Looking to attract more millennial employees? Consider boosting your sustainability efforts.

Millennials make up approximately 30% of today’s workforce. By 2025, this number will grow to 75%. Unlike previous generations whose priority for workplace selection was largely based on stability and high pay, millennials place high regard on a company’s social purpose and values. Recent surveys found that 40% of millennials choose a job because of the company’s sustainability plan, while 70% said that the same reason would affect their decision to stay in the long term.

With this in mind, organizations have started prioritizing sustainability practices to attract and retain young workforces, and they are looking at technology as a key driver to help with that implementation. Here are some ways that workplace technology can play a vital role in creating a more sustainable work environment.

Digitize processes

The average office worker uses 10,000 copy sheets in a year, while the average company spends more than $120 billion annually on printed documents (the majority of which unfortunately ends up being outdated in around three months). As such, papers amount to 70% of office waste.

Workplace technology can help reduce this number significantly by digitizing internal multi-level processes that involve paper-heavy procedures. Transfer physical forms, files and documents onto an internal employee platform that enables staff to create, submit and share them all online. This becomes not only an environmentally-friendly solution but also one that makes operations more streamlined, instant and organized.

Make training more green

Despite being a crucial part of employee growth and operational success, trainings and onboarding can also be harmful to the environment. Not only do these sessions come with huge amounts of documents, ranging from safety guidelines to company policies, they often also come with the emissions from traveling to off-site locations.

As a result, more companies are introducing internal employee platforms to approach training in a more sustainable way. Through mobile-first technology, staff can access relevant learning materials directly on their phones rather than collecting huge amounts of printouts to feel on hand. This poses a much more eco-friendly solution which also keeps everything more organized and centralized for easy updating. Better yet, with information being readily available at all times, staff can easily refer back to these documents any time they need without any physical traveling required.

Work outside the office

Options for remote working has become one of the key pull factors for new employees to join a company. But aside from the flexibility to work anywhere, it also has a positive impact on the environment. The daily commute—especially driving to work—has added tremendous pressure on the environment. Transportation adds significantly to carbon dioxide emissions, contributing as much as 28.9% in 2017.

With the use of workplace tools, employers can ensure that despite not being physically in the office, employees can still work effectively through dynamic and collaborative digital communication channels. For instance, meetings can be conducted virtually through video calls, allowing discussions to happen from different places and time zones, and tasks can be assigned digitally with push notification reminders and submitted directly through the platform once completed. With these digital features in play, companies can help reduce the need to commute to the office or between various branches were deemed unnecessary.

With all this in mind, it’s evident how introducing technology can unlock several changes to make the workplace much more eco-friendly and sustainable. With the surge of millennials joining the workforce, adjusting workplace structures and operations to meet these values can be transformative for attracting and retaining these young talents.