This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 20, 2023 - March 26, 2023

The shortage of ESG talent is a common complaint among industry players. The HSBC Sustainable Finance and Investing Survey 2021, for instance, found that over 40% of institutional investors in Asia feel they are being held back from investing more in ESG talent because of this problem.

They want talent that understands the ESG reporting criteria as set by rating agencies, regulators and other parties. They also want talent that can calculate the company’s carbon footprint and generate strategies to reduce emissions. In addition, this talent is expected to draft human rights policies and other strategic documents for the company.

Other than hiring ESG practitioners or relying on consultants, one method that some companies are adopting is upskilling its existing workforce. Online learning platforms such as Coursera are taking advantage of this trend to offer the necessary tools and resources.

Coursera, which was founded just over a decade ago, has about 113 million users on its platform.

Raghav Gupta, Coursera’s Asia-Pacific managing director, says: “A lot of the work we are doing with employers is, first, saying there isn’t enough understanding of the green skills that a business professional should have, depending on the role and the industry.”

Coursera works with companies to identify the relevant courses that its employees can take. According to Raghav, there are about 120 such courses on the platform.

In Malaysia, Coursera works with companies such as Axiata Group Bhd and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, as well as universities such as Wawasan Open University and government agencies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corp.

“Companies are looking to measure the impact of ESG, so how can you collect data related to ESG? How you interpret it and how you bring out the insights are important,” says Raghav.

“Communication skills are relevant for ESG professionals because you must drive change to get your stakeholders and senior leaders to commit to ESG practices. Fundamental skills such as collaboration, problem solving, creative thinking and the ability to think in the context of ESG are important as well.”

The courses on the platform are produced by renowned universities and institutional bodies. For instance, the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania has four courses on ESG: tackling ESG risks and opportunities; investor perspective; ESG and climate change; and ESG and social activism.

There is also a course on sustainable development by former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and a course called “From Climate Science to Action” by the World Bank Group.

Giving employees access to these courses allows them to become multidisciplinary practitioners, says Raghav. The healthcare, pharmaceutical, banking, technology and energy sectors are increasingly moving towards sustainability, so it becomes necessary for these professionals also to have knowledge about ESG.

“You will see an environmental economist as opposed to just an economist. A person like this could work in a variety of industries that are relevant from an environmental standpoint,” says Raghav.

“You’ll see, along with multidisciplinary skills, which any economist would need, [the possession of] core knowledge about environmental compliance, sustainability principles and data analytics.”

Raghav says an ESG Academy on Coursera is in the pipeline. He also hopes for more universities to launch their own courses in this area.

“As we continue to pick up market signals [on demand for ESG content], we will ramp up on the kind of content that we’re able to bring to both companies and campuses,” he says.

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