Climate Contract Playbook Edition 3
207
[Elliot’s clause]
The Origin Story
Child’s name
Elliot’s clause
Full name
Net Zero Culture Employment Handbook clauses
Practice Area / Sector
Employment
Achievement of a company’s Net Zero target will be challenging 122 . All employees in an organisation will need to play their part to achieve a target 123 . Despite widespread acceptance that organisations should improve environmental performance, “progress remains slow” 124 . As such the creation of a Net Zero or sustainability culture will need to be embedded and pervade every aspect of employment and business life.
Issue
Incorporate new Net Zero and sustainability clauses into employment handbooks so that these issues become a key part of, and permeate, all levels of the employment relationship and encourage the development of a “green” ethos and a Net Zero Culture within the company.
Solution
Although, policies and employee handbooks do not make a culture they are often a key part of an induction process and therefore set a tone.
These handbooks traditionally outline a company’s operating procedures and define the day-to-day working relationship between the employer and employee. Their main function is to establish important policies, rules and standards that are expected in the workplace and afford protection to both the employer and employee. They predominantly focus on performance management, employee accountability and employee rights (such as parental leave).They are rarely used to enshrine a company’s sustainability ethos and objectives by including environmental and sustainability provisions (whether on their own or as part of other company policies).
Context
Although employment handbooks are not required by law, most companies have some form of handbook.
It is uncommon to see sustainability or climate change issues represented within the handbook. Consequently, such issues are often only addressed lightly in relation to a firm’s corporate social responsibility approach and are not truly embedded within a company’s day to day operations. By contrast, employees (in particular, millennials) increasingly want to work for employers who align with their personal values 125 .
122 https://www.ft.com/content/2c212fa8-8d17-11e9-a1c1-51bf8f989972 123 https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/3716/cbi-low-carbon-2020s-report-4-november-2019.pdf 124 https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/bps.org.uk/files/Member%20Networks/DOP%20Going%20Green%20The%20Psychology%20of%20 Sustainability%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf 125 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/06/10/five-rules-of-millennial-recruitment-and-retention/#708b97297192
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