Our profession can play a significant leadership role in helping organisations to become more environmentally sustainable. Learn more about what we’re doing across the CIPD to become more sustainable ourselves, and how we’re helping our profession take the lead in their own organisations.
"The people profession should be at the forefront of shaping the business response to environmental, social and governance goals."
Growing our community sustainably
We are determined to grow our professional community, expand into new international markets, increase our membership and work in new ways with organisations. And this goal is driven by our purpose – the more people and organisations we can reach, the more we can champion better work and working lives.
We have a duty to do this in a sustainable way. And we have a huge opportunity to harness our community’s insights, positioning our profession as the leader in responsible and sustainable business practices.
Our actions as an organisation
We’ve committed to working with our people, our partners and our stakeholders to support the environmental aspects of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. And we’ve established a leadership group to oversee our progress.
We’re working to reduce our carbon footprint and resource use. Hybrid working from our Wimbledon office saw our use of electricity rise by 9% and gas by 15% in 2022, although both remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels. Our total carbon footprint for our Wimbledon office, reflecting our direct and indirect use of gas, electricity and water (Scopes 1 - 3), rose to 296 tCO2e. Relative to our growth, it remained steady per full-time equivalent employee and dropped relative to our turnover.
Our passionate Green Champions volunteer from across the CIPD to improve our sustainability. We’re supporting the Love Wimbledon mushroom farming initiative with waste from coffee beans. And we’re introducing a new cycle-to-work scheme.
We’re working with our partners and suppliers to secure their commitment to environmentally sustainable practices and to improve the sustainability of our events and publications. We’ve made the switch from physical membership cards to an online ‘verify a member’ service, saving 1.5 tonnes of paper per year. And we remain members of Climate Action For Associations, sharing experiences, tools and resources with other membership organisations.
Investors in the Environment Accreditation
Our Investors in the Environment (iiE) Bronze accreditation recognises our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and continual improvement of our sustainability performance. We exceeded the minimum criteria at various levels and were commended for a number of initiatives including our environmental management system and our proactive efforts to engage with stakeholders on climate change and other sustainable development issues.
Our goal is to achieve iiE's Green level by 2025. To do this we'll need to set up systems to measure our full carbon footprint, including our other offices, business travel, commuting, homeworking and waste (Scope 3).
Our actions as a profession
We’ve added environmental sustainability to the business acumen standard in our Profession Map. And we’ve built it into the content of our relevant learning programmes, to help all people professionals embed it in their daily practice. We’ve held environmental, social and governance sessions at our Annual Conference and Festival of Work events. And we continue to promote our guide for professionals, Embedding Environmental Sustainability in Your Organisation.
Explore the practical steps you can take, whatever the size, industry or sector of your organisation.
Read our sustainability guide
CIPD Trust
Tackling barriers to work today whilst creating inclusive workplaces of tomorrow.
Influencing policy
Our public policy team champions better work and working lives by shaping public debate, government policy and legislation.
Learn more about our commitment to sustainable growth
We are growing and broadening our professional community, because our organisations, economies and societies need many more champions for better work and working lives. Our governance arrangements ensure that we do this responsibly and sustainably. Read about our approach to corporate responsibility, our purpose and impact, our work this year, and the expertise and commitment of our people.
How our structure, governance and leadership keep our charitable and business activities responsible, accountable, sustainable and transparent
Better work and working lives for all
Learning together, leading together – investing in our whole community
Our success relies on the expertise and commitment of a wide range of staff, volunteers and associates
Shape your organisation’s sustainable practices
At the centre of your organisation, you have the connections and insights to help shift cultures, ways of working and behaviours to promote greater. Read about the steps you can take in our guide. Listen to our podcast to appreciate the business case. And explore our Profession Map to understand how you can help your organisation grow responsibly and sustainably.
Guides
Tips for HR professionals on embedding environmental sustainability
Podcasts
Episode 174: Understanding the impact that your business and working practices are having on the environment is a vital first step in your sustainability journey. But how can organisations and people professionals embed environmental sustainability into the core of their business?
Understanding your organisation, the commercial context and the wider world of work