The skills behind sustainable business: What to learn, and why it matters

The skills behind sustainable business: What to learn, and why it matters

A practical look at the hard and soft skills that power real sustainability — and why they’re now essential in every organisation.

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6 min read | 26 June 2025

It’s 2025, and sustainability is no longer just a buzzword or a box to tick – it’s a strategic imperative. It’s simply good business. 

Companies that invest in sustainable practices not only help the environment but can also build long-term resilience, enhance their brand reputation, and unlock some serious cost savings. According to one DNV report, for example, 40% of businesses have seen revenue growth from investments in supply chain sustainability, and 34% have seen their running costs drop. Pretty good ROI, by any standard. 

Of course, to build and run a truly sustainable business, leaders and teams need a diverse set of both hard and soft skills to match. And some of these aren’t exactly obvious. From untangling environmental data to leading cultural change from the inside, the path to sustainability isn’t paved with good intentions – it’s paved with learning.

Hard Skills: The technical foundations of sustainability

Hard skills are the technical competencies you need to design and implement sustainable practices. And to measure the effects of those practices. Without them, good intentions rarely translate into real impact.

 

1. Environmental and regulatory knowledge

Understanding environmental science, compliance laws and sustainability standards like ISO 14001 or B Corp certification is essential. Especially if you’ve got your eye on C-Suite. Businesses that operate without this knowledge risk legal penalties and reputational damage. 

2. Data analysis and carbon accounting

Measuring your company’s carbon footprint, energy consumption and water usage requires solid analytical skills. Not to mention a good understanding of data science. Tools like life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon accounting software enable businesses to quantify their impact and make informed decisions. 

If you need to upskill in this area, check out RMIT Online’s data analytics shortcourses

3. Supply chain management

More than ever these days, sustainable business depends on ethical sourcing and transparent supply chains. Consumers want to know where their products come from. That means professionals need to understand logistics, procurement policies and traceability systems to ensure their products are made responsibly. This is particularly relevant if you work in historically sketchy industries like food, fashion or electronics. 

4. Green technology and innovation

Staying competitive means embracing clean technologies like solar panels, energy-efficient equipment and zero-waste manufacturing. Engineers, designers and ops managers have to stay up-to-date on innovations like biodegradable materials or closed-loop production systems to improve both sustainability and efficiency.

 

Soft Skills: Driving culture and change

Of course, hard skills are really only half the story. Think of it this way: hard skills build the infrastructure of sustainability, and soft skills are what bring it to life. If you’ve ever worked in a large organisation, you’ll know: sustainability is as much about people as it is about process.

 

1. Systems Thinking

Sustainable business leaders need to see the big picture. This is what we mean by Systems Thinking. Systems Thinking allows managers to understand how different elements – economic, social, and environmental – all join together. For example, a restaurant reducing food waste has to consider all sorts of stuff: inventory practices, menu design, employee training, supply chain procurement, and even customer behaviour and food trends. Seeing these links helps you craft holistic solutions that actually work.

2. Transparent communications 

Consumers, investors and employees increasingly expect clear comms about a company’s environmental efforts. This might be an annual ESG report, or a regular internal newsletter. The point is, if you want to make change, it needs to be done out in the open, and you need to talk about it. A lot. 

Being able to craft honest, impactful sustainability reports and marketing messages builds trust. Both inside and outside the company. Patagonia’s famous “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign is a great example. It encouraged consumers to rethink fast fashion and earned the brand some serious loyalty.

3. Leadership and change management

Change management is a whole degree in itself (literally). But that doesn’t mean it’s not something you can work on. 

Introducing sustainability often requires reshaping a company’s culture. And this means overcoming resistance, aligning diverse stakeholders, and inspiring long-term commitment. Strong leaders are the glue in this process. You can’t effect change without them. When Paul Polman was CEO of Unilever, for example, he prioritized sustainability at the highest level, linking environmental targets to business strategy and convincing shareholders it was a path to profit, not a diversion from it. 

This top-down approach is what makes sustainability stick. If employees know that management is on-board, it encourages company-wide buy-in.  

4. Empathy and ethical reasoning

When you get right down to it, sustainability is rooted in care. For people, communities and the planet. Ethical decision-making and empathy help leaders balance profit motives with social responsibility. These soft skills are vital when evaluating trade-offs, like whether to choose a cheaper supplier or a fair-trade-certified one that benefits farmers. 

And empathy doesn’t just help with sustainability. It’s good for morale and attrition, too. 

 

There have been discussions about whether empathy in a leader is  ‘nice to have’ or a strategic imperative,It turns out to be the latter. New research from Catalyst shows, ‘a clear path from senior leader and manager empathy to enhanced employee innovation and work engagement.’

 

 

- Aliza Knox

Why all this matters

Learning these hard and soft skills isn’t just about saving the environment. Although that’s arguably a good enough reason to make them a priority. 

Sustainable business practices can reduce waste, improve efficiency and open new markets. According to McKinsey, the vast majority of companies with high ESG ratings outperform the market in the medium (three to five years) and long (five to ten years) term. And even more than that, sustainability attracts talent. And it keeps that talent around. Younger workers increasingly want to work for companies whose values align with their own. And they’re more than happy to leave companies who don’t

In short, developing sustainability skills is no longer optional – it’s simply part of doing business. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a manager or a student, building this knowledge base can future-proof your career. And your company. 

26 June 2025

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aboriginal flag float-start torres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information