7 Essential Environmental Sustainability Skills

Building environmental sustainability skills helps keep the earth and its populations in balance now and in the future. This requires communication, planning, policy, technology, and more to ensure that environmental sustainability principles are met. You can build these skills to have a career specifically in an environmental field or apply them in your organization as a part of its sustainability policy. 

Developing environmental sustainability skills is particularly useful if you want to upskill or move into an organization’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) department. In 2023, the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance found that over $30.3 trillion was invested in sustainable assets globally [1].

Learn more about environmental sustainability and then explore seven key environmental sustainability skills, how to build them, and some careers in the field to consider. 

What is environmental sustainability?

Environmental sustainability is the management of resources on Earth to make the planet habitable now and for future generations. It focuses on conserving resources, finding energy alternatives to combat climate change, reducing the amount of waste produced, and only using resources at a rate at which they can regenerate. Environmental sustainability includes not only the interconnectedness of all organisms on Earth but also the web of connections in human socioeconomic systems and their resource use. 

What are the 6 basic environmental sustainability principles?

The six basic principles of environmental sustainability are summed up through the “6 Rs”:

1. Reduce: Consume fewer products and materials.

2. Reuse: Find ways to repurpose material before discarding them.

3. Recycle: Try recycling products before getting rid of them.

4. Refuse: Refrain from overconsuming products you don’t need.

5. Rethink: Stop before buying a new product and consider if you truly need it.

6. Repair: Fix, patch, sew, or otherwise repair items before getting new ones.

7 environmental sustainability skills

Environmental sustainability is a challenging goal for businesses, governments, and individuals because many practices are currently not aligned with sustainability. To mitigate this, you can build important environmental sustainability skills so that you may steer the organizations you are a part of toward this pertinent goal. 

1. Systems thinking

At its core, building a sustainable future requires thinking through systems, how they work, and how they interact with each other. This allows you to examine each part of a system and how it can solve specific environmental challenges. Examples include a water conservation system or renewable energy engineering projects. 

2. Creative problem-solving

Since many environmental sustainability initiatives have unprecedented challenges, they require a range of creative solutions. Many businesses and organizations may not be able to identify places to make changes or fall back into opportunistic patterns, but thinking creatively allows for new solutions to emerge. 

3. A forward-thinking approach

A tenet of environmental sustainability is about creating sustainability not only now but also for future generations, so building a forward-thinking mindset is a key skill. Creating strategies that work now and in the long term helps establish sustainable practices over an extended period of time. 

4. Effective communication

To ensure that initiatives, policies, information, and strategies make it to all stakeholders and members of an organization, you need effective communication skills. Effective communication also means creating an open environment, actively listening, and collaborating with all members of a team to generate effective sustainability solutions. 

5. Environmental policy knowledge

Gaining environmental policy knowledge helps you analyze current policies and advocate for more sustainable policies. You can also help create policies and their frameworks by understanding environmental law, and learn ways to lobby public officials to influence policy. 

6. Project management 

Sustainability requires the creation and management of many different projects, which means its practitioners and leaders will need project management skills. As a leader of these projects, you must understand sustainability principles, communicate them, manage a team, delegate tasks, and monitor progress to help ensure success. 

7. Data analysis and interpretation

Data analysis skills are important in identifying environmental issues and tracking how effective certain solutions are. They can help you make data-driven decisions for businesses, organizations, and governments, approaching sustainability through evidence-based methods. You can monitor policies and initiatives over time and use data visualizations to improve solutions or communicate their efficacy to stakeholders. 

How to build environmental sustainability skills

You can cultivate environmental sustainability skills through various methods like university courses, online classes, or self-guided learning. Start building your environmental sustainability skills through:

• Bachelor’s degree: If you want to find a career specifically in environmental sustainability, you can earn a bachelor’s degree in sustainability or a similar field.

• Internships: Recent graduates or those looking to gain practical skills in managing sustainability initiatives may elect to do an internship for an organization that specializes in environmental sustainability.

• Networks: Build your network to include sustainability thought leaders, attend conferences, join groups, and find mentors in the field. 

• Online courses: If you’re already working in a different career and want to bring in sustainability skills, you can take online courses to boost your knowledge. On Coursera, you can try the Introduction to Sustainability course from the University of Illinois or the Renewable Energy Specialization from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Careers in environmental sustainability 

If you want a career in sustainability, many different opportunities are available since all industries need sustainable practices. You may want to consider careers like:

• Policy advocate

• Environmental engineer

• Environmental scientist

Explore each career along with its salary, requirements, and job outlook below. 

Policy advocate

Median annual salary (BLS): $132,350 [2]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 3 percent [2]

Requirements: Typically a master’s degree or PhD in a related field

Policy advocates and political scientists research, evaluate, collect data, and influence public policies in governments. Environmental policy advocates focus their research specifically on environmental policy, regulations, and sustainability.

Environmental engineer

Median annual salary (BLS): $100,090 [3]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 7 percent [3]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in environmental, civil, or chemical engineering or a related field

Environmental engineers design and develop engineering solutions for projects like solar, wind, hazardous waste, and pollution control. Many focus on limiting the effects of climate change and increasing sustainable usage by working with lawyers and policy advocates. 

Environmental scientist

Median annual salary (BLS): $78,980 [4]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 7 percent [4]

Requirements: At least a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, natural resources, or a related field

Environmental scientists research and collect data on air, water, and energy usage to increase environmental regulation and promote sustainability. In this role, your work focuses on finding solutions to environmental problems. You can work in various fields like ecology, climate change, planning, and public health. 

Explore environmental sustainability on Coursera

Building a sustainable future requires core skills in communication, project management, and leveraging data analysis. Prepare for a career in sustainability with Professional Certificates on Coursera, like the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate and Leading People and Teams Specialization from the University of Michigan.