Culture shift: Young workers prioritize companies with green policies over salaries

BOSTON — Despite a labor shortage that has companies desperately looking to hire and an economy wreaking havoc on bank accounts, young people are increasingly hesitant — or outright against — working for a firm that does not have climate-friendly policies.

The cultural shift in attitudes from that of prior generations shows that Gen Z and younger millennials are factoring in more than just wealth when making life decisions.

Earlier this month, the Boston Foundation held a virtual forum to analyze the Inaugural Boston Climate Progress Report conducted by Northeastern University researchers. They found that Boston is on the path to failure to achieve its key climate goal: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Chris Cook, executive director of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, said the onus should not just be on individual action, large corporations should also carry their weight.

“I think it’s something you need to be accountable for, just like you have to be accountable for racial justice,” said Cook, formerly Boston’s chief of environment, energy and open space. “So as a business model, it’s practical.”

Gen Z, millennials are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change

Polls show Gen Z and millennials are overwhelmingly more concerned about climate change than generations past. Some companies recognize this and are prioritizing incorporating sustainability into their mission statements to attract young professionals.

Richard Locke, a founder of MIT Sloan's Laboratory for Sustainable Business, says antiquated views about sustainability are changing and becoming more mainstream. Big corporations can capitalize on that and implement — or at least, appear to implement — green initiatives.

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"So many of those people think of sustainability as just something that's going to be bad for business, as opposed to thinking that it can be an opportunity for business,” Locke said. “Which I'm convinced it is.”

Millennial Maggie Phelan, treasurer of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, says she is one of the young people who turned down a job offer with a bigger salary to work at an institution that fits her ethics and values.

“I’m not a crazy person — I did consider it,” said Phelan, who lives in Eastham and also works at the Collaborative’s annual Net Zero Conference. “It’s hard when you have a family and someone dangles that carrot. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have been happy with a company that wasn’t based in and dedicated to serving my community.”

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Phelan works as a banker at Cape Cod 5, which was ranked ninth in the American Banker’s Best Banks to Work For. She says the bank’s products and services give its customers and employees the opportunity to be climate-conscious and is working toward becoming carbon neutral.

“Our employee benefits allow us to be more environmentally conscious, including reimbursements for electric and hybrid vehicles, a LEED Gold Certified headquarters with onsite amenities, EV charges and paid time off for volunteering with community organizations of our choosing,” Phelan said. “I think the key is that environmental stewardship is a lens with which we look at everything we do.”

Gen Z, millennials changing work culture, attitudes

The opportunity to have career choices is pushing young professionals to follow their hearts without risking financial ruin.

Northeastern University graduate student Marcus Bogan, 25, thinks his generation — Gen Z — has vastly different values than preceding generations.

“We value quality of life over one in which we work excessively,” he said. “The ‘live to work’ mentality drives older generations to forego their values in order to make money, whereas we’ve begun dismantling the mindset in favor of values that contribute to sustainable living and longevity.”

How to find companies that have climate change policies

Online searches for green companies or companies that have climate change policies are not the best way to find answers, Phelan said. She recommends starting with best-place-to-work stories that are based on employee surveys such as Top Places to Work in Massachusetts 2022.

There are also employee-based surveys that focus on different industries or company size, such as top start-ups or top banks, she said.

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Read what the employees say in the surveys and look for people you may know or who you can find on LinkedIn and send them a message asking about the company's policies, she said. Talking to employees is the best way to gain a deeper understanding of the work environment and ESG — which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance — policies.

ESG reports are also a part of a company's annual report, she said. The ESG report provides information about a company's climate change and sustainability policies.

Staff Writer Anne Brennan contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Young workers prefer to work for companies with climate change policies