Edtech companies like Coursera, Emeritus, UpGrad, and Terra.do are seeing high enrollment rates in courses related to ESG reporting, climate technology, carbon accounting, life cycle analysis, etc. There is also a growing trend of engineers wanting to learn about the technologies being used in the climate technology industry or product managers learning how to reduce the emissions of their digital products.
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While learners are typically early- to mid-career professionals looking to transition into sustainability work, there is also significant demand from senior leaders who are now required to have a powerful understanding of ESG and sustainability issues to lead responsible actions, making decisions and shaping business strategies.
An IBM and Morning Consult survey found that 82% of Indian business leaders would seek green and sustainability technology skills by the end of 2024, highlighting that the future of work requires a combination of technical, green and multidisciplinary skills.
Emeritus has integrated ESG and sustainability in business into its senior executive programs for senior leaders and is seeing its student enrollment quadruple.
Institutes such as IIMs Kozhikode and Lucknow and the Indian School of Business consider these modules vital in their programs for CEOs, CTOs, CHROs and CFOs, said retired CEO Ashwin Damera. “We are also seeing particular interest in sustainability leadership training from senior executives at gigantic financial services firms.”
On Coursera, Indian enrollment in environmental science and sustainability courses is at 14% year-on-year.
“This reflects students’ desire to move into in-demand careers, contribute to the betterment of the environment and society, and support India’s sustainability revolution,” said Raghav Gupta, Coursera managing director for India and Asia-Pacific.
The edtech platform is seeing particularly powerful growth in courses on solar energy, electric vehicles and mobility, global environmental management and renewable energy technologies, he said.
According to data provided by job site Indeed, job postings for ESG-related positions increased by 128% from March 2023 to March 2024.
Looking at expansion
Edtech platforms want to provide more courses on sustainability innovation, the circular economy and the environmental and social impact of business.
Climate education platform Terra.do, which offers 16 courses on environmental literacy and sustainability, plans to double the number of courses in these areas by the end of the year.
“We see great interest in carbon accounting courses, climate software stacks and decarbonization energy. We have seen our student base double in six months as people look to upskill in the emerging ESG space,” said founder Anshuman Bapna.
According to a report by Microsoft and Boston Consulting Group, two-thirds of all people working in sustainability do not have the appropriate skills or training to do so.
ESG is one of the areas in which UpGrad’s enterprise division is in high demand, and its leadership studio, UpGrad Harappa, equips CXOs on key boardroom topics. The company is also exploring the links between ESG and technology trends and opportunities to upskill its talent at various levels, said UpGrad Enterprise CEO Srikanth Iyengar.
