If companies want to change, then people working in companies (human capital) are the ones who have to do things differently. Different from what they were used to and probably different from what they were trained for. They will have to manage, finance, invest, develop, design, manufacture, think, decide, communicate, act and work in a way that meet the circular, climate-neutral or social ambitions of their companies. Some companies have appointed a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) to support this transition.
Is that enough to speed up? In addition to the fact that only a limited number of companies have a CSO or sustainability manager who can guide this transition process, recent research by the Sustainability University Foundation has also shown that an ‘effective’ CSO who focuses on climate transition needs different skills and roles than those that focuses on projects in the circular economy.
What are the skills needed to speed up the circular transition? The interviewed sustainability professionals indicate that for the effective realization of projects in the field of circular economy, the network role is essential, while this is considered much less necessary for projects concerning climate and energy transition.
Network Role Essential for Circular Economy
