Among the most important factors for today’s job seekers is the opportunity to contribute to a company that cares about the environment.
Nearly two-thirds of college students polled by Handshake, an online job site, said they would be more likely to apply for a job at a sustainable business, while three out of five said they would avoid working for a company they thought was bad for the environment.
Where then, can people in New York look for performances with a green twist? Here we will examine the top three-state employers.
Fernish
The “second-cycle” revolution has begun. More than a million pounds of furniture have been diverted from landfills thanks to Fernish, a furniture rental company founded in 2017. What is the company’s raison d’etre? In an effort to lessen the annual waste of nearly 10 million tonnes of furniture (yikes).
To recruit and retain top talent, Fernish relies on its core values.
CEO and co-founder of Fernish Michael Barlow noted that “recruiting is always a challenge,”, especially for a young company seeking engineers. The fact that we care so much about the environment has set us apart.
There’s a misconception, he said, that people in the tech industry don’t care about saving the planet. Our accounting and product development teams gather information about how our products affect the environment, and our buying and selling teams look for more environmentally friendly options. Everyone in our organization is committed to and excited about the work they do.
Brightest
More than 400 organizations around the world rely on the software that this Brooklyn firm creates to help them comply with local, state, and international environmental laws and reduce their environmental footprint and impact.
Chris Bolman, Brightest’s co-founder, and CEO has stated, “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for companies, universities, and governments to make informed decisions about their emissions, energy usage, water consumption, waste generation, and other key environmental aspects in their day-to-day operations.”
Brightest came out in 2018 to help companies improve their supply chains and reduce the damage they do to the environment. This, in turn, aids businesses in speeding up their eco-friendly transformation. Furthermore, Bolman emphasized, “We are carbon-neutral as a company and reinvest a percentage of our revenue in forest conservation, natural habitat restoration, and carbon-capture projects.”
For every job opening at Brightest, the company receives over a hundred applications from “candidates from elite universities and top tech and consulting firms because they feel like we’re a place where their work really matters, and they recognize that sustainability is one of the best industries to build a career in right now.”
Kencko
Kencko uses the catchphrase “Ready to shake up the food system?” to win over potential employees.
Founded in 2016 by Tomás Froes and with offices in Brooklyn and Lisbon, this rapidly expanding business is looking for people like you to join its 100-person team.
They have achieved the status of “B Corporation,” a designation given to businesses that make social and environmental responsibility central to their operations. B-corporations are businesses that voluntarily follow a set of guidelines, such as engaging in charitable giving and using responsible supply chain practices.
Froes explained that while nearly half of the world’s fresh fruits and vegetables go to waste each year, kencko’s process helps reduce food waste by preserving the nutrients of fresh produce in a shelf-stable form. The business also offsets all shipping emissions and uses compostable packaging.
Froes, Kencko’s Chief People Officer and B-Corp certifying partner, said that surveys show that “employees say that the mission-led approach is a key reason why they join and stay.”
Sunnking
Since its founding in 2000, this firm’s primary mission has been environmental protection. Brockport, New York, is home to Sunnking, the first R2-certified electronics recycler in the state (a global standard for responsible electronics recycling practices).
The organization helps businesses create and implement corporate sustainability programs. It also holds free, large-scale recycling events all over the state, including in New York City.
“Our team processes more than 25 million pounds of electronics annually,” said Adam Shine, president of Sunnking. Technicians at the company refurbish old or broken electronics with new or salvaged components obtained during the electronics dismantling phase of recycling. These refurbished devices are then sold at a reduced price.
This group actually follows their own advice. Our company adheres to a strict ‘no-waste’ policy. Shine was proud that his company was the first in New York to start a recycling program for batteries and that all of the company’s office and warehouse equipment came from recycling or being fixed up.
Returnity
According to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, parcel volume may reach 303 billion units by 2026. This would produce enough cardboard in the United States to build a mile-wide highway from New York City to Los Angeles and back three times.
This is one of the motivations behind the 2016 launch of Returnity in Brooklyn. The goal of Returnity, a company that makes reusable shipping and delivery packaging, is a 95% return rate on all packaging.
For retailers like Walmart, Happy Returns, Rent the Runway, and others, Returnity CEO Mike Newman says, “We design, manufacture, and implement reuse systems that replace cardboard boxes and plastic bags.” Up to now, their packaging options have been used for over a million monthly shipments, with each package surviving twenty or more reuses.
Jeff Schwartz, Returnity’s director of operations, joined the company because he believed in its purpose. States are passing new laws against single-use plastic, and businesses will need vendors like Returnity to adapt. Returnity has been growing rapidly over the past year, and now they are supporting more use cases related to grocery stores, making this a great time to join.
