Energy cost savings is a clear, measurable benefit of installing and using the Automated Logic (AL) WebCTRL® system from ACES, a benefit now more accurately and easily measured with AL’s new Energy Reports. However, the system can also help businesses in a completely different area: Attracting and retaining employees.

Consider the “Triple bottom line” (TBL): People, Planet and Profits. Created by author, advisor and entrepreneur John Elkington in 1994, TBL is a business accounting framework that, in his words, “(Goes) beyond the traditional measures of profits, ROI and shareholder value to include environmental and social dimensions.”

A recent article published in Smart Company (June 2019) makes a compelling case in the connection between a company’s commitment to TBL or responsible environmental practices and its workforce.

• “While stable employment and regular paychecks may have been the hallmarks of a ‘good job’ in the past, these days employees are seeking out principled companies. In fact, a global survey conducted by LinkedIn in 2016 revealed that 74% of candidates want a job where they feel like their work matters.”

• The benefits of sustainability in the workplace aren’t limited to attracting employees either – two separate studies have shown that a sense of purpose at work plays a big role in retaining top talent, too.

• Research conducted in 2011 by the Society for Human Resource Management found that morale was 55% better in companies with strong sustainability programs and employee loyalty was 38% better. And, according to a 2013 study by the University of California Los Angeles, companies that adopted environmental standards experienced a 16% increase in productivity.

Harvard Business Review in 2017 pointed specifically to the important Millennial workforce: “… Organizational values are important to workers, particularly Millennials, who will make up half the global workforce by 2020. A 2015 Morgan Stanley study found that Millennials are up to three times as likely to want to work for (and buy from) companies that share their values and manage environmental and social issues well.”

“As ACES’ energy engineer, most of my efforts are focused on helping our customers optimize the WebCTRL system and it’s reporting capabilities to maximize energy efficiency,” said Adam Rustige. “Secondary benefits of our product, such as employee attraction and retention, are more difficult to quantify, but nonetheless contribute to the overall value of working with ACES and Automated Logic.”