The environment is becoming increasingly important to businesses across all industries.
The impact of climate change, pollution and waste can no longer be ignored. All have real and lasting consequences not only for people’s quality of life, but for the survival of businesses themselves.
It is no longer prudent for CEOs to ignore the need to become more sustainable and limit the amount of harm being done to the environment through business activities.
Key Points:
- Green skills can help businesses and boost your career prospects
- New green jobs are being created across many industries to meet the challenges posed by climate change
- IEMA courses can upskill your workforce to meet the environmental challenges of today and those of tomorrow
What help is available for businesses?
Many businesses these days make grand gestures and pledges claiming to help the environment. But so many have been found to be examples of greenwashing.
Making changes which have a genuine impact on the environment can be costly, as businesses will need to review their processes and potentially find alternative sources of energy or raw materials.
However, such investment of time and money can ultimately be beneficial to a business, provided it is done efficiently. For example, employee engagement, reputation and competition all benefit the bottom line.
Find out where the problems lie
A good start is to carry out an environmental audit. This will find out where the problems are and generate ideas to find potential solutions. Follow-ups will also provide proof of return on investment (ROI) which can be shared company-wide to justify spending and change.
Engage employees
Employee engagement is one of the most effective ways of making sustainability a priority within a business. But this must be used to transform goodwill into real achievement which brings additional benefits to the business.
Training
A great way to achieve this is through upskilling staff to meet environmental objectives. At TSW, we have a range of IEMA courses available for all levels of staff, to help businesses meet the challenges posed by the environment.
Each course equips learners with knowledge of compliance surrounding environmental skills, the risks your business may encounter without adequate environmental credentials and the techniques and strategies you can apply at a strategic or operational level to achieve environmental goals and solve problems relating to poor sustainability.
For businesses, IEMA qualifications signal a profitable green transition and a positive push towards net zero. This equips the company with efficient, green processes and an environmentally resilient strategy. It also gives you knowledge of existing legislation and compliance, as well as preparing the business for any changes.
Our IEMA courses include:
How can green skills boost your career prospects?
As well as employees being encouraged to gain green skills to help their company, such courses also provide great career opportunities.
Having skills and qualifications that are not yet widely found in the workplace will make you a strong candidate for many roles. Even if the role you’re applying for isn’t specifically geared to the environment, the fact that you can help galvanise support among your colleagues for sustainability initiatives and have the knowledge to advise on policy are very desirable assets. Having rare skills that many others don’t will also mean that you can negotiate a better salary.
Green skills will also help you to apply for more senior roles. Such knowledge and experience is becoming increasingly important for businesses, making them stand out from their competitors.
What sort of skills will you learn through an IEMA course?
An IEMA course will equip you with the knowledge to:
- Position your business to win additional tenders through more aligned compliance
- Deliver practical change by streamlining processes, making the business more efficient
- Identify problems and find solutions
- Lead your colleagues to help future-proof the business
- Create new policies, taking into account legislation and governance
- Collect and critically analyse data and report information to inform decision making
- Communicate environmental principles to stakeholders at all levels
- Implement change and transformation
As well as employees being encouraged to gain green skills to help their company, such courses also provide great sustainable career opportunities.
Read more: Equipping the new generation with green skills
What industries are green skills most useful?
The attention being given to environmental concerns means that a range of new green jobs are being created in all sorts of industries which are geared to reducing environmental harm.
#1. Construction
Designing and building future homes, public buildings and infrastructure now requires a greater knowledge of environmental issues. Green skills are being taught to both those entering the industry and existing workers.
From materials to waste management, each stage and process is constantly being reviewed. This aims not only to reduce environmental harm, but also to find ways to actually benefit the environment, such as planting more trees and including more green spaces within developments.
#2. Farming
The levels of greenhouse gasses in agriculture and particularly protein production are well known to be among the highest of all industries.
Farmers and producers are under increasing pressure to alter their processes, such as the production of animal feed, to decrease emissions. This involves other industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, which is tasked with sourcing alternatives and creating greener products that cut the amount of harm being done to the environment.
#3. Fashion
Our modern passion for cheaper disposable fashion, usually manufactured and transported from poorer countries on the other side of the world has an obvious negative impact on the environment.
However, as consumers have been made increasingly aware of the effects of fast fashion, some measures have been taken to reduce waste and operate more sustainably.
There is a greater need within the industry for designers to source materials and opt for transport and production processes that minimise carbon footprint.
Here are just some of the green skill career opportunities that will be available in the future.
What are the benefits to your business?
By upskilling yourself and your employees, your business could benefit from a happier workforce, contributing to green initiatives, as well as opportunities to attract new talent seeking an ethical career path.
Your customers will ultimately be more satisfied with choosing your company, as they will be indirectly helping to reduce climate change by supporting your business.
Listen to our training experts discuss how your business can become more sustainable, in our green skills podcast
