The Future of Work: Building the Green Economy
Dear SAWA community,
When May began, we saw a wave of reflections across our networks marking International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day. It’s a moment to recognise the people and labour systems, as well as their rights, that shape our economies and societies.
While its significance to our field may not be as obvious during initial reflections, it got us thinking about something we don’t always say out loud in sustainability spaces: achieving a sustainable future is impossible without the workers behind it.
Behind every transition we speak about, whether energy, food, finance, infrastructure, and so on, is people. Engineers are designing renewable grids, farmers are adapting to changing climates, policy advisors are shaping regulation, waste workers are keeping cities function, and a growing number of professionals - including many of us - are navigating what “green jobs” even means in practice.
Globally, and particularly across MENA, we are witnessing a labour landscape in flux, with new roles emerging faster than they are being defined and traditional sectors shifting under climate and economic pressures.
With these questions in mind, this month, we’re reflecting on the future of work and how we can functionally build our green economy. We hope you enjoy it, and please do get in touch if you have any thoughts on the topic.
Until next time,
The SAWA team
P.S.,
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🌍 Dates / Events to Watch
May 22: International Day for Biological Diversity
Each month, we spotlight a global or regional environmental date that resonates with SAWA’s mission.
Observed each year on May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of biodiversity issues and promote actions to protect ecosystems and species worldwide. The date marks the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, a global agreement that set the foundation for how countries conserve biodiversity, use natural resources sustainably, and share their benefits more equitably.
Each year, the day is shaped around a specific theme, often focusing on the links between biodiversity and broader global challenges such as climate change, food systems, and development. It serves as a reminder that biodiversity is not only about protecting wildlife, but about maintaining the systems that sustain economies and everyday life. This year’s theme, “Be Part of the Plan,” calls for collective action across governments, businesses, and individuals to implement global biodiversity goals and translate them into real, on-the-ground change.
As we reflect on moments like Labour Day, which centres on workers' rights, this day offers a parallel perspective: thinking about how we also work for the systems that support us, as they are closely related to the workers’ rights. Biodiversity is often treated as something external, yet it underpins everything from agriculture to urban life.
Across regions like MENA, pressures such as water scarcity, land degradation, and climate change are making this relationship more visible. Protecting biodiversity is not separate from how we live and work; it is part of the same system.
How you can engage this month:
• Learn about biodiversity challenges in your region • Support conservation or nature-based initiatives • Spend time in and reconnect with natural environments
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🗞️What We’re Reading: Building Sustainability Careers in MENA
This month, we’re reading recent thought leadership from IE University on the evolving landscape of sustainability careers across MENA.
The analysis highlights a clear shift: sustainability roles are no longer confined to standalone terms, but are increasingly embedded within core business functions across fields. As a result, demand is growing across a wide range of roles, including renewable energy, ESG governance, climate analytics, sustainable finance, and resource management.
In MENA, this growth is closely tied to national priorities. Economic diversification strategies, large-scale infrastructure projects, and more, are all shaping long-term demand for sustainability professionals across the region.
One key takeaway is that sustainability careers are becoming less about niche expertise and more about the ability to operate across systems. As sustainability becomes part of how organisations function, roles are increasingly focused on implementation and translating strategy into practice.
Read the full thought leadership piece here.
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💡Community and/or Innovation Spotlights: [NAME]
This month, we’re sharing programmes to keep on your radar if you’re interested in longer term opportunities to upskill as part of a cohort:
Masdar’s Y4S programme:
Masdar’s WiSER programme: https://masdar.ae/en/strategic-global-initiatives/wiser
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💼 Careers Corner
In this corner, you’ll find a monthly roundup of impact-driven roles, opportunities and practical advice from the region and its diaspora:
Jobs on the SAWA Radar:
EMEA
Research Assistant - School of Engineering, Infrastructure and Sustainability (Dubai, UAE)
EY Parthenon Strategy Senior - Energy, Industrials and Sustainability (Amman, Jordan)
Senior Transport Planner - Public Transport Master Plan (Lusail, Qatar)
Senior Associate, Sustainability - General Atlantic (London, UK)
AMER
Corporate Sustainability Consultant - Guidehouse (New York, US)
Sustainability Coordinator - The State University of New York (New York, US)
Have a tip you’d like to share with the community? We’d love to hear it! Fill out this form to share more.
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🎧 What We’re Listening To / Learning/ Reading
https://atmos.earth/climate-solutions/what-if-the-economy-was-modeled-after-ecology/
What If the Economy Was Modeled After Ecology?
By Christine Ro
In this piece for Atmos, former JPMorgan Chase executive John Fullerton reflects on the moment he realised that “exponential economic growth was going to break our finite planet”.
Since leaving finance, Fullerton has focused on regenerative economics: the idea that economies should behave less like machines optimised for endless output, and more like living systems that prioritise balance, resilience, and long-term health. Drawing from ecological principles, he argues that businesses and institutions should be designed around the same regenerative patterns that sustain life itself.
One of his sharpest critiques is aimed at our fixation on GDP. Rather than measuring success purely through growth, Fullerton suggests thinking more like a farmer: asking what keeps the “soil” of the economy healthy over time. In ecological systems, growth is never linear forever; when systems reach their limits, energy is released and recycled into something new, much like compost nourishing future life.
The piece also highlights the Mondragon Corporation cooperatives in northern Spain, which emerged from the economic hardship following the Spanish Civil War. Today, the network generates billions in annual turnover while operating as a worker-owned ecosystem, where businesses function collectively rather than as isolated competitors.
There is a lot packed into the argument, and Fullerton himself admits to having a complicated relationship with capitalism. Whether regenerative economics can scale beyond smaller systems and into the broader global economy remains an open question. Still, the ideas are difficult to dismiss outright: ambitious, idealistic, and surprisingly practical in places. If nothing else, it leaves you reconsidering what “growth” is actually supposed to mean.
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📚Language of Environmental Justice
Each month, we spotlight a key term to help build shared understanding around intersectional sustainability.
May’s Term: Green Skills Gap
As we push to accelerate toward a more sustainable economy, there is often talk of a gap between sustainability expertise and the availability of people equipped to meet it. Often referred to as the “Green Skills Gap”, this imbalance reflects broader systems issues that need a workforce to deliver the targets that governments and companies are setting.
Your initial thought reading that may have been: “wait, that’s a technical, education, training, or workforce planning term - not an environmental justice term!” But, it’s deeply connected to questions of equity and access when you consider: who has the opportunity to develop these skills? Which regions or communities are being invested in? Who risks being excluded from emerging opportunities in the green economy?
In MENA, where youth populations are large and labour markets are under pressure, the green skills gap presents both a challenge and opportunity. Bridging it could support not only sustainability goals, but also build long-term economic resilience and employment pathways. However, doing so will require coordination across education systems, policy, and private sectors.
As we reflect on the future of work this month, we invite you to consider (and share!):
What skills are becoming more valuable in your field, and why?
How accessible are opportunities to develop these skills in your context?
Read more about the green skills gap here.
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📱 Stay Connected with SAWA
Stay connected with updates, opportunities, networking, events and more on our LinkedIn, Instagram and website.
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💚 Thank You
We hope you enjoyed our thoughts and recommendations on how sustainability transitions are not only shaped by innovation, policy, finance, and so on, but also by people.
The future of work in a green economy is still being defined. It’s being shaped in so many different spaces. Some of us will have experienced this in our classrooms while at school or in training programmes at work, some of us may be doing the ‘shaping’ in boardrooms or government strategy calls. All of us, we’re sure, are also navigating the day-to-day decisions of individuals navigating their own careers in a changing world.
At SAWA, we believe conversations around uncertainty and figuring out the ‘link’ need to happen together. Thank you for being part of this community, and for your own role in helping us all shape a more sustainable future.
With gratitude,
The SAWA team