Building Your Green Team
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
Companies that commit to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving the sustainability of their operations usually understand that this will be a complex, years-long task. What they may not realize until they begin the process, however, is just how big a challenge it will be to find the skilled workers who can help them implement those pledges.
Globally, there are more than 3,900 companies that have announced actions to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and more than one-third of the world’s largest public companies have net-zero targets, according to the Microsoft/Boston Consulting Group report, “Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap: Helping Businesses Move from Pledges to Progress.” The November 2022 study noted that, “To meet global sustainability goals, organizations must make their operations and business models more sustainable across multiple workstreams. Every organization and company will need to fundamentally transform to significantly reduce GHG emissions and address other environmental concerns, including water, waste and ecosystems.”
One essential element in that transformation will be a workforce that recognizes the importance of achieving sustainability goals and that is equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to support their organization’s efforts to achieve them. But there are simply not enough people prepared to fill those roles today. According to Microsoft, companies and organizations “consistently identify the lack of a trained workforce and inadequate strategies to develop sustainability skills and expertise as major barriers toward progress.”
