The State of eLearning in Sustainability 2025
How Swedish organisations train on sustainability and ESG - from regulatory pressure to genuine engagement.
Executive Summary
Sustainability training is the fastest-growing segment in eLearning in Sweden. The drivers are clear: the CSRD directive, increasing demands from customers and investors, and a generation of employees who expect their employer to take sustainability seriously.
But our research shows that most organisations are still in an early phase:
- **Regulatory pressure drives adoption** - CSRD and the taxonomy regulation force training, but risk turning it into yet another compliance exercise - **Lack of industry-specific content** - generic sustainability courses lack the depth needed to change behaviour - **Great potential in visual storytelling** - complex value chains and climate impact become understandable through animation
Background
CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) takes effect gradually from 2024 and affects thousands of Swedish companies. The requirement for sustainability reporting also implies an implicit requirement that employees understand what sustainability means in their daily work.
[AWAITING DATA - Statistics on CSRD impact on Swedish companies, interview quotes]
The challenge is that sustainability is a broad concept spanning from carbon calculations to social responsibility. Most organisations struggle with determining where the line is for what employees need to know.
Current State
## What exists today
Sustainability training via eLearning is still relatively new. Among the organisations we interviewed, the picture looks like this:
- About half have some form of digital sustainability training - Most use generic courses from external providers - In-house content is uncommon but has increased significantly in the past two years - Training is rarely mandatory (unlike IT security)
[AWAITING DATA - Detailed breakdown and specific examples]
## Wide variation in maturity
There is a marked difference between organisations driven by regulatory requirements ("we must report") and those who see sustainability as a strategic advantage ("we want our employees to understand our purpose"). The latter group is in the minority but growing rapidly.
The Biggest Obstacles
## 1. Complexity
Sustainability is genuinely hard to explain. Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, the taxonomy regulation, ESRS standards - the terminology can scare employees away before they have even started.
What Works
Despite the challenges, some organisations have found good approaches:
- **Visual explanations of value chains** - animated walkthroughs of how a product affects the environment from raw material to recycling make abstract knowledge concrete. - **Role-specific modules** - a buyer needs different knowledge than a production manager. Generic courses miss this. - **Connection to action** - training that leads to concrete actions ("how to reduce plastic consumption in your department") engages more than purely theoretical content. - **Stories from the business** - video interviews with colleagues sharing how they work with sustainability in their role.