Young people are more concerned with the company’s climate profile than older people.
Oscar Tjåland (22) is very pleased that he has secured an internship at the electric car charger company Zaptec in February next year.
The Kristiania college student did not just want to apply for a company he thought sounded exciting. He also wanted it to be a “green” job.
– Basically, it is about that I think the jobs of the future are green and sustainable. I want to be part of the development and be able to say that I am on the right side, says Tjåland and continues:
– And then I have to admit that it’s about having a good conscience.
He is not alone: 33 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 say that the employer’s climate or environmental profile influences their choice of employer in the future.
It emerges in a population survey from Opinion on behalf of NHO.
1 in 3 young people will choose “green” jobs
- Opinion asked, on behalf of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), 1,039 Norwegians – 522 men and 517 women – across the country. Norwegians of all age groups in working life were asked.
- The question that was asked was: To what extent will the employer’s climate / environmental profile influence your choice of employer in the future?
The age groups 18-29 years and 40-59 years differed most from each other:
- In the age group 18-29 years 8 per cent answered «to a very large extent», while 25 per cent answered «to a fairly large extent». 31 per cent answered «to a small extent», 11 per cent answered «not at all». 24 per cent answered “not relevant” or “do not know”.
- In the age group 40-59 years 4 per cent answered «to a very large extent», while 9 per cent answered «to a fairly large extent». 26 per cent answered «to a small extent», 27 per cent answered «not at all». 33 percent answered “not relevant” or “do not know”.
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– There’s my limit
But what is a green job?
The UK is currently hosting the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. British authorities have tried to make a list about which jobs can be referred to as “green” – but emphasizes that “green” jobs do not have one specific meaning and that it is demanding to define what a green job really is.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced criticism for not clarify what the authorities mean by green jobs, as Johnson says he should create 250,000 of.
22-year-old Tjåland says that he finds it difficult to define what distinguishes a green job from a non-green job.
– For me, it is wrong to say that I will never work in a company that also operates with oil and gas. Many of the oil companies are trying too hard to develop and create green projects, such as Equinor. But I probably would not apply to a company that has a reputation for being polluting and that does nothing to change. That’s where my limit goes, says the Sandnes man Tjåland.
He does not want to work for companies that have not set themselves the goal of becoming climate neutral or companies that have climate goals that are easy to see that are just a game for the gallery. In addition, Tjåland believes that companies that do not focus on cutting emissions now will not survive in the long run.
– I would like a job that is viable now and in 30 years, he says.
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– Incredibly important signal
Tjåland is supported by NHO Rogaland director Tone Grindland, who believes it is not constructive to talk about jobs and work as either green or not green.
– You have the competence and resources you have, and then you can point out a greener direction. It can be a cleaning company, shipping or a steel producer. The fact that one in three young people wants green jobs is in any case an incredibly important signal to companies that are struggling for the right skills. They have to take this into account, says Grindland.
– Norway’s largest company Equinor is looking for and producing oil and gas. But they are also investing several hundred billion kroner in renewable energy. Is there a green company in your book?
– Yes, Equinor is a green company. They have the financial muscle and expertise needed to deliver the green shift, and are a major exporter of green solutions and a premise supplier for the business community, says Grindland.
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Warns against greenwashing
Hulda Holtvedt in Grønn Ungdom is impressed by how many young people are concerned about potential employers’ climate profile. The 22-year-old believes it is important to distinguish between companies that contribute to solving the climate crisis and companies that contribute to exacerbating the crisis.
– The oil industry will never go green because their big project is to extract fossil energy, Holtvedt states, and she disagrees that Equinor is an example of a green company.
Holtvedt warns young employees against being dazzled by companies that present themselves as green. Her tip is to read up.
– I would do thorough research to find out if the company is actually working with climate solutions or if they are just trying to build a green profile to be able to continue as before, says Holtvedt.
– Very many companies within a wide range of industries can say that they try as best they can to cut emissions and that they have set goals for cuts within 10, 20 and 30 years. Are there examples of conventional companies trying to improve – or are there green companies?
– Some companies are actually green and have specific goals for how to become greener. Many areas in the business community have set tougher goals for themselves than politicians have set for Norway, says Holtvedt and continues:
– But the oil industry is a fundamentally dirty industry and is the very cause of the climate crisis, and then it is important not to buy the stories they spin. It’s just like when Donald Trump talks about “pure” coal when politicians talk about “pure” Norwegian oil.
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Want more interest from middle-aged people
Oscar Tjåland’s choice of the electric car charger company Zaptec receives an approved stamp from Grønn Ungdom-Holtvedt as a green company. Maiken Økland, communications manager at Zaptec, says that they see themselves as a green company.
– A green company can prove how it can help reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. We supply chargers for electric cars, and help more and more people to replace the fossil car with an electric car. We work to ensure that the transport sector becomes electric and that emissions can thus decrease both locally and globally, says Økland.
However, she is surprised that no more people aged 40 to 59 answer that they want the climate or environmental profile to influence the choice of the next employer. Økland hopes that more older workers will look at so-called green jobs.
– We can not just be 30-year-olds here, she says.
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