Retail is among the fastest-growing sectors for green skills, but a widening gap between employer demand and available talent risks slowing progress on sustainability goals across all industries, according to new research from LinkedIn.
The professional networking platform’s Global Green Skills Report 2026, published ahead of COP31, finds that the share of green hiring increased by 25% year-on-year, almost twice the 13% growth in the proportion of workers with green skills.
Retail recorded average annual growth of 14% in green skills over the past five years, placing it behind financial services, at 18%, and technology and media, at 15%. The findings highlight the growing importance of sustainability expertise across the retail sector, as businesses look to reduce environmental impacts, improve operational efficiency and manage costs amid continuing commercial pressures.
LinkedIn found workers with green skills are being hired at more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider workforce, despite a challenging jobs market. However, demand for these capabilities is outpacing supply across every industry measured, raising concerns skills shortages could constrain business growth and progress towards climate targets.
The report also underlines how green expertise is increasingly required beyond dedicated sustainability roles. Some 74% of green hires are entering positions without traditionally green job titles, reflecting the integration of environmental considerations into wider business operations.
For retailers, this trend points to the relevance of green skills across functions including procurement, supply chain management, operations and technology, rather than solely within specialist sustainability teams.
The growing intersection between artificial intelligence and sustainability is another emerging area. The proportion of data centre workers with at least one green skill more than tripled between 2021 and 2026, rising from 4% to 14%. Meanwhile, green workers with AI skills have increased by 54% annually as the technology is applied to the transition.
LinkedIn’s research also highlights challenges around access to green employment. Gen Z workers are developing green skills at an average annual rate of 17% since 2021, compared with 9% among millennials. More than half (57%) of Gen Z respondents said they would ideally like a job contributing to tackling climate change or the energy transition.
Yet 54% of Gen Z workers said they found it difficult to secure a green job, compared with 26% of millennials. Women also remain underrepresented, accounting for just three in ten workers with green skills globally. At the current rate of progress, LinkedIn estimates it will take more than 30 years to close the gender gap.
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Sue Duke, LinkedIn’s managing director for EMEA & global vice-president of public policy, said: “Green skills are no longer a niche.
“They’re how businesses build efficiency, manage risk, and stay competitive. Demand for them is now outpacing supply in every industry we measure, and that makes talent the bottleneck for progress.”
LinkedIn is calling on governments, employers and education providers to make green skills central to economic planning, expand training through courses and apprenticeships, and improve access to green jobs.
It also argues employers should focus more on candidates’ capabilities than qualifications or previous job titles, an approach that it said could expand the available green talent pool by 3.5 times.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
