A third of 18- to 24-year-olds have rejected a job offer based on the prospective employers' environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in favor of more environmentally friendly roles — fueling a growing trend dubbed "climate quitting" by KPMG.

The consultancy giant published the results of a survey of 6,000 U.K. adult office workers, students, apprentices and those who have left higher education in the past six months, which found that almost half — 46 percent — of those quizzed want the company they work for to demonstrate green credentials.

KMPG found that "climate quitting" is being driven by millennial and Gen Z job seekers who are attaching increased weight to the environmental performance of potential employers when considering new roles.

Overall, one-in five-respondents to the survey revealed they had turned down an offer from a firm whose ESG commitments were not consistent with their values, but the share of those rejecting jobs from companies with weak ESG credentials rose to one-in-three for 18- to 24-year-olds.

However, the survey revealed significant numbers of employees are assessing employers' ESG performance when considering new roles, regardless of age.

It is the younger generations that will see the greater impacts if we fail to reach [global climate] targets, so it is unsurprising that this, and other interrelated ESG considerations, are front of mind for many.

Over half of 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds said they valued ESG commitments from their employer, while 48 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds said the same.

Moreover, 30 percent of respondents said they had researched a company's ESG credentials when job hunting, rising to 45 percent am