Executives share 3 steps to developing and driving ESG goals

I’m penning today’s newsletter from San Diego where Fortune is hosting its Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit. On Wednesday, I spoke with several executives about how ESG has become a driving force in employee recruitment and retention.

Today’s employees want proof that their employers are doing the work—a responsibility that often falls to HR leaders and their teams, who are tasked with setting ESG strategy and success metrics.

So it was no surprise that one of the most asked audience questions was how to develop and deliver on ESG goals, which remain amorphously defined and often fall to groups already stretched thin with competing responsibilities. For panelists, the solution lies in positioning ESG high in a company’s organizational structure, centering employees in relevant ESG work, and securing buy-in from all leaders. 

— “You’ve got to have alignment at the CEO level…and you’ve got to make three cases: the business case, the moral case, and the personal case. Whatever role you’re in, and whatever company you’re in, figure out how to empower that person with those different cases, and then support them with tools, analytics, and data.” —Maria Colacurcio, CEO at Syndio

— “Employees come into the door, literally or virtually, bringing everything about themselves and what they think, value, and protect—especially younger employees. The younger generation is showing us that it’s okay to bring those perspectives into work…We have people asking all the time, ‘How can we help with ESG efforts?’” —Rachel Hutchisson, VP of global social responsibility at Blackbaud

— “My lesson learned is that it really is about your connection to the leadership team more broadly rather than your direct reporting line. I meet every quarter with our founders and give them a progress update on what’s not working and what is so that they have that visibility to help get me the buy-in where I need it, remove roadblocks, and ultimately support the work. But the tactical work doesn’t sit with any one team, and that’s when you know you’re doing it right.” —Jessica Hyman, head of sustainability and DEI at Atlassian

Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton

Reporter's Notebook

The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.

For some, mass layoffs in tech are a harbinger of a coming recession. But a note from Goldman Sachs analysts earlier this week suggests otherwise. For one, the tech sector only represents a tiny sliver of the greater U.S. job market. Here's how Prarthana Prakash broke it down in her story for Fortune this week:

"While almost 26% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization comes from tech companies, the jobs in this field do not reflect the same dominance, the report noted. Major tech jobs only comprised about 0.3% of the overall job market, and tech companies’ financial influence does not translate to an effect on employment, according to the bank."

Read the full story here.

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- The looming recession could hit low-skilled white-collar workers especially hard as more companies use automation and software to replace them, says one economist. CNN

- A union representing about 1,000 Zara stores is threatening to strike on Black Friday if the retailer doesn’t raise wages by 500 euros ($519) monthly. Reuters

Watercooler

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Elon’s ultimatum. Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to Twitter employees in a 2 a.m. companywide email, demanding they “work long hours at high intensity” or resign by Thursday. —Prarthana Prakash

Amazon hunkers down. Amazon Web Services is extending its hiring freeze through the first quarter of 2023 and cutting low performers from teams that grew too fast, the company said Wednesday. —Kylie Robison

Sick day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added a 16th COVID-19 variant to its list on Friday. Here’s what HR leaders should know about the strain, which is now the sixth most common variant in the U.S.—Erin Prater