Sustainability Specialists

Address organizational sustainability issues, such as waste stream management, green building practices, and green procurement plans.

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Writing
Speaking
Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Complex Problem Solving
Judgment and Decision Making
Monitoring

Key knowledge

Administration and Management
Law and Government
Education and Training
English Language
Building and Construction
Customer and Personal Service
Communications and Media
Engineering and Technology

What the work involves

Review and revise sustainability proposals or policies.
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.
Write grant applications, rebate applications, or project proposals to secure funding for sustainability projects.
Provide technical or administrative support for sustainability programs or issues.
Identify or procure needed resources to implement sustainability programs or projects.
Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Enterprising, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (52.2% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (52.2%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (21.7%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Sustainability Specialists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 13-1199 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Low	Lower on contact with others than 66% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Moderate	Lower on dealing with the public than 58% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Important”
Teamwork	High	Higher on teamwork than 60% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 80% of occupations compared	57% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressure	Low	Lower on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situations	High	Higher on conflict situations than 61% of occupations compared	30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Low	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 70% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	Very low	Lower on consequence of error than 97% of occupations compared	64% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: low
Conflict situations: high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
Consequence of error: very low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions