Green Job Opportunities

The World Economic Forum's October report revealed that just 12% of MENA’s top 200 companies have committed to net-zero targets and only 6%, including Majid Al Futtaim, have outlined a clear roadmap to meet those targets. Collective action across the private sector is now critical for the region to meet Paris Agreement goals. To propel sustainability in MENA businesses, I recommend considering Five Shades of Green: Green Finance, Green Talent, Green Tech, Green Regulations, and Green Mindset. Let’s start with Green Finance, one of the most effective catalysts for businesses seeking to accelerate their sustainability journey. As well as unlocking new and diverse funding sources, businesses have significant incentives to deliver ESG outcomes tied to the funding. At the same time, the business’s green finance funds much-needed climate innovation. Establishing a Green Talent pipeline and training programs is particularly important in MENA. Despite the region facing significant climate threats, many of our youth remain disengaged with the topic and climate action is low. Business leaders must help reverse this trend and shape the green workforce of the future. Green Regulations provide legal frameworks and standards for the journey to net zero. Clearer parameters and better understanding of related fiscal frameworks incentivise businesses to commit to ESG targets. Investing in Green Tech is pivotal to overcoming industry challenges with decarbonisation. Identifying and scaling the right startups can deliver a greener value chain and operations long term. Cultivating a Green Mindset is the most important, because it lays the foundation for change. At Majid Al Futtaim we’ve shifted thinking at all levels to a belief in sustainability as a trade-on, not a trade-off. This means the whole business can pull in one direction to meet ESG targets. It’s my hope that many more private sector organisations follow suit.

The sustainability hiring freeze is about to break For nearly four years, senior strategy and product roles in sustainability have been vanishing. Not because companies stopped caring about ESG. Because they stopped growing. Senior sustainability hires are a leading indicator of market expansion, not moral commitment. When a company plans to launch new products, enter new markets, or scale operations, they need senior people who can build strategy and own product roadmaps. That's when they hire VPs of Sustainability, Heads of Climate Strategy, Senior Product Managers for green offerings. When companies are in survival mode? Those roles disappear. Not because sustainability became less important—because growth became impossible. We've been in that second market since late 2021. High rates. Persistent inflation. Regulatory uncertainty that made long-term investment feel like gambling. The sustainability sector got hit harder than most because we were betting on future markets while current markets were contracting. But something's shifting for 2026. Trump uncertainty is resolving—not because policy is suddenly favourable, but because the uncertainty itself is clearing. Markets hate ambiguity more than they hate bad news. Now we know what we're dealing with. More importantly: the ideology of sustainability is evolving past the point where political headwinds can kill it. The old sustainability was about values and commitments. The new sustainability is about resilience, pragmatism, and value creation. It's about supply chain security, not just emissions. Energy independence, not just renewables. Resource efficiency that shows up in margins, not just reports. The regulations everyone complained about during the downturn? They've created the infrastructure for this shift. CSRD, CBAM, SEC climate disclosure rules—they turned sustainability from nice-to-have into business-critical. Companies spent four years building compliance systems. Now they need to extract value from them. The companies that maintained investment during the freeze now have a structural advantage. They've got the systems, the data, the processes. What they need now are senior people who can turn compliance infrastructure into growth engines. If you're a senior sustainability professional, 2026 is your market. The firms that survived the contraction are about to expand. They're sitting on regulatory infrastructure that needs monetising, they're watching competitors get penalised for non-compliance, and they're seeing market opportunities in resilience and efficiency that didn't exist five years ago. The roles coming back won't look like 2020. Nobody's hiring Chief Impact Officers. They're hiring people who can build products, enter markets, and drive revenue in a world where resilience is the new growth category. The freeze is breaking. Not because values won. Because the business case finally became undeniable.

In 2025, sustainability won't sell itself. "Doing the right thing" won't get your project funded. If you're leading strategy, pitching a new line item, or defending impact budget you need a business case that speaks the language of finance, ops, and leadership. Here’s your cheat sheet. 6 proven angles to justify sustainability and real-world proof points to back them up: 💸 1. Cost Savings → Energy efficiency: Vodafone UK & Ericsson cut 5G power use by up to 33% at London sites. → Circularity: Patagonia’s Worn Wear turns repair into a revenue-positive loyalty loop. 📈 2. Revenue Growth → Trust drives sales: Compare Ethics' AI platform boosted brand revenue up to 1% through verified green claims. → Purpose = market share: Despite logo fatigue (only 4% of Brits trust them), verified sustainability builds buyer confidence. 🛡 3. Risk Reduction → Avoid fines and fallout: Align early with CSRD, ESPR, and rising global disclosure rules. → Resilience strategy: Mitigate supply chain and reputational risk before it escalates. 💡 4. Innovation Driver → Tech unlocks impact: Lufthansa, with SAP & McKinsey, cut costs and carbon by digitising spend and emissions data. → Efficiency gains: AI and automation create faster, smarter pathways to sustainability. 🤝 5. Customer & Talent Retention → Hiring edge: 1 in 10 job seekers prioritises sustainability in job descriptions. → Buyer behavior: 73% of EU consumers say environmental impact influences their purchases. 🌍 6. Capital Access → Investor alignment: 90% of global individual investors (per Morgan Stanley) want sustainability in their portfolios. Bottom line: Sustainability in 2025 isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a performance driver and your business case needs to reflect that. 🔗 Want the high-res PDF + source links in your DM? ♻️ Reshare this post to help more teams build better business cases. 👤 Follow Abbie Morris

Solar🤜🤛Jobs The latest #solar #workforce #data may excite (and surprise) you. Let’s dig in⤵️ This week, Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) released its latest Solar Jobs Census for 2023 and I wanted to share a few bits of good news and a few areas for improvement. 1) 280,000 American workers are now employed in the U.S. #solar industry, the most ever. We created 15,564 jobs last year, growing by about 6%. That’s great, but we can do even better. 2) The states with the largest solar job gains were Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. These states all have fast-growing solar markets and will all be electorally significant in November. That said, 47 out of 50 states saw solar job growth last year! So, it’s vital that our industry communicates the jobs boom occurring across the country and its impact on local communities. 3) The solar industry employs a MUCH higher proportion of Gen Z workers (31%) than the overall workforce (22%). That means we’re attracting young talent who want to work in a fast-growing, mission-driven industry. We must continue to cultivate this portion of our workforce with training and mentorship programs that set ourselves up for long-term success. 4) Rates of union membership jumped last year in the solar industry. We went from ~10% union workers to over 13%. That’s higher than the overall U.S. workforce and nearly double the private sector workforce. The IRA’s prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements have played a key role in this shift and it’s encouraging to see good policy result in good jobs. Now, the areas for improvement: 1) While solar industry has higher proportions of veteran, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino workers than the national labor force, the solar workforce still trails behind when it comes to women, Black workers, and workers with disabilities. Building a diverse and equitable workforce has been a top priority for SEIA and, while progress is happening, it’s clear that we still have work to do. 2) Hiring remains a challenge. 86% of employers surveyed said it was either very or somewhat difficult to find qualified solar workers. This isn’t just a challenge for our industry, but it speaks directly to the challenge of connecting skilled labor with eager businesses. Do you recognize the tension between these two areas for improvement? We need to double down DEIJ strategies. We need to strengthen local partnerships. We need to expand education and training programs, especially for underrepresented groups, and we need to get creative with how we recruit, hire, train, and promote. So, what do you think? How are you going to maintain this progress? How are you going to expand opportunities in our industry and welcome the equitable, diverse workforce that will power the #SolarCentury? Dive deeper into the Solar Jobs Census results on IREC’s website: https://lnkd.in/ePTSJg-g

Roadmap to integrate sustainability into business operations 🌎 Embedding sustainability requires a structured, practical approach to ensure meaningful impact. This roadmap outlines nine steps to integrate sustainability into business operations, from identifying key risks to continuous improvement. The focus is on aligning sustainability with core business goals to drive long-term value. The process begins with a materiality assessment to prioritize risks and opportunities. Once key issues are defined, businesses should formulate a clear vision and set targets and KPIs tied to performance metrics. Clear goals ensure accountability across the organization and provide a foundation for progress. Strong governance structures are essential. Companies must assign roles and responsibilities, embed sustainability into leadership agendas, and integrate practices across supply chains to reduce impacts and uphold human rights. These actions strengthen accountability and improve transparency at each step of the value chain. Employee engagement and resource allocation are key to sustaining progress. Providing training, recognizing contributions, and securing financing for sustainability projects ensures internal support and measurable returns. These efforts help embed sustainability into the organization’s culture. The final steps focus on measuring, refining, and scaling initiatives. Tracking progress through established frameworks and sharing updates increases transparency and maintains momentum. Successful initiatives can then be scaled across the business, ensuring continuous improvement and greater impact. This post is part of The Stakeholder Engagement Playbook, a bi-weekly series launched in partnership with The Sustainability Circle. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #governance

The fastest growing shift in today’s workforce isn’t remote work, AI skills or automation. It’s the rise of 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. According to the LinkedIn 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, green hiring is now growing almost 𝟐× 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 than the rate at which green talent is developing. This shows one thing clearly, sustainability has moved from a specialised function to 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. My own perspective changed when I realised that sustainability isn’t “extra work.” It is 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. Teams that think long-term make fewer mistakes. Leaders who prioritise responsibility build deeper trust. Businesses that design for resilience adapt faster than others. What’s powering this shift? 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫. Companies want people who understand compliance without slowing execution. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. Responsible decisions strengthen reputation and open new markets. 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞-𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. People want to contribute to something meaningful, not just complete tasks. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. Roles are evolving, and adaptability now starts with responsibility. There’s a quiet truth behind all of this: 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. The future will belong to professionals who make decisions with clarity, responsibility and long-term thinking. Those who learn this early won’t just stay relevant, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝. How do you see sustainability shaping the future of your own work or industry? #LinkedInGreenSkills #LinkedInNews #LinkedInNewsIndia #FutureOfWork #Leadership #WorkforceTrends #Sustainability #Cop30 #GreenerTogether

Today I have been asking myself the question: What if we're solving the wrong problem - chasing AI disruption while the real opportunity for human flourishing lies in the green economy? AI is getting all the headlines, but here's what the data actually shows: 🔹 AI impact: Creates 11M jobs, displaces 9M → Net gain: 2M jobs 🔹 Green transition: Creates 34M jobs with minimal displacement That's a 17:1 ratio in favor of green jobs. 🤯 Yet 90% of workforce discussions focus on AI disruption while climate jobs barely make the news. Why this massive disconnect? ✅ AI grabs attention - ChatGPT created immediate, visible change ✅ Green jobs seem gradual - but they're happening faster than we think ✅ Tech giants drive the narrative - while green jobs are distributed across industries ✅ 40% of employers expect AI workforce reductions - creating immediate anxiety The reality check: 1.2 billion jobs depend on healthy ecosystems Green jobs are harder to automate Climate action is literally existential Green skills show 22% growth in job postings vs 12% in available workers. Our future depends on our ability to close this gap. For professionals: While everyone's learning prompt engineering, there's a massive opportunity to apply YOUR existing skills to green roles: 🌱 Accountants → Carbon accounting & green finance 🌱 Teachers → Sustainability training & green skills education 🌱 IT professionals → Energy management systems & smart grids 🌱 Recruiters → Green talent acquisition (fastest growing field!) 🌱 Project managers → Renewable energy projects 🌱 Sales/Marketing → Clean tech & sustainable products ... and many more Maybe we should focus our upskilling efforts where the real job growth is happening? What do you think - are we chasing AI shiny objects while missing the green goldmine? Data sources: World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025, International Labour Organization, Manpower Global insights sustainability and the rise of green and turquoise jobs

The Trojan Horse approach for sustainability careers. Most sustainability professionals don't start in sustainability roles. They begin elsewhere and strategically integrate their environmental expertise into core business functions. They understand that companies are not hiring sustainability experts. They are hiring experts who think sustainably. They master essential business capabilities first, then embed sustainability thinking throughout their work. This strategic integration creates professionals who speak the language of business while advancing environmental goals, across multiple business functions. Financial Services: Analysts and bankers are incorporating climate risk modeling into investment decisions and developing innovative green financing products. Operations Management: Engineers are implementing waste reduction and circular economy principles and designs into manufacturing processes. Technology Development: Software developers are building ESG data platforms and creating automated systems for carbon tracking and reporting. Strategic Planning: Business strategists are embedding long-term environmental considerations into corporate planning frameworks. Marketing and Branding: Marketers are developing purpose-driven and sustainable brands, and focusing on stakeholder engagement and transparency. The professionals advancing in the sustainability market are those who have established credibility in core business areas while developing deep environmental expertise. This combination enables them to influence decision-making from positions of established trust and competence.

1.5°C. That’s the tipping point. Beyond that, the damage to our climate may be irreversible - and the time to act is now. The reality is stark: 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 is on track to surpass it. Consider this: the top GHG emitters - China, the U.S., and India - make up 42.6% of total emissions, while the lowest 100 contribute only 2.9%. If we fail to adapt, we risk an annual loss of 4.4% of the world’s GDP - That’s trillions lost, year after year. But it's not just governments or corporations at the helm. Every individual, every leader, every workplace decision counts. And it’s not just leaders or regulators driving this shift. Today’s workforce and consumers are demanding accountability too: ➡ 67% of job seekers want to work with environmentally responsible companies. ➡ 65% of young consumers favor brands with sustainable practices. In my four decades in HR, I’ve watched workplace culture shift - towards digital innovation, remote work, and now, sustainability. Today, I make it a priority in each of my organizations to: ✅ Embed  sustainable practices in daily operations to cut waste and lower impact ✅ Empower employees to adopt green habits, because every action counts ✅ Incentivize leaders and teams to champion sustainable initiatives Sustainability isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a workforce one, a corporate one, a human one. It’s the only path forward. What we do today defines the world we leave for our future generations tomorrow. Let’s adapt, innovate, and lead - because if we don’t, the cost isn’t just financial; it’s the future. #GreenerTogether #SustainableFuture #ClimateActionNow #GreenLeadership #WorkplaceSustainability

What’s the real key to turning ESG goals into action? Imagine you’ve just outlined your sustainability goals—maybe it’s reducing energy consumption or launching a waste management program. You’re excited, But here comes the tricky part: How do you bring that vision to life? The answer lies in crafting a clear action plan that keeps you on course. Think of it, As a map with four main markers: tasks, roles, budgets, and timelines. Each one is vital in helping your ESG strategy move from words to impact. Let’s break it down: 1. Tasks: This is where the rubber meets the road. Whether it’s creating new policies or launching employee engagement initiatives, every action must clearly contribute to your ESG goals. Without a clear list, things can get overwhelming, fast. In fact, according to a study by Deloitte, 67% of organizations struggle to align their ESG efforts with broader business objectives. Careful vetting of tasks can help avoid this pitfall. 2. Roles: Collaboration is key. No one can tackle these challenges alone. Your ESG plan should involve key players across departments—whether it's HR ensuring employee well-being, Finance integrating ESG metrics into reports, or Operations tracking energy use. By defining responsibilities clearly, you not only build accountability but also ensure everyone knows their part in the bigger picture. 3. Budgets: You need funding to make it all work. The question is, How do you budget? Should you fold ESG expenses into department budgets or create a dedicated fund? Many organizations use a hybrid approach. For instance, a real estate company might allocate funds for EV charging stations under its operations budget. Research shows that companies with dedicated ESG budgets see a 23% higher success rate in meeting their sustainability goals (McKinsey, 2023). 4. Timelines: This is where patience and planning come into play. It’s easy to overestimate what can be done in a year and underestimate what’s possible in ten. Start with a two-year timeline, then build from there. As someone who's worked on these plans, I can say the key is simple: Clarity. By focusing on specific tasks, roles, budgets, and timelines, you’ll give your ESG goals the best chance to thrive. What’s your approach to turning ideas into action? Let’s chat about it in the comments!