Employees across the Asia Pacific want greater representation in their companies' sustainability initiatives. However, the majority feel disengaged from their companies' environmental and social agenda, according to a new report from JLL Asia Pacific.

According to the report 'Sustainability in the built environment: An employee perspective,' seven in 10 employees believe that sustainability initiatives are a must for businesses today. Meanwhile, 75% expect their companies to follow sustainable business practices, creating implications for talent attraction and retention. In addition, 50% of employees expressed a desire to contribute to their organisation's sustainability agenda to meet future carbon reduction targets, and identified the real estate industry as a major catalyst for carbon reduction. 

However, the majority of the employees are unaware of their employers’ sustainability commitments. For example, 65% are not aware of their companies’  carbon reduction goals while 60% said their companies do not involve them in green initiatives. 

With employees passionate about sustainability and eager to make a difference, businesses can promote engagement by involving workers in their sustainability agenda, JLL concludes. 

Three in every five employees believe that sustainability is a key factor for engaging the workforce. This means business leaders must create opportunities for employees to participate in corporate sustainability efforts. 

In the past few years, the business community has witnessed employees playing active roles in the worldwide initiatives to curb the challenges of climate change. Employees from global organisations such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, among others, have taken part in strikes and marches to raise awareness of climate change. 

The JLL report highlights the gap between the expectations of employees and the actions of employers towards sustainability in the APAC region. However, employers must take action to reduce ambiguity, and must collaborate with employees to promote more green initiatives.