Bottom Line: Getting It - Look Behind You for a Hidden Risk of not Going Green
January 30, 2008
Elizabeth Johns, Managing Director

This article originally appeared in AFP Exchange magazine. Earn CTP Recert Credits Now you can take the AFP Exchange CTP Quiz online! RECENT NEWS ARTICLES BY TOPIC Bank Relationship Management Corporate Finance Financial Accounting & Reporting Payment Resources for Treasury Risk Management Sarbanes-Oxley Treasury Management Career Services

From the Jan/Feb 2008 edition of Exchange magazine

The bus has left the station.

That is what Jack Welch recently told AFP members in response to a question about whether it makes financial sense for companies to embrace green initiatives. Welch said that companies should recognize that a desire for greener business is now mainstream in corporate America and that any company that doesn't recognize this trend simply "doesn't get it."

Rupert Murdoch echoed the sentiment in a May interview with Salon.com, saying that his decision to have global media empire News Corp. Inc. act on environmental issues is simply good business. He was quoted as saying News Corp.'s environmental program would likely recoup costs many times, not only by creating efficiencies but also by generating morale among employees.

"This program is a huge morale builder," he said.

Fostering morale has always been seen as a way to retain talent. Now morale may hinge on a company's response to environmental concerns.

"If you think that creating an employment brand will help your organization attract, retain and repel employees -- you are right on!" says a recent issue of Recruiting Trends newsletter. It goes on to say that a company that positions green information on its Web site or in recruiting information may have a better shot at attracting the younger generation of employees who are known to be seeking to align their work experience with a company's organizational values.

Whether or not financial professionals can make the business case for environmental conservation at the corporate level, all they have to do is look behind them to see the business risk of not going green. To scoff at green trends is to risk losing talented younger employees to companies with philosophies that are more in tune with their own. In fact, a recent Harris Poll found that job candidates already take corporate responsibility into consideration when considering where to work: A third of Americans say that they would rather work for a green company over one that doesn't promote environmentally friendly practices.

Peruse any of the big career sites to see that recruiters are especially concerned about this environmental trend when filling new positions. Spend time in any corporate lunchroom to hear your younger employees repeat Jack Welch's phrase: "They just don't get it."

--Elizabeth Johns

The Bottom Line column appears monthly on the last page of Exchange magazine. Send letters to the editor to exchange@AFPonline.org

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