Chief Sustainability Officers
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 11-1011.03United States
Communicate and coordinate with management, shareholders, customers, and employees to address sustainability issues. Enact or oversee a corporate sustainability strategy.
- Median annual earnings
- $177,157
- Projected change
- +10.4%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 299.14K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
81.5% of the workforce
Growing to 330.17K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What chief sustainability officers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs.
- Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.
- Develop, or oversee the development of, sustainability evaluation or monitoring systems.
- Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.
- Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups.
- Develop, or oversee the development of, marketing or outreach media for sustainability projects or events.
- Identify and evaluate pilot projects or programs to enhance the sustainability research agenda.
- Create and maintain sustainability program documents, such as schedules and budgets.
- Formulate or implement sustainability campaign or marketing strategies.
- Research environmental sustainability issues, concerns, or stakeholder interests.
- Direct sustainability program operations to ensure compliance with environmental or governmental regulations.
- Evaluate and approve proposals for sustainability projects, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and integration with other initiatives.
- Develop methodologies to assess the viability or success of sustainability initiatives.
- Review sustainability program objectives, progress, or status to ensure compliance with policies, standards, regulations, or laws.
- Write project proposals, grant applications, or other documents to pursue funding for environmental initiatives.
- Write and distribute financial or environmental impact reports.
- Identify educational, training, or other development opportunities for sustainability employees or volunteers.
- Conduct risk assessments related to sustainability and the environment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $58,085
- 25th percentile
- $104,513
- 50th percentile
- $177,157
- 75th percentile
- $309,673
- 90th percentile
- $480,899
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $177,157 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+10.4%faster than average
2025299,144 jobs
2035 projected330,166 jobs
31,022 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 81.5%
- Bachelor's degree
- 18.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Directors of Sustainability103 postings
- 02Sustainability Managers43 postings
- 03Environmental Sustainability Managers23 postings
- 04Sustainability Engineers13 postings
- 05Sustainability Program Managers10 postings
- 06ESG Analysts9 postings
- 07Sustainability Interns7 postings
- 08ESG Associates6 postings
- 09Directors of Strategic Initiatives5 postings
- 10Engagement Partners5 postings
- 11Innovation Strategy Managers5 postings
- 12Summer Interns5 postings
- 13Sustainability Assistants5 postings
- 14Sustainability Associates5 postings
- 15Corporate Affairs Interns4 postings
- 16Directors of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships4 postings
- 17Directors of Corporate Engagement4 postings
- 18Emergency Department Medical Directors4 postings
- 19Lead Designers4 postings
- 20Resiliency Architects4 postings
Top employers
- 01Amcor51 postings
- 02Gilbane Building Company10 postings
- 03World Wildlife Fund7 postings
- 04UL Solutions6 postings
- 05Amazon5 postings
- 06Americhem5 postings
- 07Google5 postings
- 08Turner Construction Company5 postings
- 09Bunzl Distribution4 postings
- 10CannonDesign4 postings
- 11Coherent4 postings
- 12Erm Company S.R.O.4 postings
- 13Hitachi4 postings
- 14Mastercard4 postings
- 15System One4 postings
- 16Target4 postings
- 17Tau Investment Management4 postings
- 18University of Colorado System Office4 postings
- 19Baker Tilly3 postings
- 20Danone3 postings
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