Commercial real estate firm JLL formed a new sustainability Learning and Development (L&D) team in July 2022 to design and deliver tailored sustainability content to ensure that all of the company’s 100,000 employees have the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to help JLL achieve its ambitious sustainability goals, including achieving net zero carbon emissions across all of its occupied buildings by 2030.
Program Details
The comprehensive program focuses on key sustainability topics facing the built environment for:
- All employees: Covering general sustainability topics related to the built environment, JLL’s sustainability goals, and those of its clients.
- Sustainability service lines: Preparing professionals across JLL’s global sustainability functions to meet—and lead—market demand and expectations. This includes new graduates (JLL’s Early Careers program) and all new hires, ensuring they can hit the ground running with knowledge and skills to understand JLL’s sustainability business and integrate this into their teams and workstreams.
- Non-sustainability business lines: Upskilling and empowering core real estate teams to understand how sustainability is a growing business imperative with a significant impact on their work. This includes enhancing knowledge and instilling the confidence needed for them to embed sustainability throughout their roles and fulfill their obligations toward the achievement of JLL’s net zero goals, as well as leverage the tremendous market opportunity as JLL’s clients set their sustainability goals and plans.
The training program consists of sustainability-focused on-demand virtual learning courses, practical workshops, and accompanying resources that support the development of sustainability skills. The aim is to build broad competency for everyone, with tailored programming to onboard sustainability professionals, support sustainability managers, and create sustainability champions across all business lines.
The sustainability L&D team works with global leaders, subject matter experts (internal and external), and managers from across the company to co-create and deliver tailored content that meets the unique needs of the company’s many different business lines.
This training program goes beyond transactional, inform-only virtual learning to incorporate practical application workshops and other high-touch programming, including partnerships with learning institutions to ensure a diverse and dynamic learning program that meets learners where they are. The L&D team also seeks input from JLL’s DEI & Disability Empowerment Network to ensure inclusivity across all offerings.
The program combines high-production-value digital material with a variety of content ranging from quick, bite-sized snippets to longer, more in-depth courses and interactive online games and quizzes. Partnering with senior sponsors from each business line ensures content is up to date, reflects industry and business line-specific language and requirements, and meets the expectations and needs of learners and their managers.
The blended program combines light-touch online learning with deeper, more technical aspects and hands-on practical workshops, offering a comprehensive suite of sustainability learning modules for all employees. JLL’s Early Careers (sustainability graduate) program runs twice annually for two cohorts of graduates. The programs guide them through 150 hours of learning content and activities (self-led and live/interactive) over 12 months, covering everything from real estate fundamentals and sustainability in real estate to building their own personal brand and essential soft skills to maximize the impact of their roles.
Results
In 2022/2023, more than 45,000 JLL employees completed a total of 127,000 dedicated sustainability learning courses. Some 88 percent of global Work Dynamics employees completed sustainability training (Work Dynamics is the largest business line at JLL and includes integrated facilities management, workplace strategy, and occupancy planning). Some 63 percent of JLL’s Global Project and Development Services employees and 13 percent of global Markets and Capital Markets teams also completed sustainability training.
JLL’s sustainability programs produced a 10 percent increase in revenue in Work Dynamics.
