Five ways to improve sustainability talent management for growth
A wave of sustainability leaders suddenly leaving their roles in apparent disillusion has sparked questions about what is wrong with sustainability talent management, and how it may be fixed.
To answer these questions, CSO Futures asked two experts in sustainability talent – Gihan Hyde, Founder and CEO of advisory firm CommUnique, and Dagmara Kruczkowska, Founder of LevelUP Sustainability Recruiting – to share what they have learned from helping companies shape the best teams for their sustainability ambitions.
Both describe the sustainability job market as “busy” or even “booming”, but warn that there are not enough professionals with the specific skills and experience levels companies are looking for. “For example, roles in ESG reporting, carbon accounting, sustainable finance, and climate risk management are in high demand, and businesses are struggling to find the right people,” says Hyde.
On her side, Kruczkowska says the market is more technically and compliance-focused than ever, with strong demand for mid-level candidates with specific skill sets, while at the more senior level, candidates may struggle more to secure roles due to higher salary expectations.
September 2024 research by LevelUP showed that 70% of sustainability jobs advertised on LinkedIn were for mid-level roles, while senior roles made up just 10% of offers. This confirms anecdotal evidence of firms not replacing outgoing senior sustainability leaders.
“Overall, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to identify candidates who not only possess the right technical expertise but also align with their culture and business needs. Hiring in sustainability is becoming more personal – soft skills and the ability to translate technical knowledge into business impact are more critical than ever,” she adds.
So how can companies make sure they attract – and importantly, retain – the right talent to drive their sustainability strategy? Our experts highlight five elements that need to change.
1 - Put your money where your mouth is
Sure, sustainability professionals are mission-driven – but they still need financial stability. “I’ve noticed that financial motivations are becoming a stronger factor in decision-making. Salaries are already competitive, with candidates typically securing 10–15% increases, but compensation has never been as crucial as it is now,” warns Kruczkowska.
Perhaps more importantly, sustainability leaders want to be assured that the role they are being hired into is taken seriously – which means decision-making power and budget.
“Many CSOs and sustainability leaders struggle to gain real decision-making power. If sustainability remains a secondary priority rather than integrated into core business strategy, these professionals feel frustrated and ineffective. Companies may hire sustainability professionals for their expertise but fail to integrate them into leadership teams, leaving them isolated,” Kruczkowska adds, noting that when sustainability teams are underfunded and understaffed, this can lead to stress and even burnout.
The thing about hiring people who are driven by sustainability and purpose is that they won’t tolerate greenwashing or a backtrack on their companies’ sustainability commitments: Celine Herweijer’s departure from HSBC after her role was demoted from the executive committee is a clear example.
“They want to work for companies that mean what they say about sustainability – not just those who have a flashy ESG report but don’t act on it. And believe me, these pros will voice their contempt and disappointment if their employers don’t walk the talk.
“They also care about real impact – they want to drive change, not just tick compliance boxes; and support from leadership – if sustainability is just a PR exercise or an underfunded department, they’ll leave,” warns Hyde.
2 - Describe sustainability positions better
As for any other type of position, accurately describing the role you’re recruiting for is crucial to find the right people. But this is sometimes more difficult in sustainability, since recruitment teams are not experts themselves – and often lack access to in-house experts to help them draft the best job descriptions.
“Sustainability roles are often poorly scoped, with vague or overly broad responsibilities. Some companies expect one person to ‘fix’ sustainability without the necessary budget, resources, or team,” says Kruczkowska.
At the same time, sustainability remains a highly competitive market, and large companies with established strategies and branding attract “massive applicant pools”, she adds. “This makes internal recruitment teams' jobs more challenging, as they not only have to manage high volumes but may also lack deep technical knowledge of the sustainability space.”
To improve the recruitment process, Hyde suggests being specific and transparent about where the company is in its transformation journey, and letting the existing sustainability experts within the company speak: “Sustainability job seekers don’t want to hear from the PR team – they want to hear from the people actually doing the work. Instead of a generic statement from the CEO, host a LinkedIn Live or blog series featuring your CSO or sustainability managers discussing the challenges they face and how they’re tackling them. I always say to our clients, it’s not about looking perfect – it’s about showing real progress.”
3 - Invest in training existing employees – even outside the sustainability department
Another issue with the way companies currently approach sustainability recruitment is that they expect to “hire fully trained sustainability experts who can hit the ground running”, the CommUnique CEO explains. But the few people with this kind of specialisation are in high demand. “The main issue is that many companies aren’t willing to invest in training their existing employees,” she adds.
Both Hyde and Kruczkowska believe that all employees should receive sustainability training, making the strategy relevant to different jobs. “Finance teams need to understand ESG risks, procurement teams need to know about sustainable sourcing, and marketing teams need to know how to avoid greenwashing,” says Hyde.
Companies should also train their workforce on both hard skills – such as carbon accounting, regulatory compliance, supply chain sustainability, and climate risk management – and leadership skills, helping sustainability leaders understand how to truly drive organisational change.
“We need to remember and never forget that sustainability isn’t just a department— it’s a way of working. Companies that get that will build real leaders,” she adds.
At LevelUP, Kruczkowska goes as far as saying sustainability training should be made mandatory: “Finance teams should be trained in green finance, product teams in circular economy, and HR in sustainable workforce planning. Employees should be incentivised to learn and apply sustainability principles in their roles. Encourage employees to work on real sustainability projects within the company, not just theoretical training. Companies should create internal career progression for employees who want to transition into sustainability roles,” she suggests.
On universal sustainability education
Speaking to CSO Futures recently, SUEZ UK Chief Sustainability Office Adam Read, who also holds visiting lectures at UK universities, had a lot to say about how siloed sustainability education currently is – even in the academic world.
“If you really wanted to embed the circular economy and sustainability in the world, then every school child would be taught sustainability. Sustainability skills should be embedded across multiple disciplines, so that even when you don't think you're a sustainability practitioner, you're receptive to the ideas when you hear them,” he said.
This type of universal sustainability education would certainly help solve one of the issues Hyde has noticed at CommUnique: “Sustainability professionals including us often spend more time convincing people sustainability matters than actually doing the work,” she says.
The problem is, traditional universities – and even secondary schools – don’t integrate sustainability into non-specialised courses. “They might teach a course on circular economy, but the rest of the engineering course is classic engineering. You'll see it proliferate, but it's certainly not embedded in secondary schools. That's the bit that's missing, because the people that choose to do it at university are a much smaller group of people than could have chosen it had we got them at 14 and inspired them that the world outside would be very different if they thought about it in this way,” adds Read.
4 - Hire more diverse talent
Training in-house professionals on sustainability will also help more diverse talent to join the sustainability market – which, in turn, will support more robust and inclusive sustainability strategies.
“Too often, sustainability roles are dominated by professionals from similar educational and socio-economic backgrounds. Many job descriptions require advanced degrees and technical certifications, making it harder for diverse talent – including people from different industries, regions, and lived experiences – to break in,” explains Hyde.
To change the situation, CommUnique makes sure that 40% of part-time associates are from developing countries and under-represented communities, who are trained and coached to be able to enter the sustainability market.
“If we are to see the sustainability landscape change, companies need to broaden their talent pipeline, invest in training, and create pathways for professionals from all backgrounds to transition into sustainability roles. Otherwise, they’ll keep recycling the same talent and struggling to fill crucial positions,” she adds.
5 - Offer better career growth prospects
Finally, sustainability professionals want to know that the jobs they accept are not dead ends, but because the sustainability function is often too isolated, many experienced CSOs find themselves stuck.
“If sustainability isn’t embedded in the company’s core strategy, the sustainability team stays stuck in a corner, isolated from real business decisions. If they don’t see that opportunity, talented sustainability professionals who want to drive change at a high level go where they can have a bigger impact. They don’t want to be stuck fighting internal battles forever. They need clear paths to influence real business decisions,” says Hyde.
For Kruczkowska, it’s crucial for companies to outline how sustainability professionals can develop and grow within an organisation – and that also includes financial incentives. “While mission-driven work is important, candidates increasingly look at salaries and benefits. Be clear about competitive compensation and incentives that reward sustainability performance,” she says.
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