GreenBiz article: Solving the sustainability careers and connection crisis

Image by Sophia Davirro/GreenBiz. 

This week, I published a piece in GreenBiz outlining what I call the “sustainability careers and connection crisis.” Countless companies struggle to fill roles critical to meeting sustainability goals, even as they overlook an army of job seekers looking to join the fight. 

Anecdotally, I’ve seen many of my corporate clients and connections struggle to fill sustainability and ESG roles for months, if not longer. Often, the biggest complaint is that there "aren’t enough people with the skills and experience to hit the ground running" in these roles. This is unsurprising, as there is a small number of seasoned sustainability professionals relative to the increasing number of opportunities. Yet this means that companies continuously poach seasoned talent from one another — and the talent pool doesn’t expand.

With most jobs being secured through professional connections, we need to find a way for people to foster stronger professional networks separate from geography, alma mater or current employer. 

That’s why Hower Impact recently launched a new initiative called Impact Hired, which is committed to addressing the sustainability careers and connection crisis by convening, informing and energizing purpose-driven professionals. We do this by creating networking experiences, democratizing sustainability and ESG knowledge, and sharing stories that inform and inspire.

In the GreenBiz article, I explain why we must overcome this crisis if companies are to achieve their sustainability goals — and how we might do it.

Read the article here.