How re-imagining the workplace can be a core part of your ESG strategy
Where people work and how they work impacts every aspect of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda. Offices require electricity, heating and air conditioning, which consume energy. Transport and infrastructure must be organised for the thousands of commuters that travel daily. Workers often have to engineer their entire lives – from where they live to what careers they choose – based around easy access to the workplace.
For those seeking to turn ESG initiatives into meaningful action, re-imagining the office can pay major dividends. From cutting carbon emissions to boosting employee wellbeing, we look at how digital processes and flexible work patterns can help to create a more efficient, equitable and sustainable economy.
Cutting resource consumption
The recent pandemic resulted in large numbers of employees working remotely. While many are now returning to the office full time, it is estimated that more than 50% of global workers would prefer to work from home at least three days a week1. Private transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, so cutting the time workers spend commuting will have a major impact on emissions, especially as around 70% of people still drive to work2. As there will be less time stuck in traffic, releasing fumes into the atmosphere, the air quality of urban environments is also expected to improve.
At the same time, offices are notoriously resource hungry. Commercial buildings generate approximately 20% of all energy consumption3. With fewer workers on-site, there should be a cut in primary energy usage. Companies may move to smaller premises, or opt for tech-based solutions. Motion and temperature sensors can be used to switch off lights or reduce heating in unoccupied areas.
Digitalising paper-based processes, a cornerstone of smart hybrid workplaces, will have a more clear-cut impact. In Western economies, an average person uses around 200kg of paper a year4. Considering that it takes 10 litres of water to produce a single A4 sheet of paper5, shifting to electronic documentation flows can cut down on resource consumption. Of course, having more emails can just lead to people to print more, so these must be integrated with smart management systems that track and limit unnecessary paper usage.
As John Teahan of investment group Redwheel says, “customers, employees, investors and governments are pushing companies to think more deeply as to how they ingrain sustainability within their organisations. To succeed, companies need to demonstrate that they can achieve sustainability from the corporate footprint to the corporate handprint.”
Putting the S back in ESG
When it comes to ESG, it is often the S that is most overlooked. Partly, this is because social progress is harder to quantify than it is when tracking hard metrics such as CO2 emissions. Yet, employee health and happiness can benefit greatly from more flexible work arrangements, while these can also help to integrate under-represented sections of the population into the workplace. For example, remote working can be a great option for workers with disabilities, who may struggle to get into the office, or those with caring responsibilities. It is estimated that 62% of working parents have said that they will consider quitting their jobs if they cannot access remote working options6. Meanwhile, companies can also broaden their access to workers. They will no longer have to rely purely on those that live within commuting distance of the workplace or expect people to uproot their lives and move as part of a job offer. With remote-working technology, there is the potential to tap into a truly global talent pool, and this trend will continue as 3D immersive platforms make virtual collaboration more seamless and natural.
Strengthening corporate governance
As well as being more efficient, electronic processes are far easier to track and audit, as they leave digital trails, which improve transparency and accountability. It helps companies to ensure that they are compliant with all relevant regulations, while it also makes it easier to track payments and conduct know your customer (KYC) or anti-money laundering (AML) checks. Digital technology allows close monitoring of the supply chain, to make sure components and resources have been sourced in a responsible way, which is becoming an increasingly important area of corporate governance.
ESG is at the heart of strategic decision making for major companies. How the workplace is organised and managed will be a key pillar for creating lasting, positive change in the coming years.
