What does a director of sustainability do?
A director of sustainability is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the environment of the company's premises, including the efficiency of processes and the production impact on society. Directors of sustainability ensure that the business operates under strict adherence to regulatory requirements and environmental conservation. They also handle the profitability of materials used in the production, choosing the resources that promote sustainability and benefits to the environment. A director of sustainability facilitates and plans training and programs for the employees to educate them about sustainability factors and improve productivity goals.
Director of sustainability responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of sustainability resumes:
- Deploy the project on AWS form and lead the DevOps team.
- Manage all aspects of the RFP and contract award process.
- Manage all external communication with customers, NGOs and the general public.
- Interface with the DoD customer to define release contents and manage scope.
- Manage both the ISO [] and the fiber certification program documents through this system.
- Direct all preconstruction, estimating, scheduling, logistics efforts and manage the buyout and installation of the geothermal system.
- Create strategic plan for EHS program implementation and start development of an SMS.
- Justify all programs through ROI and IRR analysis.
- Draft GRI (G3) compliant sustainability report ;.
- Demonstrate benefits to business owners and managers, including ROI.
- Compile metric data for GHG inventory and carbon reduction platform ;.
- Lead an international team to develop and maintain SaaS ticketing application.
- Develop sustainability reporting tools, and create GRI reports for internal audiences.
- Post on social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, etc . )
- Include management of QA daily activities, defect analysis, debugging and tracking.
Director of sustainability skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Directors Of Sustainability are proficient in Supply Chain, Renewable Energy, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Communication skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Sustainability that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Supply Chain, 9%
Developed program and conducted safety and environmental due diligence audits on supply chain partners.
- Renewable Energy, 8%
Work on a daily basis with executive level management in oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and coal industries.
- Project Management, 7%
Served as consultant and project management for all performance and energy efficiency contracts.
- Sustainability Initiatives, 6%
Secure senior management support for company commitment in regional sustainability initiatives - Pittsburgh 2030 District, Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge.
- EHS, 6%
Created and directed the Sustainable Development Competency Center, which reported directly to CEO and VP of EHS.
- Leverage, 6%
Developed strategies and campaigns designed to leverage investments made in clean technology.
Common skills that a director of sustainability uses to do their job include "supply chain," "renewable energy," and "project management." You can find details on the most important director of sustainability responsibilities below.
Communication skills. Many director of sustainability duties rely on communication skills. "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively," so a director of sustainability will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of sustainability responsibilities rely on communication skills: "directed strategic business and marketing communications to help increase sales and improve roi for artisanal winery in preparation for eventual sale. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of directors of sustainability is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday director of sustainability duties, as "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provided team direction and leadership to bring the current product lines in compliance to rd the new 60601 3 edition requirements. "
Problem-solving skills. director of sustainability responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This resume example shows what directors of sustainability do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "managed to bring highly professionals keynote speakers to educate about 20 thousand students about sustainable practices and sustainable solutions. "
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a director of sustainability to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what directors of sustainability relies on this skill, since "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." How this skill relates to director of sustainability duties can be seen in an example from a director of sustainability resume snippet: "changed the culture from more of a research culture with no deadlines to a product development culture with goals and deadlines. "
The three companies that hire the most director of sustainabilitys are:
Compare different directors of sustainability
Director of sustainability vs. Chief specialist, leed chief
A Vice President Of Engineering manages all aspects of the company's engineering product development activities. They are responsible for strategic planning, production designing, quality assurance, and problem resolution.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of sustainability and chief specialist, leed chief. For instance, director of sustainability responsibilities require skills such as "supply chain," "renewable energy," "project management," and "governance." Whereas a chief specialist, leed chief is skilled in "financial statements," "law enforcement," "healthcare," and "development projects." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Chief specialists, leed chief tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of sustainability. In fact, chief specialists, leed chief are 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of sustainability vs. Vice president of engineering
A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real director of sustainability resumes. While director of sustainability responsibilities can utilize skills like "supply chain," "renewable energy," "governance," and "sustainability initiatives," vice presidents of engineering use skills like "cloud," "infrastructure," "java," and "python."
Vice presidents of engineering may earn a higher salary than directors of sustainability, but vice presidents of engineering earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $141,200. On the other hand, directors of sustainability receive higher pay in the construction industry, where they earn an average salary of $112,693.In general, vice presidents of engineering achieve lower levels of education than directors of sustainability. They're 7.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of sustainability vs. Sustainable design consultant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a director of sustainability is likely to be skilled in "supply chain," "renewable energy," "project management," and "governance," while a typical sustainable design consultant is skilled in "revit," "cad," "hvac," and "energy analysis."
When it comes to education, sustainable design consultants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to directors of sustainability. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of sustainability vs. Chief of staff
Even though a few skill sets overlap between directors of sustainability and chiefs of staff, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a director of sustainability might have more use for skills like "supply chain," "renewable energy," "governance," and "sustainability initiatives." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of chiefs of staff require skills like "pet," "team support," "good judgment," and "direct reports. "
The start-up industry tends to pay the highest salaries for chiefs of staff, with average annual pay of $135,040. Comparatively, the highest director of sustainability annual salary comes from the construction industry.The average resume of chiefs of staff showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to directors of sustainability. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 7.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 2.5%.Types of director of sustainability
Updated January 8, 2025
