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Is a corporate sustainability career right for you? Ask yourself these 6 questions

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19 May, 2025

This post was originally published on Green Biz

Source: Green Biz

It’s not news that it’s a particularly challenging moment to be a sustainability professional. Compliance demands and complex regulatory landscapes have stretched resources thin. The shifting political climate in the U.S. has raised questions about some companies’ commitment to sustainability. And several executive orders from the current administration have left some professionals feeling as though their work has been sidelined — or even outlawed. What may surprise you, though, is the large number of people who remain interested in this career path. 

As a sustainability job search coach, I’m still seeing people get hired in this field every day. And I’m often asked about what corporate sustainability work is like and what experience is necessary to be a competitive job applicant. While there are multiple factors to consider, there are six top questions that I ask my clients to help them determine if a career in corporate sustainability is right for them, and what types of roles they should pursue. 

Answer these questions as honestly as you can and I invite you to let me know of other questions you think should be added to this list.

1. Which sustainability issues do you want to work on?  

This is perhaps the most important question I ask my clients, because their answer will affect every other decision they make. Different companies work on different issues depending on what’s material to their business. 

While virtually every company in the world has the opportunity to work on reducing their carbon emissions, a clothing retailer such as Patagonia will have more opportunities to reduce waste and advance the circular economy than an accounting firm would. If you’re eager to work on human rights or deforestation, a company that procures problematic materials or sources from areas of concern would be a good choice.  

Considering what sustainability issues you’d like to work on will help you determine the impact you’d like to make — and therefore the companies you’d like to work for.  

2. How direct of an impact would you like your work to have? 

Some corporate sustainability work delivers a sense of direct, tangible impact. It’s rewarding when your waste diversion project launches, your solar panels are installed or your decarbonization goal gets approved. Other work happens behind the scenes: greenhouse gas accounting, ESG data management or reporting and disclosure. 

Corporate sustainability teams vary greatly in size and how they divide up responsibility for different work streams. Some roles are more generalist and involve a bit of everything, while others are more specialized. 

Consider how tangible the impact of your work needs to be. That assessment will help you determine which team structures and roles would be the best fit for you.  

3. How ambitious does the organization you work for need to be?

Consultants Steve Rochlin and Jeff Senne recently published an article that describes how companies define the purpose and role of sustainability for their organizations. The authors explain that companies exist on a continuum somewhere between “box checker” and “impact and purpose focused.”

Innovative work by leading companies often inspires newcomers, but often causes them to limit their job search to only the most high-profile, purpose-driven organizations. However, it’s important to understand that there are huge impact opportunities in helping “box checker” companies grow into something more. For example, I have friends who specialize in taking companies “from zero to 15 mph” and gain immense satisfaction from building programs entirely from scratch.  

Advancing sustainable business practices delivers social and environmental benefits at companies of all types — regardless of where they are on their sustainability journey or what motivates their efforts. Thinking about how much a company’s level of ambition or motivation matters to you can help you determine which companies you’d like to work for. 

4. Are you (very) comfortable with change?

The past six months have been an important reminder that nothing in this profession stays the same for very long. For example, current and proposed changes to cornerstone legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) have put many clean energy, resilience and environmental justice projects on indefinite hold and the way companies communicate about sustainability has changed virtually overnight. The landscape of tools that we use for analysis, data management, goal setting and reporting is famous for its state of constant evolution. And while the profession is maturing and we’re starting to see more consistent career pathways emerge, the skills required for success are always shifting. It’s common for people to need to change companies in order to grow into the next level of responsibility.  

People with balanced perspectives on change and a track record of adaptability tend to flourish in corporate sustainability, such as Google’s CSO Kate Brandt. Consider how well you respond to change because it’s a constant in this profession. 

5. Are you a (very) patient team player?

Implementing systemic change across a global organization is both a long game and a team sport. Developing key stakeholder relationships, socializing business cases and operationalizing new processes can take months, if not years. Progress often happens in fits and starts. 

The most effective corporate sustainability professionals are able to build and maintain partnerships that balance making progress on long-term objectives while addressing short-term priorities. Consider how patient and collaborative you are, as these attributes are critical drivers of success. 

6. Do you have the skills you need to be successful?

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what skills corporate sustainability requires. I’ve had people tell me they’re not qualified to work in sustainability because they don’t have a background in climate science or they don’t have a policy degree. Neither of these things will prevent you from working in this space.  

This is multifaceted work with many kinds of roles. While the profession is becoming more specialized and many positions do require experience with specific tools or frameworks, there are still plenty of roles that are accessible to candidates with relevant transferable skills. Most corporate sustainability teams look for applicants with strong communication, problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration skills and value experience in project management, data analytics or reporting.   

Assess which roles align best with your current experience and identify whether targeted upskilling is necessary before launching your job search. There are hundreds of providers offering courses on sustainability training that can help you build expertise.   

Corporate sustainability is deeply rewarding work for professionals who have clarity of purpose and are adaptable, patient, collaborative and driven. While the current environment is undeniably challenging, we have weathered similar storms before — and both the people and the profession have emerged stronger for it.  

The post Is a corporate sustainability career right for you? Ask yourself these 6 questions appeared first on Trellis.

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Food waste action reduces methane emissions

Food waste action reduces methane emissions

An NZ food waste reduction initiative is providing an extra 12,000 meals per day and helping prevent climate-warming methane emissions from food going to landfill.

New results, released by the Kai Commitment, show that organisations involved in the food waste reduction program — which includes major New Zealand food businesses such as Woolworths NZ, Goodman Fielder, Fonterra, Silver Fern Farms, Foodstuffs and Nestlé NZ — increased food rescue volumes by 73% over the past year, totalling almost 13 million meals.

The data also revealed a 3% reduction in food going to landfill, helping prevent emissions from methane, a greenhouse gas said to be around 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. This data enables estimation of methane emissions reduction across New Zealand, in line with the New Zealand Government’s methane reduction priorities under the second Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP2), which aims to reduce biogenic methane by 10% by 2030.

Kaitlin Dawson, Executive Director of the Kai Commitment, said the results show that food waste reduction is a powerful lever for food insecurity and climate action, and targeted measurement and action in this space has an important role to play in helping the country meet its local and international climate targets.

“Food sector organisations have a crucial role in reducing food waste, and when supported with the right tools and frameworks, they can be a genuine force for good. We’re seeing businesses step up, take responsibility, and … deliver real impact for our community and climate,” Dawson said.

The results follow the NZ Government’s 2025 Budget announcement, which committed $15 million to support food redistribution. At the same time, food insecurity continues to rise across New Zealand. According to the Ministry of Health, one in four children (27.0%) now live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. For Pacific children, that figure is over half (54.8%); for Māori children, it is one in three (34.3%).

“With mounting financial pressures and increasing food insecurity, ensuring that good food is not wasted and gets to those who need it has never been more critical. At the same time, businesses have a unique opportunity to directly contribute to New Zealand’s national climate targets by embedding food waste reduction across their operations,” Dawson said.

Since its launch two years ago, the Kai Commitment program has helped businesses implement stronger food waste measurement, improve stock handling practices, and integrate food waste principles into operations and culture.

Key achievements include:

All participating businesses now integrate food loss and waste (FLW) into staff training.
43% of businesses have established FLW key performance indicators, up from just 14% in the first year.
71% of businesses now manage waste according to the food waste hierarchy, prioritising reuse and rescue over landfill.
Edible food waste reduced by 54%.
Expired stock to waste destinations reduced by 24%.
An 83% increase in surplus food revenue was recorded, returning an additional $3.6 million to food businesses.
 

“These results show what’s possible when we work together to deliver impact,” Dawson said. “As we grow the Kai Commitment, we’re focused on scaling that impact supporting more organisations to reduce food waste, cut emissions, and contribute to a stronger, more resilient food system for Aotearoa.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Dragos Condrea

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