What does a sustainability consultant do?
These days, corporate social responsibility has become the specific field and industry with technical subject matter like renewable energy, waste management, sustainable development, and so on. Their primary responsibility is to help clients measure and improve their sustainability performance.
Sustainability consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sustainability consultant resumes:
- Lead leadership conferences with groups of entry-level representative and other Jr. consultant to improve management skills.
- Develop and manage campus organic gardens and greenhouse.
- Manage several SDLC phases for enterprise systems used by state government agencies to perform environmental and environmental management.
- Organize policy mini-conferences on distribute renewable energy systems and climate action planning.
- Start as analyst, then Jr.
- Establish production version for alternative BOM.
- Process payroll, electronic deposits, and employee pay adjustments.
- Assist in creating Albany's greenhouse gas inventory and inventory management system.
- Perform year journal entries and closings for the accounting and payroll years.
- Create SharePoint components including sites, lists, views, web pages and workflows using SharePoint UI and SharePoint designer.
- Support realization and go-live support.
- Create GIS maps to complement campus sustainability information.
- Develop GHG accounting policies and programs for several international clients.
- Develop spreadsheet model to quantify product GHG intensity for alternative energy technology startup.
- Evaluate viability of retrofitting municipal facilities with energy efficient HVAC systems and lighting.
Sustainability consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Sustainability Consultants are proficient in Renewable Energy, Sustainability Projects, and Architecture. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Sustainability Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Renewable Energy, 19%
Develop and execute renewable energy procurement strategy with responsibility for market analysis, financial modeling and contract negotiation.
- Sustainability Projects, 15%
Assisted Sustainability Coordinator with sustainability projects.
- Architecture, 14%
Supported the San Francisco Architecture Group in business development, technical support, and marketing.
- Sustainable Design, 10%
Focused on international planning projects incorporating sustainable design into urban renewal projects for private and public clients worldwide.
- Sustainability Programs, 9%
Worked closely with clients to promote and implement sustainability programs into their operations.
- HVAC, 4%
Evaluated viability of retrofitting municipal facilities with energy efficient HVAC systems and lighting.
Most sustainability consultants use their skills in "renewable energy," "sustainability projects," and "architecture" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential sustainability consultant responsibilities here:
Organizational skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sustainability consultant to have is organizational skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations specialists are often in charge of managing several events or communications at the same time, which requires excellent skills in coordinating arrangements." Sustainability consultants often use organizational skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "improved overall organizational processes thanks to the iso 9001 certified qms system i put into place. "
Speaking skills. Many sustainability consultant duties rely on speaking skills. "public relations specialists regularly speak on behalf of clients or their organization," so a sustainability consultant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways sustainability consultant responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "developed technical reports and presented solutions to clients on findings from sustainability performance analysis. "
Writing skills. This is an important skill for sustainability consultants to perform their duties. For an example of how sustainability consultant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "public relations specialists must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases, speeches, and social media posts." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a sustainability consultant: "conducted research and began writing the ev charging station strategic action plan. ".
Problem-solving skills. For certain sustainability consultant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a sustainability consultant rely on this skill, as "public relations specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sustainability consultants do: "specialized in delivering affordable, low energy, healthy solutions for residential & commercial buildings. "
The three companies that hire the most sustainability consultants are:
Compare different sustainability consultants
Sustainability consultant vs. Chief specialist, leed chief
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between sustainability consultants and chief specialist, leed chief. For instance, sustainability consultant responsibilities require skills such as "renewable energy," "sustainability projects," "architecture," and "sustainable design." 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.
On average, chief specialists, leed chief reach similar levels of education than sustainability consultants. Chief specialists, leed chief are 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sustainability consultant vs. Champion of sustainable design
Consultants are individuals who were tapped by a company or an organization to work on a specific activity, depending on their field of expertise. They act as guides for the organization in undertaking projects that are related to their field. Consultants would usually assist organizations in planning, often giving advice when the need arises. They would, at times, take the lead in activities that involve data gathering and interpretation of data gathering results so that they can provide solid recommendations on actions that the organization may undertake. They may also guide the organization in implementing any changes brought about by their consultancy and in evaluating the effectiveness of the changes.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that sustainability consultant responsibilities requires skills like "renewable energy," "sustainability projects," "architecture," and "sustainable design." But a champion of sustainable design might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cad," "cycle analysis," "leed," and "building design."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Champions of sustainable design tend to reach lower levels of education than sustainability consultants. In fact, they're 17.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sustainability consultant vs. Director of sustainability
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sustainability consultants are more likely to have skills like "sustainability projects," "hvac," "esg," and "equest." But a director of sustainability is more likely to have skills like "supply chain," "project management," "governance," and "leverage."
Directors of sustainability earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $112,693. Comparatively, sustainability consultants have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $93,145.directors of sustainability typically earn similar educational levels compared to sustainability consultants. Specifically, they're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sustainability consultant vs. Consultant
Even though a few skill sets overlap between sustainability consultants and consultants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sustainability consultant might have more use for skills like "renewable energy," "sustainability projects," "architecture," and "sustainable design." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of consultants require skills like "customer service," "strong analytical," "project management," and "c++. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for consultants, with average annual pay of $85,405. Comparatively, the highest sustainability consultant annual salary comes from the finance industry.The average resume of consultants showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to sustainability consultants. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 11.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.7%.Types of sustainability consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
