Growing demand for sustainability professionals
Businesses today face more frequent and more severe environmental risks, such as supply chain vulnerabilities and carbon trajectories. Accordingly, the demand for sustainability professionals is surging. According to Greenbiz, “while there is high demand for sustainability workers and an increase in supply of sustainability jobs, there is still a sense of randomness to how sustainability jobs are getting filled.” The article indicates a need for improved student preparation for navigating and winning in the booming sustainability field.
The demand and success in the field are based on a growing need for the three main skills and responsibilities of business sustainability professionals:
- Multi-faceted environmental risk assessment
- Strategic planning through ESG, EMS, or ISO-complaint environmental management
- Development and implementation of sustainable solutions
Where are the sustainability jobs?
Careers in sustainability are now replacing many existing jobs. Traditional positions and employees are being ousted by modern positions and by new leaders who have better training in transformative business practices in sustainability. These new sustainability jobs include Sustainability Mangers and Chief Sustainability Officers. Along with a variety of other business sustainability professionals, these constitute Sustainability Teams (ESG, EMS, or ISO Teams). This is why many professionals are seeking modern education and advanced training. Furthermore, educators need to rise to meet the market demand by supporting, training, and launching business sustainability professionals.
Forward-thinking businesses are increasing their commitment to sustainability by pursuing the triple bottom line (people-planet-profit). This commitment levels a business’s social value with their ability to generate profit. As evidence of this change, there was a 45% increase between 2016-2020 in the number of businesses which expressly committed to sustainable practices. Further, TSC measured a 38% increase in sustainability improvements across 1,700 manufacturers over the same time period.
How do I start in sustainability?
Accordingly, Gray Associates, a strategy firm focused on higher education, recently reported in their Higher Education Demand Trends analysis that sustainability is currently “one of the Top Ten Most In-Demand” programs for graduate study. This is a direct contemporary result of business professionals actively seeking to retrain and upskill to modernize toward sustainable practices.
As business professionals rise to meet modern challenges, educators are also rising to meet the demand for advanced education in business sustainability. Concordia University has developed two modern programs to address this demand. The master’s degree MBA Concentration in Business Sustainability and the doctoral degree DBA Concentration in Business Sustainability. We are training professionals to assess environmental risks and develop strategic plans. Students gain confidence and expertise in the development and execution of sustainable solutions.
Through advanced training in MBA and DBA programs, scholar-practitioners gain legitimate credentials while upskilling in strategic leadership and environmental stewardship. This is an effective way to develop and launch your personalized ESG, EMS, or ISO-compliant plan for your business.
Next steps
If you have any questions about our curriculum or the benefits of professional sustainability training, considering contacting me at jenny.kehl@cuw.edu. Read more about our Business Sustainability concentrations in our 2-part blog series.