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For Generation Z, an employer without credible sustainability is not future-proof – it is irrelevant. Anyone who still believes that a few trees in a CSR report or a green logo are sufficient is overlooking the reality: young talented individuals immediately see through greenwashing and turn away.
Studies show how consistent this attitude is. According to Deloitte (2025), almost 70% of Gen Z specifically consider a company's environmental footprint when choosing their employer. In 2023, also the StepStone Group found that over a third of employees in Germany would be willing to make financial sacrifices for a sustainable employer. For them, sustainability is not an accessory, but a decision-making criterion – often more important than salary or title.
This brings a central question to the forefront of every employer branding strategy: How can companies integrate sustainability so deeply into their employer value proposition that it convinces young talent and retains them in the long term?
Focus on Generation Z: values, mindset and expectations
Generation Z – born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s – is now entering the labour market as a defining force. It is the first generation to have grown up entirely in the digital age, shaped by social media, crises and a high density of information. For employers, this means that this generation is well-informed, networked and significantly more critical than many of its predecessors.
Studies show that, in addition to traditional factors such as salary and job security, Gen Z is particularly interested in values orientation and meaning above all else. Issues such as diversity, equal opportunities and, in particular, sustainability shape their expectations. According to Deloitte (2025), the majority of respondents attach great importance to a company's environmental responsibility when choosing a job. StepStone (2023) also shows that a large proportion of young employees in Germany would be willing to accept financial cutbacks if the company credibly represented sustainable values.
This is shifting the logic in the candidate market. While previous generations prioritised stability and career opportunities above all else, Gen Z values credibility and attitude. Employers who only communicate sustainability superficially risk accusations of greenwashing and lose talent before the application process even begins.
For companies, this means that if they want to attract Generation Z, they must take their need for meaning, authenticity and sustainability seriously. This applies not only to external communication, but to the entire employee lifecycle.
Sustainability as an employer value proposition: data & studies
Today, a strong employer value proposition (EVP) must offer more than attractive salaries or flexible working models. It answers the question of why talented individuals should choose a particular company and why they should stay there. One topic is increasingly taking centre stage: sustainability.
Several recent studies (which we have already mentioned here) clearly show how strongly this factor influences employer attractiveness. The StepStone Group found that around two-thirds of employees in Germany expect their company to make a clear commitment to sustainable practices. Almost 40% would even be willing to accept financial losses in exchange for a credible commitment to climate and environmental protection. The Deloitte study also shows that Generation Z in particular attaches great importance to a company's environmental responsibility when choosing a job – for many, it determines whether an employer is even considered.
The perspective on recruiting processes themselves goes one step further. More than 60% of Gen Z candidates expect sustainability to be visible in the application and onboarding process – from digital interviews and resource-saving travel to sustainable benefits. Employer branding that ignores this demand quickly loses credibility with young talent.
In contrast, companies that consistently integrate sustainability into their EVP gain a clear competitive advantage. At PALTRON, we have also found that it is not just the commitment itself that is decisive, but the experience of it in everyday life: climate targets, transparent progress reports and a sustainable office environment create credibility and that is exactly what applicants value.
This shows that sustainability has long since become a touchstone by which talented individuals measure the seriousness and future viability of an employer.
Green employer branding in practice
Incorporating sustainability into the employer value proposition is an important step – but what matters most is how credibly it is experienced in everyday life. Green employer branding means that sustainability is not just a message, but a visible practice – both internally and externally.
Making recruitment processes sustainable
Even during the application process, it is possible to show that sustainability is more than just a promise. Digital interviews reduce unnecessary travel, while paperless application and onboarding processes lower resource consumption and CO₂ emissions. Young candidates are keenly aware of whether such measures are in place and whether they fit with a company's values.
Offer sustainable benefits
More and more employers are replacing traditional company cars with climate-friendly alternatives: job bikes, public transport subsidies or electric pool vehicles. Regional and seasonal catering or sustainable office supplies are also gaining symbolic significance. Such benefits have a stronger impact than monetary bonuses, because they show that a company consistently lives by its values.
Making corporate culture visible
Green employer branding does not work through image campaigns. It is created in daily practice. Authenticity is demonstrated in clear guidelines on energy consumption, in projects to avoid plastic, or in initiatives in which employees themselves help shape sustainability. Our experience at PALTRON shows that an EVP is effective when values are not abstract, but can be experienced in everyday working life.
Sustainability as part of career development
Sustainability does not end with processes – it extends to human resources development. Companies that promote green skills, i.e. skills for sustainable business or CO₂ management, achieve a double effect: they strengthen the employability of their employees and anchor the topic permanently in their culture. In this way, sustainability becomes a principle rather than a project.
Employer branding thus becomes a genuine promise: Young talents experience responsibility not as a slogan, but as an attitude. Organisations that take this approach gain loyalty and stand out noticeably from their competitors.
The risk of greenwashing
Hardly anything jeopardises the trust of young talents as much as greenwashing. For Generation Z, it's not who talks loudest about sustainability that counts, but who visibly implements it. An ambitious promise without substance can do more harm than no promise at all.
This often happens not out of malice, but because communication and reality diverge. If career pages talk about climate neutrality, but no measurable progress is visible in everyday life, the impression quickly turns to incredulity. This is precisely what leads applicants to remove companies from their selection – often permanently.
Credibility comes from transparency. When companies disclose where they stand, what goals they are pursuing and where challenges still exist, trust is created. It is particularly effective to actively involve employees, for example, through internal sustainability teams, ideas competitions or volunteer programmes. As soon as employees themselves become part of the change, the topic loses any marketing flavour.
The surest way to avoid greenwashing is therefore honesty. Promise less, show more. Communicate setbacks instead of concealing them. And treat sustainability not as a PR issue, but as a learning process that is shaped collectively.
Conclusion & outlook
For Generation Z, sustainability is no longer a marginal issue, but a fixed benchmark when choosing an employer. Studies clearly show that young talents are looking for companies that take responsibility - in measurable actions throughout the entire employee lifecycle.
For the employer value proposition, this means that sustainability is not an add-on that can be arbitrarily attached to existing promises. It becomes a core component of a credible employer brand. Those who take this seriously integrate environmental responsibility into recruiting processes, benefits, culture and training – thus creating a holistic experience that convinces candidates and retains employees.
At the same time, the danger of greenwashing remains. Exaggerated promises or mere marketing campaigns without substance destroy trust faster than it can be built. Generation Z reacts to this uncompromisingly: a company that does not deliver on its promises is immediately rejected.
The task for decision-makers is therefore clear: sustainability must become a lived reality - visible, verifiable and consistent. This means communicating setbacks transparently, involving employees and openly documenting progress. Companies that take this path not only position themselves as attractive employers, but also secure long-term competitive advantages in the battle for the best talent.
In the end, one simple truth remains: The employer brand of the future will be credibly sustainable - or it will no longer be relevant to Generation Z.
Sustainability is an attitude. It determines whether talent will trust you or turn away.
👉 Would you like to understand how a strong employer value proposition develops and how you can gain real competitive advantages from it? Then talk to us. Strategically. Authentically. Future-oriented.
Sources
- BENOMIK (2025): Green Recruiting – Decarbonise and attract talent
- Deloitte (2025): Global Gen Z & Millennial Survey. Zusammenfassung bei ESG Today.
- PALTRON (2024): Sustainability in employer branding: How companies can score points with talented employees.
- StepStone Group (2023): Nachhaltigkeit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt 2023.
