Supporting sustainability professionals - Research findings
Here are the findings from our 2024 study surveying 92 sustainability professionals, and interviewing 28, to better understand the experience and state of wellbeing of sustainability professionals
In my last blog, I shared that we had launched the findings from our research project on sustainability professionals. So this week, I am sharing the findings from our research with you, along with my offers to support sustainability professionals.
There are links at the bottom of this blog to a 2 page summary, a recording of the presentation, and a resource for sustainability professionals wanting to access funding from their organisation for professional development budget, a new hire or pay rise.
If you know anyone who is, or works with, sustainability professionals, who you think might be interested in this research, please do forward this on.
Supporting sustainability professionals - Research findings
Our research reveals that technical training on sustainability, the dominant approach to skills frameworks, is not enough to create meaningful change in organisations.
Instead more support for sustainability professionals is needed to develop 2 essential skills: personal resilience, to manage eco-anxiety and the ‘all-encompassing nature’ of climate breakdown, and persuasion and comfort with conflict, because complexity and non-technical interests in the outcomes often lead to disagreement.
We surveyed 92 sustainability professionals and conducted in-depth interviews with 28 of them to explore the highs and lows of their time in role, what skills they think are important to have in the role and what more support they would like.
Research objectives:
To explore the state of wellbeing of sustainability professionals and what support they need. Our research questions were:
What are the challenges that sustainability professionals face in doing their work?
What type of support do sustainability professionals need in order to thrive in their role?
Common Challenges
From the 28 in-depth interviews we conducted, there were 5 common challenges faced by the sustainability professionals we interviewed:
Imposter Syndrome
Many interviewees experience imposter syndrome, particularly early in their careers, as they navigate the complex and evolving landscape of sustainability issues and the expectations of others to be an ‘expert’ across multiple topics and rapidly changing industry.
“You want to call me a sustainability expert? This is a huge topic. There's almost nobody in the world that is a sustainability expert.”
(Karen*, 5 years in sector, Head of Sustainability, Gen X)
Eco-anxiety
Strong emotions in relation to the state of the world were prevalent among interviewees, often exacerbated by their heightened awareness and exposure to environmental crises. Some struggled with existential concerns, depressive feelings and felt heavily burdened and responsible for climate action in their work and life. Some felt they had to hide or ‘mask’ these emotions at work.
“I don't want to earn millions of pounds, but I would like to do something that challenges me in terms of my career, and at the same time pays enough that I could pay the bills.”
(Helen*, 10 years in sector, head of ESG, Gen X)
Loneliness
A lack of team or leadership support and working alone meant that feelings of loneliness were common. Interviewees felt a heavy mental and emotional load of having to be vigilant in communication. Balance the urgency and change required, whilst motivating and building relationships, and managing other’s emotional reactions to the environmental crises.
“Climate change always has this really heavy, serious weight about it...The impacts are really big. It doesn't look great... So thinking about that all the time. I think whether I realize it consciously or not, is something that definitely impacts me”
(Anja*, 7 years in sector, ESG Manager, Millennial)
Internal Greenwashing
Interviewees frequently encountered internal greenwashing, where organisations verbally committed to sustainability without taking substantial action or investing adequately, often more focused on sustainability initiatives for marketing or tick boxing for regulation or investor requirements. This led to frustration and additional challenges in promoting genuine sustainable practices.
“I don't talk to any of my other colleagues about what I do, because I don't think they could empathise with it. And it will take too long to it's like explaining a joke, and it's not being funny.”
(Freddie*, 10 years in sector, Sustainability Project Manager, Millennial)
Career Progression
Concerns about career advancement, professional development, and fair compensation were common for interviewees. Limited progression opportunities and job insecurity have prompted some professionals to leave their roles.
“I was told ‘we'll sit on it, and maybe come back in the future.’ And I’m thinking when there's a climate emergency going on? We need to get on with stuff. It was quite frustrating and quite limiting”
(Claire*, Chief Sustainability Manager, 21 years in sector, Gen X)
Skills required
Our findings and research into existing competency frameworks for sustainability professionals has led us to conclude that more support for developing skills in personal resilience and conflict negotiation are essential for sustainability professionals to thrive and achieve meaningful change. We identified 2 core skills which are deserving of more attention:
Personal Resilience
Self-Motivation and Persistence: Maintaining drive and creativity despite setbacks.
Emotional Intelligence and Self-Care: Setting personal boundaries, practicing self-care and getting external support such as a coach or therapist to manage the emotional toll of the work
Persuasion & Comfort with Conflict
Effective Communication: Skills to balancing truth-telling with motivating action.
Collaboration and Relationship Building: Building trust and rapport with stakeholders and engaging colleagues and suppliers meaningfully.
Active Listening and Open-Mindedness: Valuing diverse expertise and navigating misunderstandings with patience.
Navigating Conflicts and Power Dynamics: Managing disagreements and negotiating conflicts effectively.
What support do sustainability professionals want?
Here are the results from the survey we conducted with 92 sustainability professionals asking what support they would like, there was strong desire for group coaching with other sustainability professionals, more support in-house, external support through a coach or therapist and safe spaces to talk about the climate crisis.
The support I offer for sustainability professionals
Coaching programme for sustainability professionals
I offer a 3 or 6 month 1:1 coaching programme for sustainability professionals to support them to work with any challenges they are facing in their role.
If you are struggling with any of the above challenges, or if you feel overwhelmed, under supported and find yourself constantly feeling behind or like you aren’t doing enough —I want to support you in finding more balance and calm; motivation and clarity on what to prioritise; and to feel better about yourself and your impact.
If you would like to explore how coaching with me could support you, then you can book in a free discovery call with me. Here is a 1-pager summary of the coaching programme. You can find more information about me here.
Group coaching programme for sustainability professionals
Based on the findings of our research, Katherine and I run a group coaching programme for sustainability professionals who want to move beyond the you’re-passionate-and-the-world-is-on-fire-so-you-must-work-harder-then-burnout mode of thinking, to work in a way where you are thriving and having more impact, with less stress.
If you want to feel more connected. If you want to learn from others. If you want to work through the hard stuff that comes with the role. This is the place for you. This is a space where we all know the reality of the challenges we face, and we know that by resourcing ourselves, by learning how to be more confident, have more courage, manage our stress and the emotional load of the work, how to be more content with what we can do - we can achieve so much more. And doing it together in a safe space where we can be open and honest about our experience in a way we often can’t be in our day to day jobs. We’ll connect, we’ll lift each other up and you’ll have a new tribe of people cheering you on. You will develop practices and routines in order to feel confident that you can continue to overcome these challenges, to thrive in your role and to make a difference in a way that leaves you feeling calmer and more content.
Find out more about Thrive! Group Coaching Programme here. We also co-create group coaching programmes for in-house sustainability teams too. Sign up to our mailing list to hear more or message me directly on Linkedin
Links to the research
To find out more about the research and resources for sustainability professionals:
Find the recording of our presentation here (Passcode: !#5P!XwP).
A 2 page summary of these findings here (sneak preview below)
A resource for sustainability professionals on how to ask for personal development budget, a pay rise or to hire a new colleague here
Sign up for our mailing list for sustainability professionals to share more on the research outcomes, relevant resources for sustainability professionals and other related news and projects here
All resources can be found in this folder.
The research was carried out by Dr Katherine Ellsworth-Krebs from the University of Strathclyde and myself in 2024. An academic paper is currently under review.
We would appreciate any support in sharing the results of these findings and any opportunities to discuss and present on findings. If you are interested in talking about the findings, you can book in a call with me below.
*All names have been anonymised, and pseudonyms have been used to protect the identities of the individuals involved in the research
To stay connected to our research and work to support the wellbeing, resilience and mental health of sustainability professionals, sign up to our mailing list where we share any workshops or group coaching programmes, as well as insights, reflections and learnings from sustainability professionals
Conscious Changemakers walk
I host relaxed, mindful walks in the beautiful Surrey Hills for anyone who wants to reconnect with nature and have heart-felt discussions with like-minded people. The next one is this Sunday 11th August at 2pm, you can find more details and sign up here. The next two are on the 15th September and the 20th October (details here). I hope to see you there.
Thanks for reading. Here’s a picture of my dog, Albie, and I to sign off (this one makes me laugh as it looks like we’re experiencing very different emotions!) x
