Top global companies are having a hard time placing recruits in areas with high levels of air and water pollution, a new report says. According to CNN, CEOs are beginning to realize the importance of a clean and healthy environment for retaining the world’s top recruits.

According to Edward Monser, the president of Emerson, prospective employees are becoming less likely to accept job offers in cities with high levels of pollution. “When we talk to new executives, and they go home and talk to their family, the first thing they want to understand is: Is the air and water going to be clean or not?” said Monser.

Even more important than factors like job satisfaction and schools is the level of contaminants in the surrounding environment. Potential employees want to know if their new location poses a long-term health risk for them and their families.

Emerson is an American multinational corporation that produces goods around the world, but it’s not the only company that has reported having trouble finding good talent in polluted regions. In a joint survey last year released by Bain & Company and the American Chamber of Commerce in China, nearly 53 percent of Chinese firms reported that they were having trouble filling executive roles.

Pollution is not limited to China, however. In the rapidly expanding economy of India, the city of Delhi has become one of the most polluted in the world. In polluted countries everywhere, companies are learning the hard way that people don’t want to work in areas that could put their health at risk.

“As we move people around the world, there is a scar that’s out there, and that’s the people that we sent to China who were exposed to pollution, and their children who were exposed to pollution,” said Monser.

A recent study just found that air pollution alone is responsible for millions of deaths in growing economies like China and India, so fears of pollution are not unreasonable. Companies that can offer employees a safe and healthy environment will likely have the upper hand in finding new talent until pollution is reduced or mitigated in various regions.