1. Introduction
“What if HR held the key to unlocking sustainable transformation?”
This was the central question we explored during a workshop at the HTAG Sustainability Lab last October. The session brought together 10 HR leaders from major Belgian companies and public organizations to delve into the potential levers HR can activate to accelerate and support sustainable projects and transformations. The discussions were built around a business game we designed and facilitated, that offered an engaging and collaborative platform for insights.
Based on a strategic roadmap for a sustainability transition in a fictive organization, we have asked participants to build an HR action plan to support this transition. Seven key actions were identified arising from three core HR focus areas: Change & Culture Management, Talent Management, and Organizational Structure.
Additionally, actions around Mobility and Facility Management were identified to support sustainable transition. They will be tackled separately as they are not systematically included in HR scope of activities.
2. Change & Culture Management
First of all, in order to ensure a sustainable transition, it is essential to integrate this transformation at the core of its organization. HR plays a critical role in managing the human side of this transition by ensuring alignment with the company's culture and supporting employees through the change.
As a key player of this transition, we identify three key momentums for HR:
2.1. Co-define business strategic goals
When defining the sustainability transformation strategy and its key objectives together with the direction team, it is essential to evaluate how it will affect the organization’s culture and values. HR must play a central role in these discussions to thoroughly assess this impact.
HR’s involvement will help determine the level of support the organization requires to navigate the change effectively. Moreover, it enables the identification of critical skills needed to drive and sustain the transformation. By ensuring the organization is equipped with the right capabilities, HR acts as a cornerstone in facilitating a smooth and successful transition.
2.2. Support culture transition
Sustainability transformation also often means transition to a new or refined culture that people should actually live in their day-to-day life within the organization. Translating this sustainable vision into actionable behaviors, fostering coherence between organization culture and goals, and reinforcing it through concrete actions in the entire organization, are typically challenges supported by HR. Support can be provided to companies by helping them to shape their culture and translate it into concrete actions; from adapting systems (appraisal or performance systems, skills development program, ...) to communicating it at every level of the organization. We are convinced that supporting this transition on a cultural level is a solid lever to make it last. It is never a waste of time to give the cultural transformation the needed attention.
2.3. Implement a Change Management Plan
Change management is a central aspect of any transformation, and it becomes critical when talking about sustainability. As a central HR component, the department has the ability to establish dedicated roles and responsibilities in terms of change management. Depending on the organization’s structure and available resources, this role can be fulfilled by an internal team or individual, or by leveraging external expertise. Its primary goal is to develop and implement a comprehensive change management plan, covering aspects such as sponsorship, communication, and training.
Communication is often one of the most visible and impactful elements in ensuring a sustainable transition. That's why we'll go a little deeper into it here. Effective communication is essential for fostering employee engagement and motivation. HR can facilitate this by emphasizing two key practices:
a. Share Best Practices and Lessons Learned
HR can play an active role in identifying and sharing best practices and lessons learned to inspire employees and anchor desired behaviors. Demonstrating how sustainability initiatives have successfully become ingrained in the organization’s culture reassures employees that these changes are achievable. Furthermore, identifying and promoting pre-existing practices from before the transition can help to pinpoint project champions who can serve as ambassadors for the initiative.
Embedding best practices into daily workflows enhances team efficiency and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
b. Celebrate Success
Celebrating milestones, whether large or small, is crucial for maintaining employee motivation and reinforcing their commitment to the project. Recognizing individual or team's efforts through a thanking word, making the progression visible through the regular communication regarding KPIs, interviewing a special contributor in the company's newsletter, there are so many ways to celebrate the little successes and milestones that can support the sustainable journey. It does not only acknowledge progress but also frames the transformation journey as a series of achievable and concrete objectives.
3. Talent Management
In addition to enhancing the human dimension of managing transitions through change and culture, it is essential not to overlook the critical role of Talent management. In a world of constant change, any organizational transformation inevitably exposes teams to periods of uncertainty. It is therefore essential to ensure that the organization has the strategic skills required to meet its future needs. This also requires a review of development policies to adopt more agile and motivating approaches. As a human resources manager, Talent management is a fundamental lever for ensuring the success of a transformation project.
3.1. Develop future-proof skills
In a context of constant change, transformation projects require a collective mobilization of skills within an organization. Changing strategic priorities make it essential to acquire and optimally position talent and skills to meet the new challenges. Having the right people in the right place is crucial to the lasting success of any transformation.
a. Analyzing essential skills
Acquiring tomorrow's key skills depends first and foremost on identifying them. In this spirit, a Capability Map can be a powerful tool. It provides a visual outline of the different capabilities an enterprise already has or should develop to reach its strategic goals. Clearly defining and identifying these essential skills is an essential step if we are to make effective progress towards sustainable transformation.
b. Developing employee skills
Having identified the key skills, the next step is to build on the strengths already present in the organization. This involves making the most of existing talent by focusing on developing the skills of your employees. This can take the form of skills upgrading (upskilling) or retraining (reskilling). These approaches, supported by training focused on sustainability skills, enable you to respond effectively to the new needs of your strategy.
c. Identify the additional resources required
When the development of key skills cannot be supported by existing internal resources, it becomes necessary to turn to external talent. The in-depth analysis of the gaps identified with a Capability Map enables the required profiles to be precisely targeted and the recruitment process to be organized accordingly.
3.2. Re-evaluate reward policies
If developing employees' skills is an essential pillar of any transformation, keeping human resources motivated is also crucial. Redefining reward policies offers the opportunity to define precise objectives that are in line with the organization's strategic priorities, while at the same time responding to personal ambitions. The aim is to boost the overall performance of teams by translating global sustainable objectives into team and individual objectives. Redefine your reward system based on sustainable objectives can be a powerful lever for motivating and retaining talent, while supporting your company's transition. By integrating ESG KPIs into remuneration criteria, this approach combines financial incentives with a commitment to sustainability. This involves establishing a harmonious combination where individual objectives serve collective sustainable goals.
4. Organizational Structure
A third area of focus for your HR department to drive the sustainable transformation of your organization is its structure and governance. By establishing a solid structure around sustainability initiatives, these projects can be embedded at the core of the company, fostering integration across all levels, breaking down silos, and empowering stakeholders throughout the organization. Efforts to clarify responsibilities and refine governance are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. By addressing both areas simultaneously, you can, as an HR decision taker, establish a structured and robust framework to support the transformation project, maximizing its impact and its credibility within the organization.
4.1. Clarify responsibilities
The first step in reorganizing the structure is to clarify responsibilities related to the sustainability objectives and transformation initiatives the organization has set. Clearly defining roles and responsibilities can contribute greatly to driving progress effectively, minimize confusion, eliminate redundancy, and ensure accountability.
To support this process, here are three actionable steps the HR department can implement:
a. Definition of Sponsorship and Leadership
To ensure the project’s success, it is crucial to secure the support of a board member or director who can provide long-term vision, align the initiative with the organization’s strategy, and allocate necessary resources. Appointing a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) (if not already in place) is an effective way to institutionalize sponsorship. The CSO drives sustainability efforts, ensures credibility, and acts as the central link between departments, the Executive Committee, and external stakeholders.
b. Alignment of middle management
Middle management serves as a crucial bridge between leadership and operational teams. Once top-level sponsorship is secured, engaging middle managers is key to translating strategic sustainability goals into concrete, actionable initiatives. Managers play a pivotal role in driving change within their teams and fostering open, two-way communication between upper management and team members. Their buy-in ensures the transformation isn’t perceived as a purely top-down directive but becomes an integrated effort across the organization, embedding sustainability into daily operations and culture.
c. Formalization and communication of responsibilities
Responsibility definition loses its impact if it’s unclear or poorly communicated. HR can play a critical role by formalizing responsibilities (e.g., updating job descriptions, creating responsibility charters, or using tools like RACI matrices) and communicating them effectively across the organization.
4.2. Align governance with transformation
In addition to clarifying responsibilities, it is crucial to align governance with the sustainability objectives and transformation initiatives the organization has set. This alignment is key at all levels of the company to ensure a unified vision, facilitate effective decision-making, and optimize resource allocation. Furthermore, aligning governance enhances the credibility of sustainability commitments both internally and externally.
The following three key actions can be implemented by the HR department in order to align governance with broad sustainable initiatives:
a. Establishment of an interdepartmental Sustainability Committee
This committee, led by the CSO for example, can lead the transformation and related actions by monitoring progress, addressing challenges and risks, and fostering a collective approach, leveraging synergies between departments.
b. Creation of operational alignment
Integrating sustainability into an organization’s operational structure requires embedding it into all departments, incorporating sustainable practices into various workflows, and adopting frameworks like ESG standards or sustainable certifications to ensure consistent implementation across the organization. This process can, of course, be carried out in stages or through an iterative approach to ensure a seamless transition.
c. Designation of ESG ambassadors
ESG ambassadors can play a massive role on the field by being trained and supported to become 'local voices' for sustainable transformation. In this way, they will be able to answer strategic and technical questions from related colleagues regarding sustainable transformation, while promoting the integration of sustainability into everyday practices.
5. Mobility and facilities
Other HR responsibilities that positively impact an organization’s sustainable transformation include managing employee mobility and infrastructure. These two areas, which often fall under HR responsibilities, are important levers for reducing carbon emissions. Additionally, they significantly impact the employee journey and should therefore not be neglected in a sustainable transformation program.
a. Rethink the management of employee mobility
The Mobility Budget and the Car Policy aim to encourage sustainable travel while meeting the specific needs of employees. This approach proposes alternatives such as public transport, car-sharing, ecological vehicles, and multimodality. It encourages eco-responsible practices, offering greater flexibility for employees and tax advantages for both the company and its employees. There is a need to adapt infrastructures such as cycle parking facilities and charging stations to make it effectively used.
b. Reduce the carbon impact of infrastructures
Several levers can be activated to reduce your carbon footprint in terms of infrastructure. Rethinking workspace design in function of usage, attendance, and teleworking policies to better fit the needs of the organization impacts directly and considerably energy consumption. Improvements such as optimizing electronic equipment, thermal insulation and heating and air conditioning systems are also crucial. Investing in connected solutions to monitor and adjust energy consumption in real time can further optimize usage.
6. Conclusion
This workshop has allowed us to identify levers that HR can activate to support and facilitate a sustainable transition in an organization. We divided them into three core HR focus areas: Change & Culture Management, Talent Management and Organizational structure. Through this workshop, we assessed the importance of active participation of HR in this transition from the strategic discussions to the implementation of new processes and the clarification of organizational structure and role.
At ngage, we transform organizations, embracing societal transitions.
We enable our clients to activate their journey towards sustainability. Together, we define, challenge and update your organization’s sustainability ambitions, shaping a comprehensive roadmap and ensuring its successful execution.
We help you, as HR professionals, to define your pivotal role in this transformation. Together, we design an HR roadmap that encompasses everything from fostering a new culture and supporting the decarbonization journey to implementing effective change management plan. This includes, among others, engaging employees through awareness sessions, redesigning internal processes and structure models around sustainability, and supporting sustainability reporting (incl. CSRD) and certifications to meet compliance.
A sustainable transformation requires profound organizational shifts, and with our proven expertise, we guide you in achieving excellence in efficiency, effectiveness and overall performance.
Would you have any questions regarding the topic or would you like to explore organizing a workshop tailored for your organization or department, feel free to reach us.
Let’s take the next step in building a sustainable future – together.