Navigating the Green Jobs landscape

In response to the pressing challenges posed by climate change, businesses worldwide are embracing sustainability as a core principle to drive innovation and resilience. This shift towards eco-conscious practices should be correlated with a rise in Green Jobs - roles explicitly designed to reduce environmental impact while driving economic growth.  

Sia Partners’ study explores the gap between theoretical expectations towards Green Jobs and tangible realities in the job market. It analyzes the presence, or absence, in job offers, of green skills as defined by ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations).

The results reveal that the number of job advertisements which explicitly mention green skills is lower than expected in all countries studied (Belgium, France, United States, Netherlands, Canada). According to the OECD, in 18% of jobs worldwide, at least 10% of the tasks are dedicated to mitigating climate impact. However, our findings show that in each country, less than 10% of job offers mention such skills. 

In job adverts that are recognized as 'Green Jobs', four key skills groups represent 75% of the desired skills:  

• Renewable Energy Engineering reflects the increasing need of support in clean energy infrastructure projects such as solar and wind farms, biogas plants and the refitting of existing infrastructure to absorb such changes in the energy mix. 

• Sustainability management encompasses responsibilities related to corporate sustainability strategy, environmental awareness and enhancements of a company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. 

• Energy management includes the efficient usage of all forms of energy, hence a reduction of energy consumption and energy loss. 

• Environmental compliance encompasses understanding environmental regulations, conducting audits and reporting to regulatory authorities.  

One in three companies do not publish any Green Job advertisements worldwide. Given the breadth of skills covered by the ESCO definitions of green activities, it is unlikely that companies will not present any new job advertisements related to Green Jobs. This highlights the weight of legacy in recruitment practices and shows that companies tend to reuse outdated or generic job offers when recruiting. 

“With one in three companies not advertising any Green Jobs, our research shows that there is an urgent need for companies to revamp their hiring practices and align their strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals, globally. Many traditional jobs, such as that of project manager, now integrate green skills and activities and should be labelled as such." - Sébastien Vernède, Associate Partner HR and Transformation at Sia Partners  

To capitalize on the growing interest in Green Jobs among candidates, companies must develop effective employer branding strategies and compelling job ads. Authenticity is key, with a focus on sustainability commitments and achievements, as well as clearly defining the green skills required for each role. 

Three levers contribute to this: 

1. Defining a clear Sustainability strategy, incorporating organizational and employee perspectives;

2. Acknowledging the upcoming Human Resources challenges with a thorough examination of current and future state of the workforce through a Strategic Workforce Planning approach;

3. Reviewing Employer positioning and Recruitment practices to showcase the green dimensions of jobs roles at a company.

By aligning their strategies with the global sustainable development goals and effectively communicating their commitment, companies can address the challenges and opportunities of green hypertransformation, thus paving the way for increased awareness of everyone’s professional role in creating a sustainable future.