Skills
Why is this area important to embedding sustainability in my organisation?
An organisation's most important resource is its staff. Their knowledge and skills are vital to delivering the organisation's strategic vision. The organisations that will be most successful in embedding sustainability into their business practices will be those that equip their staff with knowledge and understanding of sustainability and its practical applications. This is sometimes called 'Capacity Building'.
A useful resource for those wishing to explore the concept of capacity building in more detail is the UNEP publication 'Capacity Building for Sustainable Development'.
Enhancing the skills of employees and the capacity of the organisation to deliver sustainability objectives requires an understanding of the material sustainability issues that employees face in their work and of the competencies they require to address these. Following this, organisations need to determine the most effective means to deliver these competencies as well as how their organisational structure and practices can support this - including through employee networks.
In brief the steps to consider are:
- identifying the needs and building on existing capacities;
- being clear about the objectives for employees and organisations;
- using a wide range of capacity building approaches;
- target the right people to build a critical mass;
- applying a training-the-trainers approach; and
- embedding capacity building programmes at all levels.
These steps are explored in greater detail in the UNEP's 2006 publication 'Ways to Increase the Effectiveness of Capacity Building for Sustainable Development'.
the capacity to learn, and to keep on learning , is an essential feature of sustainable development. Without learning we cannot move on from previous modes of living and working and hence cannot capture the opportunity of sustainable development. We would like to see skills development, both formal and informal, recognised as a key factor in building a sustainable economy (i.e. one that produces prosperity and opportunity for all without exceeding environmental limits) and the skills of sustainable development viewed as the central priority of skills policy, and as a critical goal of organisations.
Sustainable Development Commission
How can staff be equipped with sustainability skills?
There are different means to equip staff with sustainability competences. Key among them is formal training. Other important approaches include mentorship programmes, within the organisation or with other organisations such as charities addressing specific sustainability issues and secondments or other short-term assignments on relevant sustainability projects.
There are various approaches that could be considered when providing sustainability training, including the following.
- Basic training which can be delivered by a number of channels, including short sessions as part of induction courses addressing sustainability in general terms, how it relates to the organisation and what is expected of all staff in relation to sustainability. Some organisations go further than this and develop stand-alone sustainability courses open to, and sometimes compulsory for, all staff.
- Specialised training for sustainability professionals. There are a large number of organisations that provide this type of training, some of which offer the opportunity to acquire professional qualifications. To explore some of these in more detail, see the Key considerations page.
- Training aimed at staff in particular business areas, such as policy-making, procurement or finance or those who come across sustainability issues regularly.
- Training for senior officials and executives aimed at helping them identify strategic opportunities and explore what it means to run a sustainable organisation.
A case study demonstrating how a food manufacturing company improved knowledge of sustainability within its workforce can be accessed here.