Mercer podcast | Progressing ESG and sustainability goals

The New Shape of Work interview series addresses the challenges and uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus with a focus on how to transition to a more agile workforce for the future.

At this stage in the pandemic, many organizations are finding themselves on growth trajectories again. But, those growth trajectories need to be sustainable and factor in environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals to meet the expectations of employees, customers and investors. Organizations should be prepared to show they are setting and making progress against ESG goals and becoming sustainable at their core.

Listen to this conversation with Kai Anderson, Transformation leader for Mercer Europe, for more insights on where HR can focus to help get the hearts and minds of the workforce focused on sustainability goals in 2022.

Interesting moments from the interview:

Pressure [on sustainability] is coming from different sides. You mentioned employees and their preference for really sustainable action with their employer. So that is, that is one side. The other side is the investors.
When we look at HR, we see great, great potential in fostering the social side of sustainability. And I think we have a pretty good framework for making that work. And that starts with a very foundational things like anti-slavery, then we have the health issues, which is physical and mental health, then we have wealth, which is earning a decent living. And after that we have development topics, like you know, career pathing and self-actualization, up to purpose.
Transforming towards sustainability, will only work by really engaging the majority of employees for it. And that starts with a joint vision. And this is what we do, in companies that we do a co-creational exercise in creating that vision as a first step. And it's an invitation for people to find ways to make it real.