The aim is to integrate business and sustainability
The recruitment firm ManpowerGroup applied to join the Future-Proof Business programme because the company wanted to integrate corporate responsibility more effectively into its business operations and development. This proved successful, as the programme provided ideas and themes that the company is now taking forward.
ManpowerGroup’s global sustainability programme is built on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and is guided by, amongst other things, science-based climate targets, ethical business guidelines and other key policies and commitments. Concrete sustainability work is carried out both globally and locally.
“Here in Finland, sustainability has been defined as part of our governance – that is, as a function separate from our business operations. Our sustainability work has largely consisted of reporting to Ecovadi and, prior to that, to Green Office. We wanted to change this. The opportunity to apply for the Future-Proof Business Programme came at just the right time from our perspective: we had reached a point where we wanted to broaden our understanding of what sustainability means to us,” explains Henna Karjalainen, Head of Marketing and Communications at ManpowerGroup.
In addition to Henna Karjalainen, Minna-Stina Korpela, Managing Director of the company’s operations in Finland and the Baltics, and Pekka Ruotsalainen, Business Director, took part in the programme’s first workshops, which will help to ensure that development measures continue once the programme has ended.
Thinking forward is needed, even in a challenging market situation
For ManpowerGroup, forward-thinking is familiar and second nature, as the company carries out a great deal of research into the future of work. Nevertheless, forward thinking remains a challenge, particularly now that the market situation is uncertain and Finland is grappling with the EU’s most severe unemployment crisis.
“ManpowerGroup thrives on organisations growing and recruiting. An uncertain market forces us to focus on the present, particularly here in Finland. Our global organisation carries out excellent corporate social responsibility work across a range of sectors, which provides us with outstanding support for our local work,” reflects Henna Karjalainen.
The programme brought a fresh perspective to the work
Henna Karjalainen considers the programme’s greatest benefit to be the fact that ManpowerGroup gained an external perspective on its sustainability work. This was provided both by the ESG maturity analysis carried out at the start of the programme to assess the company’s sustainability performance, and by discussions with representatives from other companies.
“The programme is, of course, future-focused: its timeframe is 20–25 years. The long-term visioning was inspiring! However, we also gained concrete short-term themes and ideas that we are now setting out to develop,” says Henna Karjalainen.
The programme’s facilitators – Third Rock’s experts – did not offer the participants ready-made solutions. They helped the companies identify key conflicts between their current business model and planetary sustainability, but it was up to the participants themselves to develop the steps towards change. Henna Karjalainen considers the method to be effective.
“I found it meaningful that we, the participants, were able to work through the issues ourselves, supported by the tools we were given. We were guided to find the answers ourselves. This is a modern approach.”
Sari Kuvaja