MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
How Will Sustainability Help with Careers in This Major?
Being conscious of and knowledgeable about sustainability can set you apart from your peers. Companies are creating strategies to deliver on the promise of a sustainable future, and they need people to support and to guide these efforts.
From management consulting to human resource management, successful career journeys will require core skills in critical thinking, decision-making, leadership, and communication BUT ALSO the new skillsets and mindsets of sustainability.
Sustainability-Focused Career Pathways
The fields of management and human capital can involve a range of sustainability components. Below are some examples of sustainable management careers.
Human Resources
Human resource specialists will continue to be the point people on core functions like hiring, screening candidates, managing employee relations, benefits, and training. However, as companies look to integrate the skillsets and mindsets of sustainability across the enterprise, HR will play a critical role. After all, who will be responsible for training employees in sustainability if not for HR? Who will provide the proper award and incentive programs? Human resources will continue to play a large role in sustainability according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Operations Management
Operations are a company’s backbone. They directly affect energy consumption, resource use, ethical labor practices, nearby communities, and costs incurred by the firm. Managers can make changes by using their sustainability knowledge to fix inefficiencies and develop cleaner and safer processes. This can mean regularly interfacing with environmental health and safety professionals, compliance officers and sustainability teams. Successful managers will balance cost effectiveness and risk avoidance with more complex sustainability concerns.
Management Consulting
Business consulting is providing need analytical and strategic support to decision-makers within companies. Management consultants are increasingly helping firms develop a range of sustainability outcomes: sustainability/ESG strategy, carbon reduction plans, sustainability reporting processes, human rights policies, mergers and acquisition strategies to support sustainability, and much more. The core consulting skills around asking excellent questions, listening, studying a company and its industry, and building financial models will be foundational. However, what can set a student apart is their understanding of sustainability and its connection to business performance, employee engagement, stock price, consumer sentiments, and investor relations.
Learn More About How to Land and Build a Sustainability Career
If reading about these sustainability career options sparks your interest, check out our resources on how to talk about sustainability with recruiters, as well as career fair tips and sustainability career searches.
ADVANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
Learn what sustainable management is all about and its importance
Learn the important things to know in this field
Learn how sustainability fits into your courses
Learn how sustainability relates to your career