BusinessWeek seems to have taken on the self-appointed role as debunker of green business, which as I’ve written before is an odd switch from the beginning of 2007. This week the magazine takes a harsh perspective on an interesting new survey about interest in green values at work.
PR firm Hill & Knowlton talked to MBA students globally and asked them what factors would influence career and job choice. They ranked the factors by % that said it was “extremely” or “very” important. Here’s the list from the study:
Career opportunities…………………………………95
Corporate culture/working environment………….86
Compensation and benefits package…………….85
Employee satisfaction………………………………84
Quality of products and services………………….75
Financial performance/growth potential………….73
Corporate governance and ethics…………………58
Social responsibility/community involvement…..49
Brand and marketing message……………………48
Environmental/green policy…………………………34
BusinessWeek looked at this and declared “Green Isn’t Gold for MBAs” and pointed out that green stuff is at the bottom. Now, color me optimistic, but I think these numbers — 49% on CSR and 34% on green — are actually pretty high. Of course career opportunities and money are going to be nearly universal; it’s like asking consumers about price and quality versus other considerations — of course they come first. I would expect that very few MBAs would pick on environmental considerations alone.
But I’m amazed that one-third or more of these MBAs consider green as important as those other factors (remember, this is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important). And where would those numbers have been 5 years ago? What’s the trajectory on this?
What was interesting, and BusinessWeek does get to this after its sensational headline, was what happened when the questions got more specific. Two-thirds won’t work for tobacco and half don’t want to work for energy or autos — those are just the two biggest sectors in the world. Finally, to cap it off, 1 in 5 American MBAs — and 42% and 38% in EU and Asia respectively — would be inclined not to take an “attractive” job offer from a company with a poor environmental reputation.
If you’re recruiting for top talent, and you’re not tackling green issues, wouldn’t it worry you that 20-40% of your pool of applicants may have no interest in you?
And the numbers may be rising as you look at even younger cohorts. Monster.com did a survey of undergrads recently and found that 92% wanted to work for a green company. They were so impressed by this finding, they launched a green careers website. The recruiting giants are convinced even if BusinessWeek isn’t.