HR will save the world

Guest columnist Kirsten Patterson (KP), CMInstD and chief executive of the Institute of Directors, asks what role HR can play in the very real climate emergency.

You don’t need to be a climate scientist to see the evidence that the world is heating up and climate change is real. That reality is going to affect all of us, whether we are businesses, employees or community members. It is going to affect how and where we work, travel and live our lives.

We are headed into a once-in-ageneration change in the way our world is structured. This is going to require global, organisational and human change. And that’s going to need talented HR leadership. Research tells us that employees don’t just want to be a cog in a machine, they want to work at a place that has a vision, a purpose and adds value. Above all, employees want to feel like they are contributing to something meaningful, which means that organisations with a clear purpose are more likely to attract and retain scarce talent and capability.

Eight years

The Minister of Climate Change, Hon James Shaw, has warned:

This decade is make or break for the planet. To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5˚C, the science shows we now have about eight years left to almost halve global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change is as much a people issue as it is an environmental and biodiversity issue. Eight years is within the working life and responsibility of all of us.

Our 2022 Director Sentiment Survey asked directors and board members to choose up to three future trends that they were currently paying attention to. The top factors were talent and climate change.

The boards of our banks and large financial institutions are, right now, putting in place plans to report on their 2023 emissions profiles and climate-related risks and activities under New Zealand’s world-leading Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.

This is the first mandatory climate reporting regime anywhere in the world, and we will see those disclosures in the 2024 reporting season. It’s always challenging to be first. Even if you are not in a large entity, this standard will become the norm and the expected standard for us all to follow in the coming years.

Chapter Zero

The World Economic Forum asked the New Zealand Institute of Directors to be the host of Chapter Zero New Zealand. The mission of Chapter Zero New Zealand is to mobilise, connect, educate and equip directors and boards to make climate-smart governance decisions, thereby creating long-term value for both shareholders and stakeholders.

Chapter Zero is about helping directors to make climate a boardroom priority. Chapter Zero offers open access to resources, regular news and updates, and connection through free webcast events and more. If your board members and CEO haven’t joined the free Chapter Zero New Zealand community, encourage them to do so.

The influence of “people and culture”

Strategic people and culture leadership, when well-delivered, can be transformational. As HR leaders, your decisions are far-reaching. They affect your respective organisations, but, more broadly, they affect our communities and our New Zealand. There was a great quote from Sir David Attenborough at COP26:

We are, after all, the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth. If working apart, we are a force powerful enough to destabilise our planet. Surely working together, we are powerful enough to save it.

What will your legacy be? And where will you lead us in the next eight years?

As you reflect on the climate emergency and what it means for your organisation and for your leadership, I would encourage you to also reflect and discuss the following five questions.

1. What is HR’s role in climate leadership? What are you doing to upskill and lead?

2. Do you know your number – your carbon emissions? Are you ready to scope the emissions, including staff travel, for example? (Do you know what they are?)

3. What does decarbonising mean for your organisation and for roles and people? What does a just transition look like for your people?

4. What capability will you need?

5. How do we remunerate and incentivise climate-positive behaviours in our CEOs and leadership teams?

Kirsten Patterson is a qualified lawyer and a Distinguished Fellow of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand, Co-deputy Chair of the Global Network of Directors Institutes (GNDI), Chair of the Brian Picot Ethical Leadership advisory board and previous Chair of the Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust. With extensive governance and leadership experience, she is actively involved in community initiatives.