Sunday, February 9, 2025

Driving Sustainability and ESG Trends Through HR – 2025

We all know that Corporate world is evolving rapidly, and the significance of sustainability in workplace is paramount and has a place in core agenda of the Organisation for 2025.

As organizations increasingly align with global sustainability goals, HR stands at the forefront of driving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies. By 2025, from Policy to Purpose, HR’s role in embedding ESG principles will be pivotal to fostering a purpose-driven, resilient workforce and ensuring long-term organizational success.

HR’s role is uniquely positioned to influence culture, shape sustainable practices, and integrate Sustainability and ESG into core operations. This will commit and will ensure that workplaces are environmentally friendly and promote employee well-being.

By implementing various training programs on the subject and promoting eco-friendly practices, HR can motivate employees to adopt sustainable habits not only at work but in their day-to-day lives. Through targeted initiatives, HR should include Sustainability as a core value of the Organisation.

HR may also play a pivotal role in developing sustainable workplaces by promoting environment-friendly design and operational practices, such as using reusable and biodegradable materials, maximizing natural light, and rationalising water consumption across locations and manufacturing units.

In this rapidly changing scenario, integrating sustainability into HR policies is also an effort to foster a workplace that nourishes people as well as the planet. Sustainability for HR means conserving the use of human resources, their energy, or human labour. Humanity should use these resources in such a way that they can be maintained over a long period, rather than being depleted

In an organisation transitioning from traditional economic goals to sustainability-linked targets, e.g., Optimising water consumption, achieving zero carbon emissions, etc., the role of Human Resources has become more critical and may contribute in a way to gain momentum. The Key contributions include

  • Promoting Sustainable Workplaces by Implementing policies that minimize environmental impact and encourage green practices.
  • Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Ensuring inclusive hiring, equitable opportunities, and representation across all levels.
  • Strengthening Ethical Governance: Establishing frameworks that emphasize accountability, transparency, and integrity.
  • Establishing a team of young people from different departments to focus on sustainability initiatives. This team can also be used to promote and monitor further activities like reducing waste, conserving energy in all forms, and promoting awareness among other employees.
  • We may recognize and reward employees for their contributions in any form to sustainability. This will include bonuses for spreading awareness, innovative green practices, or public recognition for outstanding efforts.

HR has to build the capacity to capture the Emerging Trends through workshops & trainings. Integrating sustainability into employee training programs, including workshops on green building practices and energy conservation. Consider partnering with industry green bodies for certifications and credibility. These learning sessions will include:

  • Green Skill Development: Preparing employees for the demands of a sustainable economy through targeted upskilling.
  • Employee Well-Being: Prioritizing mental health and work-life balance as central to ESG strategies.
  • ESG-Driven Employer Branding: Attracting talent by highlighting sustainability commitments.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Using metrics to track ESG progress, such as diversity ratios, retention rates, and happiness index.
  • Sustainable Leadership: Building a pipeline of leaders who champion ESG values.

It is equally important to understand that the role of HR goes beyond data collection and reporting when it comes to ESG & Sustainability. They have to be involved, constantly shaping and leading the entire ESG agenda for the company.

HR can create an ESG strategy that is aligned with the bigger company goals. This will help them improve various critical processes like talent acquisition, retention, upskilling or reskilling, and employee engagement.

By integrating ESG into HR strategies, we can also create a workforce that not only thrives in a competitive environment but also contributes meaningfully to societal and environmental progress. HR’s leadership in this journey will ensure our organization remains both relevant and responsible in the years to come.

Effective communication with the employees for Sustainability and ESG is also one of the focus areas of HR professionals. Projects, seminars, and even an event where we can showcase our concerns for ESG and Sustainability will help to make this a must for the employees and their families.

Above all, communicating with and influencing the board is also very important, as ESG initiatives often require significant investment, discipline, and a long-term commitment. Sometimes your commitment makes it non-negotiable for new joiners.

Every HR Manager represents employees, a great asset to any company and the core of the ESG framework. We have to maximise the potential of this asset and ESG considerations; companies need to have an inclusive culture, and HR professionals are instrumental in delivering this by ensuring people feel physically and psychologically safe.

With their knowledge and focus on policies, procedures, and reporting, HR professionals are also key to ensuring that much of the governance aspect of ESG is fulfilled.

As Mr. Anand Mahindra aptly said,

“Sustainability has to be a way of life to be a way of business.”

 HR’s role in this journey is to ensure that sustainability becomes not just a strategic priority but a core cultural value across the organization. HR can lead the way in ensuring that sustainability is ingrained in every aspect of the organization’s operations and culture to achieve the long-term success and relevance of the business, well into 2025 and beyond.


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Arvind Srivastava
Arvind Srivastava
Arvind Srivastava, President- HR Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited. He has over 27 years of diverse industry exposure including Power & Steel, Automobile, Leather, Garments, Chemicals, and Appliances in the entire gamut of HR. Previously, he has worked with leading Brands like Red-Tape, Winsome Group, DCM Chemicals, Usha International as Head of HR and with Hero Group ( Rockman Industries) and Bansal Steel & Power Ltd. as CHRO & Group Head HR.