Overall, the HR department is responsible for
ensuring that the organization possesses the right
levels and combination of art and science skills
necessary for successful implementation of strategic
sustainability, which can be achieved either through
training and development of existing employees, or
recruitment. The department should take the lead in
conducting an organization-wide review of skills
and expertise in order to identify current strengths
as well as gaps that need to be addressed, and also to
ensure that the right individuals are allocated to key
roles in the development and implementation of the
sustainability initiative.
In doing so, the department will need to
work closely with organizational leaders as well as
department heads to secure the necessary levels of
investment in training and recruitment, and the cooperation
necessary to change or modify the jobs of individuals selected for key roles in the sustainability
initiative. HR professionals will themselves need
to demonstrate strengths in science as well as art
skills in order to achieve these objectives including
the ability to accurately estimate the budget
requirements for training and recruitment and to
help build a robust business case for sustainability,
as well as the communications and negotiation
skills necessary to convince senior executives and
managers of the need for these.