Sustainability in Motion Podcast – Episode 08: Sustainability Training
Hosts:
- Matt Orsagh, Chief Content Officer at ED4S
- Maria Maisuradze, CEO at ED4S
- Guest: Terry Thornton, Founder of Educate Ethos ESG
Episode Overview:
In this episode, Matt and Maria are joined by Terry Thornton, a seasoned sustainability educator and founder of Educate Ethos ESG. They discuss the importance of sustainability training, the evolving motivations behind it, and how organizations can better equip their employees to meet growing ESG demands. Terry shares insights on how companies can shift from reactive compliance to proactive, impact-driven sustainability strategies.
Key Takeaways:
-
Shift from Compliance to Impact:
- Terry highlights the changing landscape: what began as a compliance checkbox is evolving as more companies recognize the strategic value of sustainability. However, many are still motivated by minimal compliance rather than maximizing ESG impact, leading to ineffective, generalized training.
-
Tailored, Role-Specific Training:
- To drive real change, sustainability training must be relevant to each role. From IT to finance, employees need context-specific ESG knowledge to see value in the training and to apply it effectively in their daily work.
-
The Business Case for Sustainability Training:
- Effective ESG training provides ROI through enhanced innovation, cost savings, and reputation management. However, it’s essential that companies track the impact and integrate sustainability into performance metrics to realize these benefits.
-
Integrating Sustainability into Company Culture:
- Embedding sustainability into company culture, rather than treating it as a separate topic, is crucial. Existing systems like performance evaluations, onboarding, and regular training sessions should incorporate ESG goals to encourage a seamless shift.
-
The Role of AI in Sustainability Training:
- The rise of generative AI has set new expectations for on-demand, personalized training. Companies must leverage existing tools efficiently and consider AI-driven solutions to keep up with dynamic ESG developments and deliver real-time, relevant content.
Conclusion:
Sustainability training is essential for navigating today’s evolving ESG demands. Companies need to move beyond compliance, develop role-specific training, and embed ESG into the organizational fabric to create meaningful change.
