By Judith Atieno
It is striking how preferences evolve across generations. Up until the early 2000s, most young people entering the job market aspired to work for multinationals, widely seen, and often correctly, as the fastest route to high earnings and upward mobility. In that context, the social or environmental impact of these organizations mattered far less than the promise of financial success.
Since then, priorities have shifted, with greater access to education and the internet exposing younger generations to new ideas about sustainability and purpose. Today, many graduates are actively seeking employers that demonstrate a clear commitment to environmental stewardship and the wellbeing of communities in which they operate.
A study of 6,000 workers by KPMG found that 45 percent of 18–24-year-olds research a company’s ESG credentials during their job search, with many willing to turn down offers from firms lacking strong sustainability records. Similarly, Deloitte reports that nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials have already changed, or plan to change, jobs due to concerns about their employer’s environmental impact.
While these surveys were conducted outside Africa, generational preferences are increasingly converging globally, driven by digital connectivity. This is evident in the growing participation of young people in corporate-led initiatives such as tree planting, ocean cleanups, blood drives and community empowerment programs, initiatives that previously drew less interest. Every year, starting 2023, Minet Kenya has been planting trees in different public lands, targeting a total of 500,000 trees by 2030. With each passing year, it takes a lot less effort to have teams participate in the exercise that has so far seen 46,000 trees planted in Kiambu county. For me, this experience has allowed me to reflect on how quickly society is embracing a shared sense of responsibility for the protection and restoration of the environment.
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This shift in mind-set is beginning to shape the expectations of institutions and the role they play in addressing environmental challenges. Corporates and manufacturers sit at the center of both the problem and opportunity. Globally, industrial activity is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation. The manufacturing sector alone accounts for roughly a quarter of global CO₂ emissions when direct fuel use and electricity consumption are combined, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Including upstream supply chains like raw material extraction, processing, packaging and transport, makes the footprint becomes even larger, extending well beyond factory gates.
The World Bank also estimates that industrial wastewater and effluents contribute significantly to global water pollution, with around 80-95 percent of wastewater in developing countries discharged untreated into ecosystems. This has direct consequences for public health and biodiversity, especially in urbanizing economies where regulatory capacity is often limited. Additionally, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports that just about 100 large corporations account for over 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, the scale of corporate influence also means the private sector holds a disproportionate share of the solution. This implies that targeted action within a few hundred companies can materially shift global outcomes. Against such realities, a growing number of firms are now embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks into their core operations, driven by shifting consumer expectations, and, of course, regulatory pressure. This is increasingly visible in supply chain transformation with major manufacturers committing to net-zero targets, investing in renewable energy and redesigning logistics networks, amongst other actions that reduce carbon intensity. Indeed, global supply chain decarbonization initiatives are pushing suppliers, many of them in emerging markets, to adopt cleaner production methods or risk exclusion from international procurement systems.
In this context, corporate initiatives such as tree planting and community environmental programs may appear less impactful, but they are only part of the broader transition. Their true value lies in signalling and scaling, helping normalise environmental responsibility across value chains while building the partnerships and behaviours needed for more systemic change over time.
The writer is the Customer Experience & Relationship Manager at Minet Kenya
