ESG will pave the way for long-term sustainability of Japanese businesses
The heightened awareness and urgency to take concrete action on sustainability as a result of the pandemic has had a profound impact on businesses and governments across the world. In Japan, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) considerations have come to the forefront of government and business agendas, impacting on both business and talent strategies.
“Public commitments that the Japanese government has made, including financing that was announced to help support de-carbonisation goals, is spurring private sustainability initiatives. Organisations in Japan have been continuously raising the bar on ESG and rethinking how they’re doing business,” says Grant Torrens, Managing Director at Hays Japan.
“To this end, Hays has also doubled down on our commitment to sustainability globally, having achieved the milestone of becoming a carbon neutral business in 2021.”
But perhaps the most demonstrable way in which Hays stands out as a forerunner of ESG and sustainability practices is how it builds partnerships based on shared values.
“For instance, clients such as Salesforce and McDonald’s in Japan have built products that support organisations in their sustainability goals or taken proactive approaches to address issues related to sustainable food procurement and waste management. These are precisely the sort of forward-thinking organisations that align with our ESG goals and objectives,” says Torrens.
Given the growing focus on sustainability, Japan has seen a corresponding rise in ESG investment and a growing number of ESG-related roles. At the moment, roles seeing the strongest demand are typically related to the consulting, engineering, finance, and marketing and public relations functions. They are also more common within multinational corporations or the larger Japanese companies with more international exposure. Much of the volume is concentrated within the Engineering and Construction sector as well as the Energy sector, especially the companies working on green/renewable energy.
With organisations ramping up hiring plans for talent with the experience and skill sets in ESG-related areas, Torrens advises that companies be more flexible when assessing candidates.
“Given the relative lack of maturity of the ESG sector compared with markets like the US or Europe, organisations are working with a very limited pool of qualified talent domestically. Fortunately, we’re seeing greater flexibility in the way organisations approach hiring ESG talent and the search for a suitable skills match. More organisations are also investing in upskilling staff and enhancing internal mobility, for instance, providing the opportunity for an HR employee with CSR experience to move into a role with a stronger ESG focus.”
And while organisations will be able to turn to hiring talent from overseas given the easing of talent mobility restrictions, Torrens cautions that this could present different challenges, such as the lack of Japanese fluency, and sometimes, cultural understanding and adaptability. To mitigate these challenges, services like Hays Global Link helps to connect organisations with overseas returnee candidates, who bring a wealth of international experience with them.
“There is no doubt that sustainability initiatives are far from a flash in the pan. ESG is here to stay, and the quicker companies adapt their business models to it, the faster they’ll be able to reap the rewards – not just on a thriving bottom line, but also in knowing that the company is making a difference and improving the world we live in.”
An overview of ESG trends is below:
- Demand for ESG talent is accelerating in the Engineering and Construction, and Green/Renewable Energy sectors.
- Consulting firms are growing rapidly as more companies look for insight and support on ESG-led strategies.
- Marketing and public/media relations departments in larger, international companies that operate in sectors that are in the spotlight are also beginning to include ESG experience in role requirements.
- The ‘Environmental’ pillar has undoubtedly been the priority in business decision-making. These positive developments are concurrently spurring the acceleration of the ‘Social and ‘Governance’ pillars of ESG.
- As a result, companies are beginning to pay more attention to employee health and safety as well as well-being and performance management.
About Hays Japan
Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays Japan"), established in Tokyo in 2001, is one of the largest foreign recruitment companies in Japan with three offices across the country (Head Office, Osaka and Yokohama).
At Hays Japan, our experts provide professional services across the private sector, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles, temporary assignments, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and IT solutions in the following 15 specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Finance Technology, Digital Technology, Marketing & Digital, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Office Professionals, Property, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain and Manufacturing. This ensures a highly focused, fully tailored Specialist Recruitment Service, enabling us to power the world of work by serving thousands of companies and candidates in Japan.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2021 the Group employed c.12,100 staff operating from 254 offices across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2021:
– the Group reported net fees of £918.1 million and operating profit of £95.1 million;
– the Group placed around 60,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary roles;
– 17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 22% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 61% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 39% of net fees;
– Technology is the Group’s largest specialism, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (14%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest
Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays Japan"), established in Tokyo in 2001, is one of the largest foreign recruitment companies in Japan with three offices across the country (Head Office, Osaka and Yokohama).
At Hays Japan, our experts provide professional services across the private sector, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles, temporary assignments, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and IT solutions in the following 15 specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Finance Technology, Digital Technology, Marketing & Digital, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Office Professionals, Property, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain and Manufacturing. This ensures a highly focused, fully tailored Specialist Recruitment Service, enabling us to power the world of work by serving thousands of companies and candidates in Japan.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2021 the Group employed c.12,100 staff operating from 254 offices across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2021:
– the Group reported net fees of £918.1 million and operating profit of £95.1 million;
– the Group placed around 60,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary roles;
– 17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 22% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 61% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 39% of net fees;
– Technology is the Group’s largest specialism, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (14%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest
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