Sustainability Manager

For businesses, being green is the hot, new thing. And by green, we’re talking small-carbon-footprint, good-for-the-environment kind of green. Sustainability Managers are responsible for ensuring that their company does all it can for the environment, at the best price for the organization.

As a Sustainability Manager, you can get a job at a number of different places, from a large corporation to a university. Even entire cities are looking at ways to go green. Wherever you end up though, you need lots of creativity and good communication skills to be a successful Sustainability Manager.

The creativity comes in when you think up ways to make your company more sustainable. To do this, you might introduce a recycling program, create a long-term plan that completely reworks your company’s supply chain, or change all light bulbs to energy-saving ones. You look at all aspects of the company, and figure out ways big and small to make things more energy-efficient and less wasteful.

Your incredible communication skills come into play when you explain your new ideas. Changing the way a company works can be unsettling for many of its employees, and occasionally costs more money in the beginning. You explain your ideas and goals clearly to your superiors, and convince them to go along with your plans. You also educate employees on new policies, and negotiate prices with environmentally friendly vendors.

On top of all this, the job also requires you to create budgets and marketing strategies, make training programs for employees and volunteers, and research new sustainable practices.