Every job is a sustainability job: what skills and knowledge are needed for the green transition?

On Skills and Education Day at COP28, UKGBC outlines its vision of a built environment industry in which all stakeholders are equipped with the skills and knowledge to deliver climate action

8 Dec, 2023

Blog

The climate crisis is a huge, complex problem, and it won’t be solved by sustainability experts alone. To enact widescale change, we need each and every person in our sector to develop the sustainability skills needed to play a key role in the transition to our net zero future.

Here at UKGBC, we have a vision of a built environment sector in which every job is a sustainability job. We have a vision of a workforce across industry that is equipped to deliver a net zero, climate resilient and regenerative built environment, and we’re on a mission to make it happen.

The climate and nature crises are bearing down on us. On both a local and global scale, we are seeing the impacts play out in real time, with extreme weather events due to become more frequent and intense without large scale change.

We know that the built environment has a major role to play; it’s the largest source of carbon emissions in the UK after surface transport. We also know that we have the technical and design solutions needed for systemic decarbonisation and many in our industry stand ready to act. Despite this, we are falling short of the emissions reductions needed to meet our net zero target and the built environment must now work together to reduce emissions twice as fast as we have been to get back on track by 2025.

The climate crisis is a huge, complex problem, and it won’t be solved by sustainability experts alone. To enact widescale change, we need each and every person in our sector to develop the sustainability skills needed to play a key role in the transition to our net zero future.

Today, on Skills and Education Day at COP28, upskilling the workforce with the knowledge to drive sustainable outcomes is front and centre as world leaders and industry representatives call for greater investment in sustainability skills.

Sustainability skills

What do we mean by sustainability skills? These vary from person to person, but fundamentally we mean the core skills needed to deliver action. These range from technical skills such as renewable energy procurement and assessing embodied carbon on projects to softer skills like advocating for sustainability up and down the supply chain and the key leadership skills needed to drive change and embed sustainability in organisations.

Demand for green skills is significant, with almost one-third of all jobs advertised in the UK last year requiring at least one green skill. The pay off of investing in upskilling is clear, with majority of organisations seeing a ROI for green training within one year.

Closing the activation gap

Sustainability learning holds many challenges. For lots of people, sustainability is an extra thing to do in their already busy jobs and lives, and learning about it is yet another thing to do.

That doesn’t mean people don’t know or care – they really do. 75% of adults in Great Britain said they were worried about the impact of climate change, according to the ONS.

But knowing isn’t enough. Knowing about an issue and being aware of the various solutions doesn’t automatically lead to action. This is what’s called the activation gap.

At UKGBC, we’re rolling out a learning portfolio that will close the activation gap and empower our industry to take action.

How are we going to do that? Based on research, we know that people learn best through discussion and doing. Our learning will build on that, providing a space for collaborative and practical upskilling.

UKGBCs Learning and Leadership

UKGBC’s Learning and Leadership portfolio is here to help you go from knowing to doing to leading; from seeing and understanding the challenge to delivering climate action in your organisation and sector wide change.

Know

UKGBC’s introductory learning raises awareness of core sustainability concepts and provides a perfect jumping off point for those who don’t work in sustainability day-to-day but wish to develop a solid foundation of knowledge, with resources meeting varied learning styles.

Through a range of practical learning programmes and masterclasses, our portfolio offers the opportunity to build on these sustainability foundations and bring to life these concepts with case studies, expert guidance and interactive and collaborative activities to apply learnings and support the delivery of sustainable building.

Lead

Lastly, our sustainability leadership courses equip leaders with the knowledge and skills to champion sustainability and lead transformational change, with programmes suited to all career stages.

UKGBC’s learning is for everyone, regardless of seniority of sustainability expertise. From soft to technical skills, our portfolio is geared towards empowering everyone in our industry to take bold climate action. Make your job a sustainability job.

Learning & Leadership

Explore UKGBC’s diverse and comprehensive Learning and Leadership portfolio with a range of opportunities to raise awareness, deepen sustainability knowledge and build skills.

Learn more