Remote sustainability courses could close global skills gap, says University of Cambridge director
26 March 2025 - Unless sustainability courses are made more accessible to busy working professionals, the talent shortage will increase, putting the planet’s climate and other sustainability goals further beyond reach, says Dr Theo Hacking at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. First published by Eco-Business.
The quicker professionals are upskilled in sustainability, the better chance the planet has in tackling current and future climate challenges, says Dr Theo Hacking.
This is why sustainability education must be made more accessible, says the director of postgraduate education at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), as it will lead to more informed individuals who can drive sustainability initiatives within organisations through improved leadership ability and confidence.
“A region like Asia has huge challenges and massive opportunities. But without the right skills, it won’t be possible to address those challenges and harness those opportunities. We and other institutions within Asia and elsewhere need to ensure that the students we are producing have future-fit skills and are not only educated in traditional business leadership skills,” Hacking said.
“Traditional business skills will still be needed – but it’s also fair to say that many of those traditional skills have perhaps contributed to some of the [climate and other sustainability] challenges we are now seeing.”
CISL is an institution within the University of Cambridge that offers courses to equip individuals across various sectors – such as those in business, finance, or the government – with leadership skills that put sustainable practices at their core. It was established in 1988 and provides programmes such as executive and Master’s-level programmes, as well as customised programmes for senior executives and boards.
The institution has also been offering a nine-month Master’s-level postgraduate programme since 1998 called the Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business (PCSB), which is specifically tailored to mid-career and senior professionals and managers looking to embed sustainability within organisations. It can also serve as a stepping stone to a full master’s degree.
CISL is launching a fully online version of PCSB in September this year, allowing working professionals worldwide to attend the programme virtually.
Having more fully online postgraduate courses available – especially ones from leading institutions – will play a key role in closing the demand gap for sustainability talent globally as it provides a further incentive for busy professionals to upskill in their own time, Hacking says.
LinkedIn’s Global Climate Talent Stocktake 2024, for example, found that despite global demand for green talent increasing by 11.6 per cent from 2023 to 2024, supply grew by only 5.6 per cent.
While the report also found that demand for individuals with sustainability expertise was greatest in the United Kingdom (where 13 per cent of job roles require at least one skill), countries such as Portugal, Costa Rica, Singapore, and Luxembourg also saw growth in demand within the last two years.
Unless the supply of sustainability professionals increases, the demand gap is forecast to widen to 101.5 per cent by 2050, putting sustainability goals at risk, the survey found.
There is also a correlation between the skills shortage and potential future temperature rise. Another 2023 study by Boston Consulting Group (BGC) forecasts a shortfall of seven million workers by 2030 in the clean energy sector, which will lead to an increase of 0.1 degrees Celsius due to “delayed progress on the construction of renewable assets for clean energy,” according to the author of the BCG report.
Meanwhile, two new studies published this month in the journal Nature Climate Change indeed present increasingly concrete evidence to conclude that the planet has already breached the 1.5 degree-Celsius limit set out during the Paris Agreement in 2015 to prevent the worst of climate change.
The studies also come just weeks after the World Meteorological Organisation confirmed 2024 as the “warmest year on record” and follows warnings by James Hansen, a climate scientist, who noted that Earth is set to exceed 2 degrees of global warming in the next two decades.
In an interview with Eco-Business, Hacking discusses how CISL’s PCSB programme aims to close the green skills gap with its remote learning postgraduate courses; the need for companies to view sustainability as a business imperative and upskill staff accordingly; and why shoring up talent today will help the planet navigate the future complexities climate change will bring.
The fully online version of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business (PCSB) is due for launch in September this year. Can you first provide some background to this development and its significance?
PCSB has been running for many decades and has been only available in a hybrid format, whereby students are required to come to Cambridge for some short residential workshops.
Recently, the university has approved the delivery of postgraduate certificates in a fully online format.
At Cambridge, both CISL and other providers have offered fully online courses that have led to certificates of completion. To our knowledge, this will be the first online course that will result in a university award equivalent to a third of a master’s degree. This award can then be used as a stepping stone to continue with your studies to a full master’s degree via existing routes, although the more advanced stages beyond the online postgraduate certificate do require some residential attendance.
The online delivery comprises two stages. Firstly, students will complete a period of intensive, self-paced learning over eight weeks, and thereafter they join a second stage, where they will complete the formally assessed assignments over 10 months. During these 10 months, they will also participate in additional teaching delivered in a predominantly synchronous or real-time format.
What makes it unique compared to other sustainability programmes?
There are many sustainability programmes out there. However, we do feel that the combination of our programmes having an applied business focus and coming from one of the world’s leading universities makes our offer unique compared to some of the other opportunities available.
Could you share one example of an activity or an exercise that you assign students, and how that activity trains them to benefit a company’s sustainability?
One of the individual assignments involves identifying an important sustainability challenge or opportunity that a business is facing and can influence. This could aim to address one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Students must then undertake some analysis to determine what the organisation can and should be doing and then develop a strategic action plan that is designed to be implemented by the company being targeted. This company is often the one that the student is currently working at, thereby benefitting both the student and the organisation simultaneously.
The analysis should review the current state of play in the business and identify how best to achieve change. This is then used to formulate a plan that enables the organisation to take the necessary steps to respond to the challenge or opportunity identified. This practical output can help to make the business case for their participation in the course.
Students also undertake a group supported by a supervisor, so they have the benefit of peer exchange and peer learning and also develop the analytical and collaborative skills needed for sustainability leadership. We do hope that businesses will recognise the strategic imperative to develop these skills and to support students who are embarking on studies around sustainability. The assignments are supported by expert supervisors who guide students throughout their assessed work.
I see that the goal of the fully online Postgraduate Certificate is to expand access to sustainability education through the University of Cambridge, particularly for those who might find travelling to the United Kingdom both difficult and carbon-intensive. Can you comment on how you see the certificate impacting sustainability leadership education in both Europe and Asia?
We are aware that many candidates would like to benefit from CISL’s expertise and network by joining one of our programmes, but they are working professionals who are prevented from doing so due to their life circumstances, or perhaps their family commitments or the pressures of work.
In addition, the cost of travelling to the UK to participate in studies can be prohibitive. There’s also a growing concern regarding the impacts associated with air travel, in particular. By reducing some of these barriers with a fully online postgraduate certificate programme, students can benefit from a diverse cohort co-creating solutions to common challenges.
A LinkedIn study found that global demand for green talent has increased, with supply unable to keep up. What factors do you believe will lead to increased demand for sustainability talent in the next few decades, and why?
We believe that the growing demand for green talent is driven by businesses increasingly recognising that sustainability isn’t a luxury or “nice-to-have”, or something that can be bolted on. Rather, it is key to addressing some of the most pressing challenges that businesses are facing such as, for example, the need for increased supply chain resilience or changing consumer demand and preferences.
Companies are also seeing this as a strategic business issue and an opportunity that needs to be grasped. Those with a long-term view are, therefore, seeking to develop capacity with the leadership skills to respond to these opportunities and risks.
As a result, even though enterprises may change over time in how they are communicating this publicly, or how visible it is part of their product offering, well-run businesses are recognising that under the banner of ‘sustainability’, some of the most pressing risks and opportunities are encapsulated.
Growth in green talent hiring has also been softer in Asia over the last five years, witnessing a 30 per cent growth compared to Europe (41 per cent) and the United States (70 per cent) – despite the region being responsible for half of global carbon emissions. Why should this be a cause for concern?
Asia is a very complex and diverse locality. It’s fair to say that the region has become the manufacturing hub of the world, with many of the issues being those that need to be shared with consumers around the globe and vice versa. I would be slow to point my finger and say that the region is the problem, but Asia is indeed a critical player in many value chains and must be part of the solutions.
Asian countries are also leading the charge, especially around green technologies, where some of the biggest and strongest trends are, for example, around the adoption of solar and wind energy, and the development of electric vehicles. In many other areas, we see Asia setting the pace. But we are aware that there are many challenges – ones no different from the issues many other emerging economies and those in transition are facing.
So from a global perspective, it is essential that Asia is part of the solution and that Asia is responding aggressively to address some of these pressing issues, such as climate change, resource depletion and so on.
How would you say the role of sustainability professionals has evolved in the last decade?
Going back perhaps a decade or more, I think sustainability professionals very much saw themselves as campaigners – for lack of a better word – who had the duty to raise awareness or red flags and try to get people to notice that this is an important agenda.
I feel that we have now reached the point where among most business leaders, there is a stronger awareness of some of the critical challenges – be they social, climate change, or natural resource depletion – and the need for action.
What sustainability professionals now must do is bring about that action, and we are now in a position where businesses are trying to do many things internally. There have been some encouraging changes within businesses, but considering the scale of the challenges faced, it can seem to be somewhat incremental compared to the radical transitions that we need.
So, we need to rekindle the “campaigning spirit” of sustainability professionals and direct that more towards political leaders. Without significant transitions in the economic and political landscape, it will be difficult for businesses to remain competitive and achieve the scale of change that is needed.
While sustainability professionals continue to work very much on solutions within companies, they must also shift their attention to the progressive lobbying of political leaders and figures within wider society. This could shift the rules of the game and the landscape within which businesses operate.
What role do you believe higher education institutions should play in advancing sustainability education, particularly in regions like Asia where it is still considered an arguably peripheral topic? How will the new programme at CISL enhance the professional skills of students in addressing sustainability issues?
Educators like ourselves play a critical role in producing leaders of the future, and we need to equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and capabilities to provide the leadership that is needed to bring about the green transition and the sustainable future that we are all seeking.
Our new online postgraduate certificate aims to scale and magnify what we have already been doing for many years. However, we have only been able to accommodate students willing and able to travel to Cambridge, which has limited reach.
By offering a programme that enables people from all over the world to join remotely, we hope to have a far greater impact by reaching many more people in the localities where they are based. The programmes have always benefitted from global cohorts, so we hope that the PCSB in its online format helps to expand that reach to those who can benefit from the learning.
CISL is also enhancing the professional skills of students through our other offerings, such as our executive education programmes, which have a long-standing footprint in locations like Singapore and elsewhere in the Asia region. This online postgraduate programme is a new addition to our portfolio, which we hope will build on those foundations that have already been laid.
What should prospective students and employers keep in mind about the importance of pursuing and supporting the certificate, in light of today’s increasing climate events and challenges?
Businesses need to recognise that sustainability is a shorthand for some of the most pressing risks and opportunities that organisations are facing. Unfortunately, like with any shorthand term, there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings around what we mean by ‘sustainability’, environmental, social and governance (ESG), circular economy, and other terms being bandied about.
People may have a shallow and perhaps incorrect understanding of what they mean, which can result in them dismissing as either irrelevant or nice to have, or something that doesn’t need to be factored into core business thinking.
Our ambition is to try and get more businesses to recognise that when we talk about sustainability, we are talking about managing a business responsibly and effectively by addressing the key issues that the business needs to navigate to be successful, not only now, but also into the future.
To deliver on this, we also try to design our programmes to not only be theoretical but also provide practical insights, where we draw upon experience from best practices around the globe.
The assignments, for example, are designed to develop an action plan that can be taken back to the business, and in many instances, eventually implemented. For those reasons, we hope that many organisations will support students in their studies.
We are always heartened by many individuals who are willing to sponsor themselves to progress their careers, but for many students, it is challenging to do this entirely on their own. We do hope that businesses will recognise the strategic imperative to develop these skills and to support students who are embarking on studies around sustainability and benefit from one of the world’s leading institutions that deliver sustainability education.
Our training and leadership building is not designed to be a luxury that only a few businesses should be affording; it should be something that every business – especially ones that have a long-term vision and would like to be successful and progressive – must view as a business imperative.