Navigating the green transition – a toolkit for developing key skills in organisations

The real green skills are those that enable workers and leaders to instigate and manage meaningful change. As global demands intensify around environmental viability, digital evolution, and socio-political stability, Finnish (and other) organisations face a unique opportunity to lead by developing skills that match this era. The Green Skills Radar – Directions and Tools for Developing Green Competence in Organizations is a toolkit that provides timely insights, practical tools, and a fresh framework for embedding green skills into strategic leadership and day-to-day operations, offering a roadmap for sustained adaptability and competitive advantage. Moreover, it addresses the underexplored pathway that green skills offer for a sustainability transition.

At its heart, the Green Skills Radar delivers a call to action: Finnish organisations must view the green transition as more than a compliance or CSR exercise. It is a strategic priority that touches every layer of the organisation, from operational frameworks to culture and leadership. By identifying actionable starting points and providing structured tools, the Green Skills Radar supports organisations in breaking down this complexity, making the transition both manageable and impactful. 

Redefining green skills: moving beyond technical expertise

The core message of the toolkit is that green skills are often misunderstood and narrowly defined. Traditionally seen as technical competencies or “sustainability knowledge,” green skills are, in fact, multifaceted, integrating value and community-centric perspectives. This expanded view encompasses essential transformative change-management skills, highlighting the urgency for Finnish organisations to cultivate capabilities that promote collaboration, adaptability, and a forward-thinking approach to problem-solving.

The Green Skills Radar provides a structured analysis of green skills in four parts:

1. Overview of the green transition, setting the broader context.
2. Tools for identifying opportunities and challenges in green transition, including horizon scanning and SWOT analysis.
3. Tools for analysing existing competencies and skill gaps, including a framework for skill needs assessment.
4. Development canvas, designed to guide organisations through sustainable skill building.

By offering a comprehensive toolkit, the Green Skills Radar lays the foundation for integrating green skills directly into strategic leadership.

Recommendations for Green Skill development

The toolkit outlines specific recommendations to support Finnish organisations in adopting green skills at a systemic level.

Recommendation 1. Cultivating a transformative mindset is the number one green skill every organisation needs across all levels

Effective green transitions rely on more than isolated sustainability efforts; they require an organisational culture that values questioning the status quo and developing sustainable solutions. Leadership must actively build an environment where transformativeional skills can grow, empowering individuals to drive impactful change within and outside their organisation.  

Recommendation 2. Invest in future-oriented (anticipatory) skill development 

As the green economy evolves, so must the workforce and the organisations that host it. Continuous education and reskilling initiatives ensure that employees develop and sustain forward-facing skills, stay up to date, helping organisations stay competitive while contributing to a sustainable economy.

Recommendation 3. Utilise existing talent

Many organisations overlook the potential within their current teams. Conducting thorough skills assessments can reveal hidden strengths and competencies, aligning them with future goals and reducing the need to rely solely on external expertise.

Recommendation 4. Focus on transformative green skills 

Transitions are about adaptability and agency. Developing skills that enable people to lead and adapt to change such as collaboration, leadership in uncertainty, and sustainable practices will equip teams to navigate the complexity of ongoing changes effectively. 

A message from us

This toolkit offers one of the first practical tools to guide the strategic growth of green skills. The tools—especially the maturity assessment—should be tested and refined further, as the surveys produce purely self-assessment data . Gathering insights from sustainability certificates or external training might be helpful in creating a clearer picture of the organisation’s current green skills situation. 

It’s also crucial to recognise how skill and competency development ties into broader, transformative change for organisations. Ultimately, the sustainability transition is not just about technical skills, but also about developing employees’ ability to respond to future changes and lead transformation in their own field.