Sustainability Specialists
Address organizational sustainability issues, such as waste stream management, green building practices, and green procurement plans.
Also Known As:
Campus Energy Coordinator
Energy and Sustainability Strategic Advisor
Sustainability Advisor
Sustainability Champion
Sustainability Consultant
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability Specialist
Sustainable Design Champion
Sustainable Design Consultant
Sustainable Design Coordinator
Wages
Annual wages for Sustainability Specialists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
1,242,000
3% Change From 2024
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Assess or propose sustainability initiatives, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and acceptance.
- Provide technical or administrative support for sustainability programs or issues.
- Create marketing or outreach media, such as brochures or Web sites, to communicate sustainability issues, procedures, or objectives.
- Identify or procure needed resources to implement sustainability programs or projects.
- Develop reports or presentations to communicate the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.
- Identify or procure needed resources to implement sustainability programs or projects.
- Assess or propose sustainability initiatives, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and acceptance.
- Develop sustainability project goals, objectives, initiatives, or strategies in collaboration with other sustainability professionals.
- Identify or create new sustainability indicators.
- Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.
- Identify or investigate violations of natural resources, waste management, recycling, or other environmental policies.
- Review and revise sustainability proposals or policies.
- Write grant applications, rebate applications, or project proposals to secure funding for sustainability projects.
- Monitor or track sustainability indicators, such as energy usage, natural resource usage, waste generation, and recycling.
- Collect information about waste stream management or green building practices to inform decision makers.
- Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.
- Research or review regulatory, technical, or market issues related to sustainability.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")