Sustainability Specialists
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 13-1199.05United States
Address organizational sustainability issues, such as waste stream management, green building practices, and green procurement plans.
- Median annual earnings
- $82,007
- Projected change
- +7.6%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 1.18M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
56.5% of the workforce
Growing to 1.27M by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What sustainability specialists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Develop sustainability project goals, objectives, initiatives, or strategies in collaboration with other sustainability professionals.
- Monitor or track sustainability indicators, such as energy usage, natural resource usage, waste generation, and recycling.
- Assess or propose sustainability initiatives, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and acceptance.
- Review and revise sustainability proposals or policies.
- Provide technical or administrative support for sustainability programs or issues.
- Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.
- Develop reports or presentations to communicate the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.
- Collect information about waste stream management or green building practices to inform decision makers.
- Research or review regulatory, technical, or market issues related to sustainability.
- Identify or investigate violations of natural resources, waste management, recycling, or other environmental policies.
- Identify or create new sustainability indicators.
- 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.
- Write grant applications, rebate applications, or project proposals to secure funding for sustainability projects.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $46,745
- 25th percentile
- $61,460
- 50th percentile
- $82,007
- 75th percentile
- $113,551
- 90th percentile
- $152,829
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $82,007 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.6%faster than average
20251,180,498 jobs
2035 projected1,269,790 jobs
89,292 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 56.5%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 39.1%
- Some college
- 4.4%
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.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- 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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- 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.
- 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.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- 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.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Sustainability Managers485 postings
- 02Sustainability Analysts361 postings
- 03Sustainability Specialists322 postings
- 04Sustainability Interns237 postings
- 05Environmental Sustainability Managers186 postings
- 06Sustainability Consultants129 postings
- 07Sustainability Program Managers128 postings
- 08Sustainable Finance Analysts119 postings
- 09Sustainability Coordinators111 postings
- 10Sustainability Advisors94 postings
- 11Sustainability Associates87 postings
- 12Sustainability Project Managers80 postings
- 13Sustainability Engineers63 postings
- 14Associate Strategy Directors55 postings
- 15Supply Chain Managers53 postings
- 16Advisory Services Associates52 postings
- 17Energy and Sustainability Managers45 postings
- 18Lead Designers41 postings
- 19Fuel Specialists32 postings
- 20Investors30 postings
Top employers
- 01Waste Management320 postings
- 02Cardinal Health110 postings
- 03Amazon74 postings
- 04TÜV SÜD68 postings
- 05Fujifilm54 postings
- 06Hagerty Consulting53 postings
- 07JLL51 postings
- 08Hks44 postings
- 09Cushman & Wakefield42 postings
- 10Jacobs Solutions35 postings
- 11GPAC32 postings
- 12Winrock International32 postings
- 13Firecrown30 postings
- 14Vectors Capital26 postings
- 15Talentburst, An Inc 5000 Company21 postings
- 16Fisher Investments19 postings
- 17ENGIE18 postings
- 18Live Nation18 postings
- 19Aramark16 postings
- 20Erm Company S.R.O.16 postings
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