It is irresponsible to suggest that HR directors should buy and drive an expensive, flashy car (Have a Rant… HR star in an unreasonably priced car, Personnel Today, 3 July).
HR directors may have an ego – as your ranter suggested last week (‘The ego has landed’, Personnel Today, 10 July), but is it really necessary for them to display their egotistical credentials in a car that damages the environment?
Anyone who has watched Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth, or recently attended or watched the Live Earth concert cannot ignore the impact of global warming.
HR is the core division in any business able to persuade senior-level management how the business can become carbon neutral. Recycling, carbon offsetting programmes, bike pools, sensor lighting, green cars such as the Toyota Prius in company car pools, and video conferencing can all contribute to reducing the impact on the planet.
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I urge HR directors to check out eco-friendly cars, as more stylish models become available, and to endorse the fact that being environmentally friendly today is more stylish than driving a car with polluting exhaust fumes.
Many individuals are doing their bit by recycling and ensuring that electrical appliances are not left on standby, etc, This does have an impact, but this effort needs to be supported and steered by business.
