Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Plugging the Green Skills Gap with Empathy, Compassion and Connectedness to Nature

Abstract

This chapter investigates the ‘green skills gap’ as economies move towards net zero emissions. Building on the work of Moon, Walmsley, Apostolopoulos, and Zollo (2020), the author identifies critical skills needed in the green economy to ensure that current skills gaps identified by the International Labour Organization (2018) are bridged. However, the ILO (2018) report predominantly refers to macro level changes in society as economies transition to carbon neutrality (job destruction, job creation and job reallocation). There is little evidence of detailed action plans nor their implementation and the ILO report concludes that skills development programmes are yet to be mainstreamed in policy discussions. This chapter thus highlights the green skills needed, identifies some of the barriers preventing economies from mainstreaming such skills development programmes into policy and provides recommendations for governments, enterprises and universities in the short to medium term. The chapter includes a review of global progress in developing skills for a greener future (ILO, 2019) but focusses on implications for European policy in particular.

Citation

Moon, C. (2021), "Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: Plugging the Green Skills Gap with Empathy, Compassion and Connectedness to Nature", Apostolopoulos, N., Chalvatzis, K. and Liargovas, P. (Ed.) Entrepreneurship, Institutional Framework and Support Mechanisms in the EU, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 177-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-982-320211017