Are Sustainability Roles Really About Changing Organizations?

The race to address climate change is creating a whole lot of opportunity and a whole lot of work. Just to offer a sense of the scale, the US Inflation Reduction Act is expected to create nine million jobs alone. This is on top of an already booming climate job market. And, climate isn’t just tackled through newly created jobs, but also through new climate responsibilities within existing jobs. 

To learn more about the world of climate work, I sat down with two experts: Peggy Brannigan and Ellen Weinreb. Peggy is the Director of Global Environmental Sustainability at LinkedIn, where she has access to perhaps the world’s best database of climate-related jobs. Ellen is the founder of Weinreb Group, a recruiting firm that has been focused on filling sustainability and ESG roles for over 10 years. Together, Peggy and Ellen provide a fascinating glimpse into the green job market, how it’s evolved in recent years, the skills that are most needed, and of course, advice for hiring teams and jobseekers. So whether you’re looking for a job, looking to hire people, or just trying to anticipate the skills you’ll need for the future, this episode should be helpful to you. Enjoy. 

In today’s episode, we cover:

• [3:20] Ellen’s role & journey into sustainability work
• [4:27] Peggy’s role & journey into sustainability work
• [5:26] LinkedIn’s economic graph - the data used & the value it brings
• [7:45] The climate job market - how has it changed & what does it look like today
• [9:01] The roles that companies are looking for
• [10:46] Geographies & drivers of climate job growth 
• [12:48] What is ESG & how is it different from sustainability
• [14:26] The evolution of the job market for ESG & sustainability leaders over 15 years
• [16:45] Corporate commitments to hiring ESG professionals 
• [19:33] The most sought-after skills for climate work today 
• [21:57] The prediction that half of all jobs will be redefined by climate change
• [23:04] Advice for companies seeking to grow their ESG & sustainability teams
• [27:15] Peggy’s advice for climate jobseekers
• [30:32] Being a changemaker within both existing & new companies
• [32:48] Ellen’s advice for climate jobseekers
• [33:48] The future of the climate job market

Resources Mentioned

• LinkedIn
• Weinreb Group
• LinkedIn Economic Graph: Global Green Skills Report 2022
• Greenbiz x Weinreb: State of the Profession 2022 Report
• Reuters: PwC planning to hire 100,000 over five years in major ESG push 
• LinkedIn: Green Jobs

Connect with Peggy Brannigan & Ellen Weinreb

• Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn
• Connect with Ellen on LinkedIn

Connect with Jason Rissman

• Invested in Climate
• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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