Australian companies need to think 'green' to attract workers

84% of Australian workers polled in a Newspoll survey believe that it is important to work for a company which has the environment as a top priority, but slightly less than half of those surveyed said they currently worked for an organization which has implemented environmental or sustainability policies.

The results of the poll were released at a breakfast at Cafe Sydney to coincide with the launch of True Green @ Work…100 Ways You Can Make the Environment Your Business (ABC Books, $22.95). Former NSW Premier, Bob Carr officially launched the book by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, part of the Clean Up Australia team.

"Australia is experiencing an incredibly tight labor market so companies which have embraced green, sustainable practices are going to have an edge when it comes to attracting the right employees," Kim McKay, co-author of True Green @ Work and the co-founder and deputy chairwoman of Clean Up Australia said.

"Our challenge to business is to fully embrace a greener agenda – minimizing your environmental footprint will save energy and money and will keep your workforce, and customers happier," Kim McKay said.

"What surprised us was that of those polled, 48% said they worked for an organization which had already implemented some level of environmental or sustainability policies, which shows Australian businesses are reacting to the growing momentum for greener work practices," Jenny Bonnin, co-author of True Green @ Work and a director of Clean Up said.

"We believe that every CEO should show leadership by implementing green policies – in the book we’ve profiled ten companies which have sustainable business practices and overwhelmingly they said it had

created a better working environment and that in many cases being green gave them an edge over their competition," Jenny Bonnin said.

Australian business and industry generates an estimated 90%** of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and according to the authors, every business should be aiming to reduce their carbon footprint by at least 25% by 2010 (Clean Up Australia pledge).