Bridging the ESG skills gap

In November 2023, The Open University published a report on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) skill gap in businesses. 

Dr Victoira Hands, Director of Sustainability at The Open University, followed this up with an interview on bridging the ESG skills gap and how embedding sustainability and social impact in business operations is key to resolving this issue. 

Q: Can you elaborate on the skills gap in ESG and how businesses can bridge it?

A: The ESG skills gap is a critical challenge, with 80% of businesses acknowledging that they lack the necessary skills. The demand for ESG expertise is growing, but the supply is limited. To bridge this gap, organisations can offer on-the-job sustainability training and upskilling to their employees, which can also attract, retain and motivate staff. Beyond specific qualifications, ESG requires transferrable skills. Some such as data analysis, communication, and collaboration, can be found in most businesses. There are also five ways of working for sustainability: long-term thinking - taking into account future generations and understanding how our business decisions today can ensure we are good ancestors; involvement – ensuring equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility; collaboration – extending beyond people and organisations to systems and processes; prevention – taking a precautionary approach and preventing unintended consequences; and integration – enabling positive outcomes across organisations and places.

For a practical starting point, consider our free five-hour OpenLearn course designed to promote sustainability in business by understanding our values and beliefs and engaging businesses. Or for more in-depth learning, our 10-week, 100-hour microcredential helps learners take a big picture view and then develop an action plan to reimagine and transform an aspect of their organisation for sustainability (watch the course trailer below).

You can read the full interview with Dr Hands here.