The opinions expressed right here by Trellis professional contributors are their very own, not these of Trellis.
Sustainability consulting is presently a extremely aggressive profession path, regardless of present ESG headwinds. Companies usually obtain 1,000 to five,000 purposes for a single position, and most organizations have turned to AI for assist with figuring out candidates with the best potential.
To grasp how candidates can stand out in immediately’s aggressive panorama, I spoke with senior leaders at 5 sustainability consultancies. It rapidly turned clear that after extremely sought-after expertise in areas similar to disclosure and greenhouse fuel accounting has turn into simpler to seek out. Consequently, many technical abilities have turn into desk stakes, main companies to focus extra on particular combos of abilities, attributes and cultural match.
Whereas networking has all the time been essential, it carries a heightened significance in immediately’s job market. Referrals stay one of the best ways to get your resume seen by a human and conversations with present workers will help you perceive the nuances of what every agency values.
Beneath are summaries of my conversations, edited for size and readability.
Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Approximate sustainability advisory crew measurement: 40 consultants
Finest identified for: Sustainability technique and administration methods; decarbonization and resilience for the constructed setting; reporting, scoring, rankings and sustainability assurance
Jana Lake, president and proprietor on what makes 3R distinctive: 3R stands out for its human contact — we prioritize long-term relationships, a partnership strategy with our purchasers and work–life stability for our consultants. Our consultants are inspired to hear deeply, ask the proper questions and inspire purchasers who could really feel overwhelmed, whereas additionally supporting one another with a team-first mentality. We work remotely with our purchasers so that everybody has the pliability they should spend time with household or pursue different passions exterior of labor.
What 3R Sustainability seems for in candidates: Cultural match has all the time come first. We’re in search of candidates with a partnership mentality and a development mindset who take a training strategy to their work. It’s additionally essential for candidates to obviously perceive the sustainability context and what drives enterprise worth, reduces threat and improves administration methods.
How candidates can stand out: Candidates with inner sustainability expertise have a singular appreciation for a way tough it may be to drive change throughout a company and that makes them extra empathetic and efficient. We additionally respect candidates who’ve assurance expertise and may perceive how a sustainability evaluation works from the opposite aspect of the desk.
Headquarters: Paris, France
Approximate sustainability advisory crew measurement: 3,300 consultants
Finest identified for: Web-zero technique; regulatory-grade reporting; high-integrity carbon credit; local weather threat consulting
Stuart Lemmon, head of the worldwide sustainability follow, on what makes the crew distinctive: We now have all the time differentiated ourselves by the standard of the work that we do. We use processes which might be underpinned by rigorous science to develop options for our purchasers which might be data-driven and in alignment with worldwide requirements.
The agency has been acknowledged because the “World’s Most Sustainable Firm” by TIME Journal and Statista for the previous two years. We’re half of a bigger international crew of consultants in power, resilience, technique and effectivity who actually perceive this work and stroll the discuss, which places us in a really robust place to supply our purchasers high-quality end-to-end options.
What SE Advisory Companies seems for in candidates: We’re closely centered on candidates with robust knowledge science and engineering abilities. They have to be capable to perceive and interpret knowledge throughout the context of the science after which perceive the way it informs technique.
We’re additionally in search of candidates who can interact successfully with purchasers. Each member of the crew is predicted to function a trusted adviser immediately supporting our purchasers on their sustainability journey. And as a values-driven group, we’re in search of people who find themselves captivated with creating influence for our purchasers, are open and clear, and work effectively inside an empowered setting.
How candidates can stand out: Distinctive candidates are able to guiding a consumer’s progress alongside their journey whereas additionally eager about the place the market goes. They perceive context and the way the evolving regulatory and requirements landscapes will influence the consumer. Robust candidates are additionally always eager about a enterprise’s working mannequin and enhance it. They’ve discovered use AI instruments and may successfully incorporate them into present instruments and processes.
Headquarters: London, UK
Approximate sustainability advisory crew measurement: 5,000 consultants
Finest identified for: Sustainability technique and implementation; sustainability reporting and assurance; local weather threat and transition planning
Charlotte Fildes, international ESG head of expertise, on what makes KPMG distinctive: We view ESG as a watermark working all through the worldwide group that empowers our consultants to turn into brokers of constructive change and offers options and companies that assist our purchasers overcome the challenges going through our planet and society.
Our consultants are captivated with making a distinction and dealing in direction of the objectives within the KPMG: Our Impression Plan, which features a validated Science-Primarily based Goal (SBT) to decarbonize our enterprise by 50 p.c throughout all scopes by 2030 in comparison with our FY19 baseline.
What KPMG seems for in candidates: We now have all the time regarded for candidates with robust analytical minds and excellence in consumer service, however as we’ve moved ahead with implementing KPMG’s Our Impression Plan, we’ve been more and more in search of purpose-driven pondering as a core competency. Our consultants are all in favour of extra than simply fixing issues; they’re additionally motivated by a significant profession and need to drive significant change that creates and protects worth for our purchasers.
How candidates can stand out: Probably the most aggressive candidates mix ESG abilities, similar to reporting or local weather analytics, with value-driven transformation skills. We’re additionally in search of candidates who perceive the dangers and worth creation potential throughout the total ESG undertaking life cycle. They will join the dots and articulate how a change in a single purposeful space can influence threat mitigation, operational effectivity and aggressive positioning throughout your complete group.
Headquarters: Chattanooga, TN
Approximate sustainability advisory crew measurement: 80 consultants
Finest identified for: Company sustainability; product sustainability; certifications and verification
William Paddock, CEO and managing director on what makes WAP Sustainability distinctive: We’re identified for our stability of technique and execution, in addition to our well-rounded cross-functional service choices. We meet our purchasers the place they’re on their sustainability journey and keep grounded within the realities of this work. Our crew combines a “get it finished” mentality with a tradition of camaraderie and respect for one another’s abilities.
What WAP Sustainability seems for in candidates: There are two talent units that we’ve all the time gravitated in direction of: a development mindset and the power to thrive in ambiguity. As a result of the sustainability house is continually altering, we search for self-motivated learners who need to construct abilities throughout our service traces whereas maintaining tempo with new developments. Each consumer has a singular set of wants, drivers and stage of ambition so each engagement will likely be completely different and consultants have to have the ability to alter for that.
How candidates can stand out: We’re most all in favour of candidates who can clearly display expertise with transferring the needle and making the proper structural variations inside a company. We search for individuals who have tangible accomplishments in issues like technique or provider engagement and need to be a part of a consulting agency with a view to scale their influence.
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
Approximate sustainability advisory crew measurement: 130 US-based sustainability consultants, a whole lot extra globally
Finest identified for: Sustainability technique and program design; decarbonization and carbon accounting; local weather resilience and adaptation planning
Julie Hughes, vp, sustainability, power and local weather change, on what makes WSP distinctive: As an advisory crew working throughout the context of an engineering agency, we’re in a singular place to assist our purchasers develop a imaginative and prescient, construct a technique and implement actionable plans. It’s extremely rewarding to see an aspirational imaginative and prescient begin to manifest in actual actions.
Our consultants are huge thinkers with huge concepts, and so they’re additionally sensible people who find themselves technically sound and cozy digging into the small print that drive initiatives ahead. They’ve loads of private company to establish the talents that they need to develop and pursue initiatives they need to work on. Our crew is a particular mix of collaborative, supportive and respectful. We deal with one another as fellow human beings first, and as co-workers second.
What WSP seems for in candidates: Consulting is inherently about enabling others to succeed, so it’s essential to have humility and a proclivity for serving to different folks — moderately than a want to have the highlight or obtain all of the credit score. We search for folks with a pure inclination in direction of serving to others who derive actual pleasure and satisfaction from that act.
We’re in search of pure learners who’re intellectually curious, respect various views, consider in what’s potential, and are excited by development and alter.
How candidates can stand out: We’re notably all in favour of candidates who’re “pragmatic visionaries,” people who find themselves adept at growing formidable and aspirational concepts, however are additionally capable of break these concepts down into actionable steps. We’d like crew members who can paint a vivid image for a consumer that helps them envision a greater future, however can rapidly pivot to the tactical, creating an motion plan that builds in direction of that tomorrow. Whereas we’ve all the time regarded for candidates with mental agility and flexibility, adaptability and luxury with change has not too long ago turn into much more essential. There’s a big feeling of uncertainty available in the market proper now and we’re in search of people who find themselves capable of navigate that uncertainty productively, and with a stage of empathy and charm that retains our purchasers and our crew transferring ahead.
