Green Skills in E-Commerce: Promoting Climate Awareness
Green Skills are becoming increasingly important in all sectors, but in e-commerce, there is a significant and growing gap in environmental qualifications. To address this challenge, employees must develop climate-related competencies.
The e-commerce sector also faces a shortage of experts in sustainability and clean technologies to meet the rising demand across various industries. The urgency of implementing sustainable measures in companies has been emphasized by the German government’s climate goals. Officials aim to make Germany carbon-neutral by 2045. To achieve this goal, awareness and education about effective sustainability strategies within companies are essential. Already, 43% of employees in German B2B companies are among the key drivers of this transformation.
Green Skills: The Workforce as a Key to Sustainability
The first step in training is to meet employees where they are in their knowledge and guide them toward enthusiasm for the sustainable transformation. The inner change starts with employees, who shape internal processes, make critical decisions, and embody the company culture. Therefore, it is essential to equip them with the necessary climate-related competencies. This enables them to make sustainable decisions and motivates them to actively contribute to climate protection. Crucially, this motivation should be intrinsic. Only those who act out of conviction will maintain their new mindset in the long term and thus contribute to real change.
Green Agents in the Company: How Employee Training Contributes to Compliance with the CSRD Directive
Training employees to become “green agents” has wide-ranging benefits: not only does it help meet the obligations of the CSRD directive, but it also makes the company more attractive to employees who increasingly value climate and environmental protection. But what exactly does this directive entail? The Corporate Social Responsibility Directive, in effect since January 1, 2024, mandates that companies with more than 250 employees are required to report on their sustainability efforts. A workforce trained in sustainability and climate protection, and continuously developed, can significantly improve the company’s sustainability measures and help meet climate goals.
Staying Aligned with Values
Another phenomenon is “Conscious Quitting”. Employees who no longer align with their company’s values or leadership principles leave their employer on principle. However, companies can counteract this by clearly committing to sustainability and climate protection. For many job seekers and career changers, sustainability has become a key factor in their job decisions. Targeted training in this area not only strengthens the company’s profile but is also increasingly necessary to remain competitive in the talent market—a win-win situation for everyone involved.
How Do Employees Develop Climate Competencies?
Developing climate competencies in employees is a process that requires time and commitment. Individual plans and digital learning offerings make this process easier. For example, AXA Climate begins its training program with an assessment of employees’ existing knowledge, without assuming prior expertise in sustainability or climate change.
Employees are met where they are in their daily work and knowledge. This can be achieved through training sessions, workshops, and learning materials. The training should not only provide theoretical knowledge but also teach practical skills and actionable steps. In theoretical scenarios, participants must make the right decisions, which they can then apply in their real work. Particularly complex areas, such as specific aspects of climate change, are visually and didactically prepared to make them easier to understand. This way, each training program is tailored to the specific needs of the participants.
Green Skills: Motivation as the Key to Success
One of the most important aspects of the learning journey toward climate competence is the long-term, intrinsic motivation of employees. It is crucial to inspire and motivate them to actively engage in sustainability to achieve real transformation. This can be achieved through targeted communication, personal recognition, and incentives. Employees should feel that their contribution to climate protection is valued and that they can truly make a difference. The ultimate goal of the training is to bring about an internal transformation in employees. Which then extends to the entire company. This transformation means that employees make sustainable decisions not because it is expected of them, but because they believe it is the right thing to do. They should see sustainability as an integral part of their work and lives.