Giving Compass' Take:

• Sustainability recruiters shed light on why companies are encouraging hiring employees that will focus on sustainability and ESG efforts of a company. 

• How are you focused on sustainability in your career or in your charitable giving? 

• Read about the business benefits of sustainability partnerships. 

GreenBiz’s 2020 State of the Profession report illuminates the hard numbers measuring career realities for sustainability leaders across all industries. Among other things, the data show shifts to more engaged CEOs, increased investor pressure and a boost in hiring of sustainability professionals among the surveyed companies.

But behind the 1s and 0s is always a more nuanced conversation needing to take place, especially as the research was conducted before the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a recent GreenBiz webcast held to highlight the research, Senior GreenBiz Senior Analyst John Davies spoke with Ellen Weinreb, sustainability and ESG recruiter, and Peggy Brannigan, senior program manager for global sustainability at LinkedIn, to shed light on the practical significance of the report for companies and employees.

With the new reality of COVID-19 absent from the report (due to the survey’s completion at the end of 2019) the elephant in the sustainability office is how the pandemic will change career outlooks and priorities for 2020.

Over the past 20 years, sustainability activists helped encourage the creation of strong metrics for measuring the environmental and governance aspects of ESG for businesses. But the work related to the social component is still in its infancy. After the pandemic, investors will want to know if companies did right by their employees and their suppliers, the webcast presenters said.

While over 50 percent of survey respondents reported an increase in budget and headcount over the past two years, the money is being spent very strategically.

Each microtrend is one brick in building a new way to run a business, hire employees and make a product. Instead of hiring one sustainability professional to oversee all aspects, businesses are starting to require all employees to think sustainably. Similar to typing’s transition from a specialized skill to an expected one, soon having that "Green Gene" will be essential for any role.

Read the full article about professional sustainability skills by Jesse Klein at GreenBiz.