Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have, but rather a strategic necessity and business imperative. Pressure is mounting for all organizations to be more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable, with the ultimate goal of reaching a place of net-zero emissions.
Many organizations are taking note, evidenced with hiring for “green skills” growing globally by almost 40% between 2016 – 2021. A net-zero transition requires a transformation of the global economy – no small task, as McKinsey estimates that $9.2 trillion in annual average spend will be needed for physical assets by 2050. However, it is by no means insurmountable, and as Stephanie Roe, global climate and energy lead scientist at the World Wildlife Fund and a lead author of a new IPCC report, put it, “there is a really amazing role that we can play, not just as consumers, but also as professionals.”
The good news is that at Skillsoft, we’re witnessing first-hand a sharp rise in green skilling in organizations around the world. Digital learning is the driving force, both in helping to raise awareness about factors contributing to climate change and equipping workforces with the skills needed to operate in a “greener” manner. With Earth Day 2022 right around the corner, we sought to explore this further and better understand how organizations are leveraging learning to achieve more sustainable futures. After analyzing data from thousands of organizations and learners accessing Skillsoft’s learning assets related to sustainability, climate change, energy efficiency, and much more (we’ll refer to it as “green content” and “green courses” going forward), here’s what we found.
Learning – to care for our planet.
Organizations face unprecedented challenges surrounding the climate crisis and its environmental impact. To build more efficient and responsible economic and social systems, there must be a fundamental shift in beliefs and behaviors within today’s businesses. This starts at the top. For example, if a company decides to transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources, there is an impact on the entire workforce. To be successful during these moments of change, companies and the leaders within need to ensure employees are not lost or left behind and equip them with the skills needed to adapt.
Skillsoft’s new data shows that organizations have made green learning and development (L&D) a much greater priority over the last 12 months. Comparing consumption of green learning content on Skillsoft Percipio in 2021 to the year prior, we observed:
· 73% increase in organizations and 237% increase in learners accessing green content;
· 218% increase in the number of badges earned by learners upon completion of green courses;
· 134% increase in the number of searches for green content; and
· 131% increase in total number of learning hours spent on green content.
Exploring the industries that have the highest numbers of learners engaging in, and completing, green content and courses, we see a bit of a shakeup in the list compared to the previous year. Energy & utility companies jumped five spots to become #1 on the list, while government organizations surged to the #2 spot after failing to appear in the top 10 in 2020. Interestingly, we also observed IT & technology service providers fall somewhat substantially (from #2 to #8), while construction and engineering companies took the #10 spot for the first time. The latter can likely be attributed to the rise in green building practices, which reduce the overall impact of built environments on human health and nature.
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