Are Businesses Confusing Environmental Roles, With Sustainability Positions?

Over the last few weeks, we have had meetings with clients of ours who have unfortunately had their Sustainability roles live for several months, before reaching out to us for help. Through these conversations we have managed to identify and resolve the key issues they have been facing with their recruitment and put plans in place to enable us to fix the problem, finding the best talent for the role.

More often than not, we are finding that companies are unclear about the parameters of the role, which leads to them struggling to attract the right people, and one common theme is that we have seen businesses looking for "Sustainability Professionals" when in fact the role is very much an Environmental position. Although the two of course come hand in hand, there are significant differences when it comes to the day to day responsibilities of each position.

Environmental Job Roles:

Environmental job roles are primarily focused on mitigating and managing the environmental impact of business operations. Individuals in these positions are usually tasked with implementing strategies to reduce pollution, waste, conserve resources, and ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

While crucial in their own right, environmental job roles typically have a narrower scope, primarily addressing environmental concerns without necessarily looking at the broader sustainability considerations.

Typically, for these kind of roles you would want someone with an NEBOSH Environmental/ IEMA qualification but hands on experience often trumps this.

Sustainability:

Sustainability, on the other hand looks at integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions into a framework. It entails a holistic approach to business management that seeks to balance ecological integrity, social responsibility, and economic longevity. Sustainability professionals are tasked with aligning business practices with long-term goals, driving innovation, fostering stakeholder engagement, and advocating for change.

Unlike environmental job roles, sustainability encompasses a broader mandate, requiring professionals to navigate complex environmental, social, and economic realms to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Understanding the difference between the two is key to attracting the right talent in the long term. Businesses need to first have an understanding of what the role is right now, rather than what it may evolve into in the future. Being clear on job title, responsibilities, and scope will attract the right talent. Failing to do so, will leave potential candidates confused, and the right people may steer clear entirely if the position isn't correctly advertised.

The good news is, having a clear brief and working with a specialist recruiter should solve all of these problems, so if you, or your business need any clarity on what exactly a role should be defined as, please get in touch. It would be great to hear your thoughts and have some discussion about how we specify certain positions.

Ryan Evans - The HSE Recruitment Network