ABSTRACT
An often overlooked internal stakeholder group during the sustainability transformation process is the Human Resources (HR) department. When I mention the value that human capital professionals contribute to the sustainability process, many colleagues give me a strange look. Some ask, “What do they have to do with carbon emissions or environmental stewardship?” The answer is “A lot.” The reality is that over 30% of the measured criteria for industry standard sustainability compliance reporting falls within the areas of expertise of human capital professionals. In order to move an organization’s sustainability program from one-off projects to a fully integrated program, HR leadership needs to be involved in creating and executing sustainable strategy. People are the key to your success in becoming a sustainable organization. If you consider the sustainability journey of an organization, the growth of the organization during the journey is based on how well the triple bottom line concepts (people, planet, profit) of value creation are embedded into the organization. One-off projects such as installing a building management system to reduce energy usage can help an organization begin its sustainability journey; however, in order to truly transform into a sustainable organization, sustainability needs to be integrated into all functions of the organization.
