We talked to Rugile Matusevičiūtė, founder of the climate and sustainability communication agency "Gamtos bičiuliai" and content creator of the sustainability training platform "Sustain Academy", about the connection between sustainability practices and HR processes.
1. You have a long CV and are becoming an increasingly influential voice on sustainability issues in the Lithuanian social space. Could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
First of all, thank you for the compliments! :)
I started my career during my undergraduate studies when my colleague Andrius and I founded the first Lithuanian sustainability podcast "Unpacked". I organized the National Environmental Exam, a river clean-up campaign, an expedition for clean Lithuania, and tree-planting initiatives. Alongside these activities, I started to deliver sustainability and environmental training for businesses, organizations, and schools & taught at Vytautas Magnus University.
I was also the leader of the "Sustainable Lithuania" project, at which time I produced my first documentary on climate change, "Banana Republic". More recently, I completed the Climate Journalism Program at Oxford University and the Reuters Institute. I am currently actively organizing a sustainability conference "MOMENTUM", as well as a nature awareness camp for adults called "Friends of Nature", and I have set up an agency that works on a wide range of sustainability communication projects.
2. When it comes to promoting sustainability and its social dimension in organizations, what is the role of HR professionals? If you had to name the 3 most important aspects of creating a sustainable working environment, what would they be?
To be honest, I believe all three areas of sustainability (environment, social responsibility and sustainable management) start with HR professionals. Forgive me for dropping yet another complex topic on your shoulders, but as with all significant changes in organizations, sustainability requires the involvement of all employees and a collective understanding from the bottom up.
To give you an example, your organization decides to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which means that to achieve this goal you need people to collect data (on absolutely all the company's activities), people to process and analyze the data, colleagues to draw conclusions, and most importantly, the whole company to start to implement change from these findings. To reduce your pollution, you need to start driving less to work, reduce unnecessary products you buy, change your suppliers, sort responsibly and so on. If you ask yourself how many different employees are needed to make all these changes, I would probably say that it will touch every one of your colleagues in one way or another.
That is why one of the biggest myths is that sustainability is the responsibility of one department or one colleague. With this mindset, you will certainly not achieve your objectives and you will not meet the EU's stringent sustainability requirements.
These thoughts may make your head spin - so where to start? I suggest that you start by putting together a management team that is responsible for different areas in your organization. First of all, give them comprehensive sustainability training - start with very basic information and work your way up until you reach the legal and governance aspects. Once these managers have a clear understanding of what sustainability is and don't think it's just about sorting or cycling, then you can slowly introduce the topic to the various departments. From the beginning, it is important to instil in your colleagues the key message that sustainability is all-encompassing - every action can be done more or less sustainably.
Once you have done this homework, we can start to look at the different categories of sustainability - environmental, social and governance. While some colleagues are more concerned with environmental issues (perhaps dealing with materials, suppliers, etc.), the HR department should lead on social issues - fair wages, integration of people with disabilities, tolerance, equal growth opportunities, and promotion of work/leisure balance. Every organization has its strengths and weaknesses and it is certainly not possible to make all the changes at once. I recommend you analyse the available data, interview your staff and draw conclusions.
Maybe your company doesn't take advantage of paternity days or holidays, maybe there's a lack of development opportunities, or maybe you're still dealing with one of the most prevalent problems - the unfair gender pay gap. The only way to know what to do is to have data on your organization, and as a rule, many companies do not have sustainability data yet.
So here are three steps I suggest you start with:
1. Bring together managers and leaders from different teams and give them a thorough briefing on sustainability, the increasing requirements, the challenges and the goals of the organisation.
2. Together with your colleagues, responsibly allocate responsibilities for which department is responsible for which aspect of sustainability.
3. Conduct thorough data collection and analysis - this may require hiring external help.
Once you have the data, identify the 'pain points' and create a detailed action plan to address them.
3. In terms of employee development, what skills and competencies should HR focus on to enable employees to contribute to a more sustainable future (inside and outside of work)?
First of all, it is important to have a thorough understanding of what sustainability is, and that it is not just about sorting or cycling. Sustainable development is about using the planet's resources in a way that is sufficient for future generations. When people start to look at what sustainability is, they realize that it includes what they eat, what they wear, how they travel, what projects they develop, who they work with, and even what KPIs they set.
I often hear organizations boasting about sustainability because they have started sorting, saving water or giving their employees reusable water bottles. Excuse me, but this is basic hygiene, which all organizations operating in Europe are obliged to do. This comes from a limited understanding of what sustainability is and the idea that it is just a small and easy trend that will pass quickly.
Finally, once you have gathered the data on your organization, find out where you are hurting - where you are polluting the most, where your employees are hurting the most, and where you lack transparency. Set clear and precise priorities on what you want to change and why. Don't jump in, don't try to fix everything at once.
4. 1. Global trends show that commitment to the SDGs helps companies attract and retain employees. Is this trend also observed in Lithuania?
Sustainable organizations ensure ethical working conditions, fair pay and transparency. They care about the well-being of their employees and regularly conduct surveys to hear their needs. Naturally, this sounds attractive to anyone looking for a new workplace. This is further proof that sustainable management is not a punishment, but an opportunity - to attract recruits and ensure employee retention.
4. 2. Consumers (including employees) are increasingly critical of organizations’ sustainability communication. Companies without sustainability specialists find it difficult to talk about these topics. How to avoid greenwashing when communicating sustainability practices internally and externally?
Don't communicate. :)
Partly a joke, but it's far too early for organizations to start boasting about sustainability. As soon as one or another sustainability action is launched, look, it's already being talked about in the media, and in social networks. As I said, basic sustainability actions are hygiene and there is nothing to brag about. Brag when you are a true leaders, when you have made significant changes, when you have something to teach others. If you have to keep something quiet about your sustainability, don't risk it, sooner or later the truth will come out, and not only is it very risky for your reputation, but it can also get you into legal trouble.
Sustainability should not be seen as an advertising campaign and should never be left to the marketing department alone. Communication should be the very last step in sustainability.
5. Do you have any role models for creating a sustainable working environment in business? What practices, initiatives, and tools do these organizations use?
A few organizations that come to mind first are those that pay particular attention to social responsibility. The “Ignitis Group” has several excellent examples of effectively integrating sustainability into HR management, such as employee ambassadorship programs, ensuring emotional well-being, and promoting gender equality. I recommend looking at their activities and perhaps something could be integrated into your organization.
“Rimi Lietuva” is also worth mentioning - for several years it has been actively working towards integrating people with disabilities - to provide appropriate conditions and equipment for its colleagues who are faced with disability.
The Lithuanian Association for Responsible Business (LAVA), which has numerous sustainable organizations, can offer useful information. Here you will find training, events and meetings that will allow you to deepen your knowledge and, no doubt, will bring new ideas.
