Development of a Green Competency Matrix Based on Civil Servants’ Perception of Sustainable Development Expertise

Abstract

This paper analysed the responses of 242 civil servants collected during a survey for public authorities personnel with management or executive responsibilities. The survey focused on the perception of respondents regarding the key competencies and the utility of the sustainability development expert occupation (SDE). Based on the assumption that the responses were influenced by multiple factors, the impact of perceptual theory, agency theory and sustainability theory calibrated the analysis of the collected data. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the received responses and multinominal logistic regression with a single dichotomous variable (Regulation Awareness) and several continuous predictor variables (Specialization, Knowledge, Attributions and Competence) was employed to determine to what extent the SDE occupation would contribute to the implementation of sustainable development policies. This paper argues that the ‘green’ competency matrix appropriate for the implementation of sustainable development policies should include executive, compliance promoting, ethical and reporting competencies. The creation of a green competency matrix is an important step toward changing the organisational culture of the public or private sectors to achieve sustainable and reliable development. This research can help organizations and public authorities understand where their efforts should be focused to efficiently incorporate sustainability development into their systems.