I know, too many people are using the word ‘sustainability’ and you perhaps are tired of hearing it.
*presents another article on sustainability*
Readers right now – ***Aggressive eye roll***
But trust me, you’ll have good reason to stick around once you are done reading this.
Careers in sustainability aren’t just charity work anymore. Gone is the time when companies used to hire one person to look after the ‘CSR’ activities only as a mode of meeting the regulations. The Covid- 19 pandemic has made it very evident that business as usual would mean going out of business in the future. It has shown the world that things can be done differently and done better. Take a look at why you should start considering a career in sustainability.
1. Exponential Growth
Perhaps the only field where demand for related job roles grew by 468% in India itself during the three years of global pandemic, while companies were laying-off employees as a measure to cut costs. According to the LinkedIn Global Green Skills Report 2022, while job postings for green skills across the globe grew by 8% annually for the last five years, the share of green talent only grew by 6%, indicating a gap between supply and demand. This is a huge opportunity for workers.
2. Broad Space
Sustainability can be applicable to almost everything. You can work in sub-fields such as ESG reporting and Impact and Life Cycle Assessment, with a consulting firm or within a company – in procurement and logistics (sustainable supply chains is a hot topic), or as corporate sustainability officer, in strategy etc. – or if you are more of an independent worker, you can provide freelance marketing and communication services to existing green businesses, since transparency in operations is at the forefront of any business claiming to be sustainable. I could keep going on and on about this, but so that we don’t completely deviate from the main topic, I’ll cover this in another article.
3. Improved Average Salary
You’d be lying if you said you weren’t waiting for this part. As per Ambition Box and Glassdoor the average salary of a Sustainability Manager in India is Rs. 15-20LPA base. However, these are just for job roles with ‘sustainability’ in their titles. One should remember, jobs in this field don’t necessarily always go by that title. If you work in strategy or procurement combined with your knowledge about this domain, your base is likely to be higher than this. Additionally, salaries of Chief Sustainability Officers can range anywhere from 45LPA- 100LPA + . This is likely to keep growing as it becomes a more sought after field in the near future.
4. Remote Working Opportunities
Many remote working opportunities are available in this field and one can certainly apply globally. Countries such as UK and US and in the European Union, enough job opportunities are available in this domain and open for practitioners worldwide. India too is catching up at a fast pace, ranking amongst the top 25 countries with the highest number of sectors with green skills in 2022.
5. Fulfilling
Working in this sector can be extremely fulfilling and rewarding for some people. Knowing that your work is making companies, governments and individuals change their usual ways of doing things into something that is better for the Earth, can be gratifying. Gone is the time when you had to choose another job just because the ones in this field don’t pay enough. So go on, let your purpose lead you.
6. Huge potential for innovation
There is an increased risk of climate change on businesses now more than ever. Every sector faces these risks and companies have to find ways and means of mitigating them. Resources that are finite in nature but essential for use, such as fossil fuels, are depleting at an alarming rate. Companies can’t depend on just them anymore. Processes need to be adapted accordingly. Here is where the opportunities lie. The government has already announced various initiatives both at the Central and State levels including an initial capital outlay of Rs 19,744 crores for the Green Hydrogen mission, action plans with countries such as Denmark, financial aids for startups with environmental solutions and more. Take a look at these Impact Businesses, you maybe inspired to start your own.
As entrepreneurs and innovators across the country tap into these opportunities, more jobs will be created, share of green talent in the industries will rise and so will the incentives.
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