ESG Skills Shortage Becomes Key Challenge: Why Ukrainian Business Lacks Sustainability Professionals
Oleksiy Yatsiuk, ESG Expert at the Green Transition Office, presented key ESG trends during a December 10 presentation at the KSE campus and highlighted the critical shortage of ESG professionals, which is becoming one of the main obstacles for Ukrainian businesses on their path to European reporting standards.
According to Bloomberg, global sustainable/ESG assets exceeded $30 trillion in 2022 and are moving toward $40+ trillion by 2030. In parallel, 37 countries representing approximately 60% of global GDP have already adopted or are officially moving toward implementing ISSB standards into their regulations, which, in addition to CSRD/ESRS in the EU, effectively creates a global baseline for ESG reporting.
For Ukraine, this means entering the mainstream through alignment with CSRD/ESRS. Ukrainian businesses find themselves in the same playing field as EU companies—not just in a voluntary ESG club, but within a system of mandatory standards. In 2025, we're seeing maturity and seriousness in approaches to ESG disclosure: 96% of the world's largest top-250 companies publish non-financial or ESG reports, with 77% doing so according to GRI standards.
The full presentation on ESG trends in 2025 is available below.
Rising reporting requirements are creating an acute shortage of qualified personnel at the global level. Vacancies requiring green skills are growing nearly twice as fast as the number of people who possess these skills—approximately +9% versus +5% per year in 2018-2025 according to LinkedIn data. Workers with green skills are approximately 30% more likely to receive job offers than other candidates.
"ESG skills are becoming increasingly important in the labor market. Research shows that workers in green/ESG roles earn on average 7-8% more, and in certain sectors up to 20% more compared to similar positions without a green component," Oleksiy Yatsiuk noted during the presentation.
For Ukrainian businesses, the situation is complicated by low awareness of sustainability standards. According to research by the Green Transition Office, 77% of companies cite the lack of qualified personnel and low preparation levels among current employees as one of the main obstacles to ESG implementation. At the same time, 89% believe that training current employees would increase readiness for ESG reporting.
According to the PwC Global CSRD Survey 2024, various business functions are involved in preparing reports according to CSRD requirements: 93% of companies engage sustainability departments, 84%—ESG committees, 77%—finance departments, 73%—executive committees, and 59%—technology and IT divisions. This means ESG competencies are needed not just by a narrow circle of specialists, but by virtually all key company functions.
"To remain in European supply chains and maintain access to capital markets, Ukrainian businesses need a sustainability reporting system and professionals who understand these processes right now," the expert added.
In the US, bankers and asset managers with ESG or sustainability in their job titles have approximately 20% higher base salaries compared to colleagues without ESG skills, according to LinkedIn data. This confirms that investments in developing ESG competencies pay off not only for companies but also for the professionals themselves.
More details about the research on Ukrainian business readiness for ESG implementation can be found on the Green Transition Office website: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12XQyTNtVlQ6fCtoAUwpp-r4XgryTwUPa/view
Information about the educational program "ESG Leadership: Strategy, Ethics, Impact" is available at: https://bit.ly/3KPjurJ
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