efforts, the landscape of work is also being shaped. Today, we’re joined by Charise Le, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Schneider Electric, to discuss how business leaders and their organizations can adapt, thrive, and drive sustainable progress in this era of change. Let’s talk about what’s going on. Charice, thank you so much for being with us.
Charlize Lu, Schneider Electric
Thanks for the invite, Todd.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
Charice, how are growing efforts to decarbonize changing the world of work?
Charlize Lu, Schneider Electric
Yeah. As organizations around the world look to accelerate their decarbonization efforts, the demand for climate-related jobs will only increase. A study with Boston University found that implementing clean energy technologies in new and renovated buildings could create more than 2 million jobs.
Meanwhile, worker preferences are changing and people are becoming more sustainability-focused. Deloitte also found that nearly 50% of self-rated high-income workers would consider changing jobs to work for a more sustainable company. Therefore, it is a great opportunity for organizations to reshape their HR practices to build connections.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
That seems like a great opportunity. Charice, several recent studies show that the growth in demand for green skills is outpacing the supply. How can companies help close the skills gap?
Charlize Lu, Schneider Electric
I believe that companies have a role to play in two aspects. One is to support your own employees. The second is to contribute to society.
For your own people, I think the first thing you should do is make your own sustainability efforts. Increase employee awareness of the value of green skills. This creates a sense of crisis and a desire to learn. The next thing companies need to do is invest in upskilling and do it quickly and at scale. For example, create courses in-house instead of purchasing them for the latest knowledge or partnerships with educational institutions. And third, companies should create programs to facilitate the transfer of skills among colleagues, recognize and empower experts, and, most importantly, create dedicated programs for employees to learn. You need to foster a culture of continuous learning by allocating time.
The second dimension, as I mentioned earlier, is to go beyond our own employees and contribute to society. For example, one of our sustainability goals is to train 1 million people in energy management by 2025. And more than 608,000 people have been trained to date.
Another example is our partnership with InnoEnergy. This is a university partner co-founded with the European Union, where we focus on sustainable power engineering skills and innovative strategies to build smarter, sustainable and resource-efficient communities. Sponsored a master’s program. I think companies can play an important role. The key is to have a vision and act intentionally.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
Sounds like a very, very ambitious task. Charice, what can businesses large and small do to attract and retain today’s sustainability-minded talent?
Charlize Lu, Schneider Electric
I think first of all you need to think about what people want. People need to feel like they share the same vision and values and are part of the company’s sustainability efforts. And more sustainability-minded people aren’t buying your work. They buy why you do it. So, first, you need to hire people who believe in what you believe.
Schneider’s employee value proposition, “Impact Starts with Us,” engages all employees and those in our ecosystem (partners, customers, suppliers) to help translate our sustainability ambitions into action. It reflects the company you invite. Now, it’s not enough just to declare your vision. Organizations must deliver on their word. You need to approach recruitment in a targeted manner.
Schneider Go Green is one example. This is an annual global competition for university students to share their ideas for a cleaner, more inclusive and more sustainable world. First launched in 2011, more than 19,000 students from more than 70 countries enrolled last year.
And you need to set goals. Goals from decarbonization to DEI should not be siloed or achieved by a single team. These need to be integrated into every aspect of a company’s operations and seen as a collective goal. These goals then need to be communicated in a way that people understand how they can contribute to your success. Progress must also be shared transparently and regularly to increase accountability.
Companies need to make it easy for employees to reduce their personal carbon footprint at the office and at home, thereby instilling sustainability into their corporate culture. I talked earlier about skill improvement. This clearly shows that the company is invested in the development of its employees and alignment with their values.
After all, beyond being experts, we are all human. And when they feel safe, make a difference, and are recognized for their influence, they perform better and are more engaged.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
OK, great guidance for organizations and anyone. Charise, thank you so much for sharing your insights on sustainability policy from an HR perspective today.
Charlize Lu, Schneider Electric
Thank you so much for having me, Todd.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
We spoke to Charise Lu, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Schneider Electric, about sustainability.
You can learn more about Schneider Electric and its sustainable approach at se.com.
