The Ethics of Innovation: How Climate Tech Startups Can Appeal to Values-Driven Talent
In a world where the call for environmental action echoes through every part of society, climate tech startups find themselves leading a revolution. Yet, as they set out to reshape industries often seen as the bad guys in our environmental story, these innovative companies face a challenge as complex as the problems they're trying to solve. This challenge shows up most clearly when they're trying to hire talent, particularly now that the vast majority of the workforce is deeply environmentally conscious. This was a recurring theme among founders and CEOs at a variety of the climate tech events I went to this week at Climate Week NYC.
According to Deloitte Global’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 55% of Gen Z employees and 54% of millennials say they research a company’s environmental impact and policies before accepting a job from them. These generations are also rejecting jobs en masse in environmentally destructive industries like mining — which includes everything from the metals for new batteries to the raw materials for solar power. In fact, nearly half (45%) of workers surveyed in these generations have already left a job, or plan to, over climate concerns.
This heightened environmental consciousness among the workforce creates a paradoxical situation for climate tech founders operating innovative startups that seek to transform traditionally "dirty" industries. The very mission that drives climate tech startups trying to overhaul climate-destructive industries can both attract and push away the bright minds they need to succeed.
The Climate Tech Paradox — Working with the "Enemy"
At the heart of this dilemma is an uncomfortable truth: to change industries that are harmful to the environment, climate tech companies must sometimes work with them directly. This partnership, crucial for making real change, creates a tension that can be hard to resolve, especially for potential hires who see these industries as environmental villains.
Imagine a startup developing new ways to ensure that mining rare earth elements is more sustainable, or doesn’t pollute the surrounding communities. Their work is vital for the future of renewable energy, yet they're tied to an industry with a long history of environmental damage and human rights abuses. This scenario, repeated in variations across the climate tech landscape, creates a mental conflict for many potential employees. They struggle to match their personal values with the seeming compromises of working alongside controversial industries.
Changing the Story: From Compromise to Catalyst
The challenge for climate tech leaders, then, is not just about inventing new technology. It's about changing the story. It's about shifting the narrative from one of compromise to one of driving change. This shift isn't just about words; it's about fundamentally changing how we see the role of climate tech in our larger society.
Looking at insights from how societies and behaviors change, we can see this shift as a change in cultural storytelling. It's similar to the big changes we're seeing in workplace culture more broadly. Just as we're redefining what work means to prioritize human values and ethics, we need to redefine what it means to work with and change "problematic" industries.
Building a Culture of Ethical Transformation
To navigate this tricky landscape, climate tech startups need to build cultures that not only recognize the ethical challenges in their work but embrace them as central to their mission. This involves several key strategies:
Open Communication: Talking openly about the challenges and trade-offs in their work, creating an environment where ethical concerns are not just addressed but actively raised.
Values-Based Leadership: Showing a clear link between the company's mission and its daily operations, making sure ethical considerations are part of decision-making at all levels.
Empowering Employees: Creating ways for employees to meaningfully contribute to the company's ethical framework, fostering a sense of ownership and shared purpose.
Ongoing Review: Regularly checking their ethical practices and openly sharing the results, showing a commitment to constant improvement and accountability.
Shaping the Narrative: Actively working to reshape the story around their industry partnerships, highlighting how their work can drive positive change and its role in the bigger picture of environmental progress.
Troubling as it may be, we live in an imperfect world and deeply problematic industries — like mining, for example — remain central to a transition to wind, solar, geothermal, and more. (In 2022 BBC actually published a fascinating examination that imagines a world where mining suddenly stops, and in 2021 Seas at Risk published a very cool blueprint for a world without mining.) Climate tech founders working to improve the sustainability of these industries can frame their work not as a compromise, but as a critical stepping stone towards a more sustainable future.
By acknowledging the complexities and actively working to transform necessary-but-problematic industries from a place of partnership, they're not just improving current practices—they're paving the way for the radical innovations that could one day make these industries obsolete. This narrative of transformation and progress can be a powerful tool in attracting talent who want to be part of meaningful, real-world change, messy as it may be.
The Ripple Effect: Beyond the Company
The impact of this approach goes far beyond just hiring talent. By tackling these ethical challenges head-on, climate tech startups can help drive broader changes in how we think about environmental action and corporate responsibility in an ESG world.
This is similar to the worker-led movements reshaping our understanding of workplace culture. Just as those movements are laying the groundwork for a more caring and connected world, climate tech startups grappling openly with ethical dilemmas can contribute to a more nuanced and effective approach to environmental challenges.
Conclusion: Embracing the Paradox
In the end, the ethical challenges faced by climate tech startups that work adjacent to problematic industries offer a chance to model a new way of tackling complex environmental problems, one that acknowledges the messy realities of transition while keeping sight of the ultimate goal.
For potential hires, the message then becomes clear: joining a climate tech startup working to reform troubling sectors isn't about compromising your values. It's about actively engaging in the complex, often paradoxical work of real-world change. It's an invitation to be part of a story that's still being written, where the challenges are as big as the potential for impact.