Without someone to design strategies for resource conservation, there would be a lot more waste in our world. Chief sustainability officers play a critical role in setting and meeting goals to reduce such waste. Like many executive officers, chief sustainability officers supervise workers and projects. These leaders have a special focus on using technical expertise to balance environmental responsibility with stakeholder interests. Chief sustainability officers must consider many factors in their planning efforts, including recycling, pollution reduction, energy usage, waste elimination, transportation, sustainability education, and building design. To meet goals and governmental regulations, they must also measure the success of their initiatives, and communicate the results for reports and presentations. Most positions require graduate school, although some may be obtained with a bachelor’s degree. Knowledge of business and management, as well as sustainability practices, is needed. Certifications in environmental management and sustainability are a plus. Since the chief sustainability officer is often the point-person for large, dynamic, and time-sensitive projects, they tend to work 40 hours per week, or more. These professionals work tirelessly to merge business practicality and long-term sustainability for a brighter, cleaner world.
What they do:
Communicate and coordinate with management, shareholders, customers, and employees to address sustainability issues. Enact or oversee a corporate sustainability strategy.
On the job, you would:
Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs.
Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.
Develop, or oversee the development of, sustainability evaluation or monitoring systems.
Arts and Humanities
English language
Business
management
customer service
Safety and Government
law and government
Communications
multimedia
Basic Skills
thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
writing things for co-workers or customers
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Verbal
communicate by writing
communicate by speaking
Ideas and Logic
come up with lots of ideas
create new and original ideas
People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
Leadership
Initiative
Cooperation
Persistence
Integrity
Analytical Thinking
You might use software like this on the job:
Electronic mail software
Email software
Microsoft Outlook
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Microsoft Dynamics GP
SAP business and customer relations management software
master's degree or bachelor's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
$179,520
$60,300
$208,000+
You might like a career in one of these industries:
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