Portuguese companies do not have the necessary talent to implement ESG strategies – Governance
In Portugal, more than 8 out of 10 organizations (82%) have already identified and developed their ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy or plan to do so. However, 91% of them lack the necessary talent to implement these goals, reveals a new study carried out by ManPowerGroup with 40,700 companies from 41 countries and territories.
The study’The search for ESG talent” (The demand for ESG talent) concludes that, to respond to the shortage of talent related to ESG, 45% of companies in Portugal intend to recruit new professionals. On the other hand, 41% intend to give new skills (up-skill) to their worker and 24% depend add new ESG responsibilities to their team’s current roles, with 23% still relying on external consultants in the field.
With regard to the areas for which companies intend to recruit, governance is mentioned by 38% of national employers, environment by 35% and social impact by 33%.
The study also says that, in Portugal, the main focus of ESG programs is centered on social impact (36%) and less frequently is related to corporate governance issues (10%). While the most common focus is on social impact, organizations have very similar hiring priorities for governance (38%), environmental (35%) and social (33%) areas.
However, three of the top five most sought-after ESG roles in 2023 are applied to environmental impact. Namely, 68% of inquiries at national level refer to loads related to the environment, health and safety, 44% to corporate sustainability and 38% to recycling or waste management. To the list of the most cited functions, they also join those with a social impact, such as those related to health and well-being and diversity and inclusion, chosen by 49% and 35% of employers, respectively. Finally, in governance, the positions relate to ethics and compliance and cybersecurity, both referred to by 24% of companies.
Globally, 78% of organizations have already identified and developed their ESG strategy or are planning to do so. But here the percentage of companies that lack the talent needed to implement their goals rises to 94%. According to the global analysis, 52% of companies are also investing in skills conversion and 39% intend to add new ESG responsibilities to their professionals. In turn, the number of those who intend to recruit is 41%.
This data indicates that, for the most part, organizations intend to choose to build talent internally and believe that ESG initiatives can be carried out by their current teams.
Rui Teixeira, Country Manager at ManpowerGroup Portugal, points out that organizations are expected to “greater attention and resources directed towards environmental action, social impact and governance, which is reflected in the need for change and adaptation of the workforce itself” .
According to the International Labor Organization, the implementation of the Paris Agreement could mean the creation of up to 18 million jobs by 2030, “since it demonstrates the need to find and qualify talent to respond to plans to reduce the environmental impact of companies, either internally or externally to organizations”, adds Rui Teixeira.
The study also says that entities in Portugal are increasingly concerned about this issue, with only 6% of companies not intending to launch an ESG strategy and not having defined objectives, a figure lower than the global figure (11%).
In Portugal, large companies are the most advanced in this topic, with 21% having already developed strategies and included ESG progress in their annual report and 52% having identified and calculated ESG objectives.