Boosting Your Skills: All About Sustainability Certifications
Hi friends - today, I'm bringing you something a bit different in content specifically for you career people out there. As I mentioned in my catch-up last month, I talk to lots of students and career-changers every month, and I've been wanting to provide more concrete info for these folks on how to get into climate/environment/conservation work (especially if that's not necessarily your background!). So with that in mind, today we are taking about a topic that I get asked about all the time:"should I enroll in a program or certificate?"
P.S. if there is a career topic you want to know more about, drop me a note!
So you’re a business person looking to get into sustainability/climate/environmental work. You’ve read the articles and feel like you’ve got an idea of the big themes in climate and the environment. But despite your five years of product development or the many marketing campaigns you’ve run, you’re just not getting any closer to landing that first job in the space. What gives?
It could be that, despite your passion, you are lacking the concrete demonstrations of your knowledge about climate/environmental topics that come through work experience. If this is you, you might consider enrolling in a certification program.
Certifications are an excellent educational opportunity and can be well worth the time and financial investment, allowing you to gain sector-specific knowledge, demonstrate your interest, and add that last bit of oomph to your resume. But with so many routes to choose from, selecting the right certification is critical. If you’re thinking about studying for a certification, read on to determine which is the right choice for you!
What a certification can offer (and what it can’t)
From my perspective, the best way to use certifications is as a redirection of your existing skill set. For example, if you’re an architect or a real-estate developer, a green buildings certification will just redirect the trajectory of your knowledge into the climate/environment field. If you work as an investment banker or wealth manager, a sustainable investing certification can help you better advise your clients on “green” investment products. A certification is a great option if you’re looking to stay in (roughly) the same job function but want to redirect your skills into an environmental direction.
If, however, you’re looking to change job functions or industries, a certification might not provide enough contextual information and knowledge. In that case, you might explore a more extensive educational opportunity, like a Masters’ degree, that will cover a broader spectrum of material and prepare you to jump into a totally new career field or function.
Choosing a certification: some things to consider
There are dozens of certification programs to choose from, so before you plunk down your money, take some time to consider the following questions:
What sustainability/climate/environment certifications are considered ‘best practice’ for my industry? Use LinkedIn to browse the profiles of sustainability leaders in your industry and see what their educational backgrounds look like. Or browse potential job postings that you might want to apply to. What qualifications are hiring managers seeking?
Where do I want to go from here? Remember that a certification can act as a redirection of your existing skills, and consider the course correction you want to achieve. Will the subject matter covered in this course give you the knowledge and skills you need to reach for the next rung on the ladder?
When do I plan to start making this switch and applying to new jobs? Some certifications require standardized testing that can only be completed in certain windows of the year. Think about how much time you’ll need to budget before you can hit the ground running on your job search.
How much free time do I have to dedicate to studying? Depending on how much time you have before your desired testing window, you might be studying for 10+ hours a week. Be prepared to block off evenings and weekends so you can adequately prepare, or plan to complete your certification further out in the future so you can spread out your study time.
How much money do I want to spend? Unsurprisingly, education ain’t cheap. A certification program can vary in cost from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Consider your budget and how much you’d feel comfortable spending on a program.
An Important Note: Like other areas of the economy, the environmental/climate space is very nuanced. 'Sustainability' jobs are different from 'climate change' jobs, 'ESG' investing is very different from 'green' investing, etc. To choose a certification that meets your goals, it's best to have some knowledge of the landscape/career niches and understand where you want to work. You can do this by networking and researching ahead of time so when it comes time to choosing a certificate, you know exactly what you want/need to learn.
Certifications by industry/function:
The following is not an exhaustive list of the certifications out there, but it will give you a start and help you understand the different paths out there. Spend some time researching your industry to better understand what skills you need to develop!
Sustainability Reporting: As consumer and investor attention focuses more on sustainable products and services and regulators become increasingly supportive of environmental regulation, businesses see the need to measure and report on their efforts at sustainable operations and production. Sustainability reporting is a bit like accounting, in that the goal is to produce public records of a company's performance (in this case, against sustainable operations metrics). The following are the most widely-used standards for measurement and reporting; in November 2021 these initiatives were consolidated under the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to aid in greater coherence and comparability:
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) - FSA Credentials
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) - Professional Certification
CDP - CDP doesn’t offer its own training, but you can pursue a self-guided course through ASU or through ISOS Group.
Supply Chain/Product Sustainability:
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the assessment of a product’s environmental impact over its entire life cycle, from production to end-of-life. LCAs are important for understanding how a product positively (or negatively) impacts the environment. You can get certified as an LCA Certified Professional.
Green Buildings and Cities:
LEED is the standard for green buildings; you can pursue an Associate or a Professional certification. The World Bank also offers a City Climate Planner Certificate Program.
Sustainable Investing/Financial Services:
Sustainable finance and investing can be tricky, as the taxonomies are still in process of being defined and the landscape is changing all the time. To stay up to date on what's happening in the space, stay connected with UNEPFI, which is generally involved in all large-scale efforts in the green/sustainable finance world. There are several certifications in this space, but these are the two most reliable (in my opinion):
CFA Institute - ESG Investing Certificate
Global Association of Risk Professionals - Sustainability and Climate Risk: I completed this training in 2021, and while I am not a risk professional, the training provided a great overview of key green/sustainable investing frameworks, including the TCFD/TNFD, Green Bond Principles, NGFS, and more.
University Courses:
Many universities offer online courses in various aspects of climate/environment, and they can be great places to learn. I've not personally taken any of these courses, as I find they provide more theorectical (rather than practical) knowledge of the space, and so can be less immediately useful to career switchers. However, if you're starting from zero and really want to build a solid base of knowledge, a university course might be very useful for you. Some good programs to consider:
Columbia University: Climate School
Harvard University: Sustainability Graduate Certification (retiring in August 2024)
I hope this short primer on certifications helps you in deciding whether to pursue further education. As mentioned above, there are many courses out there and many career niches to explore in the environmental space. Do your research, ask good questions, and then commit! And as always, reach out with any questions.
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