A sustainability manager is responsible for the social and environmental concerns of a company. Whether services or production: sustainability managers ensure that social issues and climate protection are implemented throughout the company - economically.
Sustainability Manager: Key Facts
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Education
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Hard Skills
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Further training
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Soft skills
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Salary
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Related professions
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What is a sustainability manager? Definition
The occupational field of the sustainability manager - often also called sustainability officer - is relatively new and a generally valid definition is therefore difficult. In principle, however, sustainability managers should make an organization's supply chains, products and services more environmentally friendly and socially responsible.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, many companies want to show the outside world that they take the issue of sustainability seriously. Many companies have therefore recently created entire departments for corporate social responsibility (CSR) - led by sustainability managers, also known as CSR managers or sustainability managers.
Good to know: Academic definitions generally include three dimensions of sustainability, which are part of a sustainability manager's remit:
- The ecology
- The social
- The economy
After all, social and ecological issues can only be meaningfully addressed in a company if the organization remains profitable in the long term.
Sustainability manager vs. sustainability officer: what's the difference?
A sustainability officer basically has the same tasks and pursues the same goals as a sustainability manager. Differences can therefore only be found in degrees - and this depends heavily on the respective company. In some organizations, for example, the salary of a "representative" may be lower and they have less leeway to implement innovations than the "manager". This may or may not be the case.
What are the tasks of a sustainability manager?
Sustainability managers develop cross-divisional strategies to improve sustainability in all company-relevant processes by establishing new social and ecological standards - while maintaining profitability.
As corporate processes and supply chains are generally very complex and involve many stakeholders, one of the main tasks of the CSR manager is communication. After all, many departments need to be informed and involved in good time if real change is to take place.
Depending on the company and the size of the organization, the day-to-day work of a sustainability manager will vary, but in most cases a CSR manager will have the following tasks:
- Development of strategies to improve social, ecological and economic aspects
- Successive reduction of social or ecological problems along the entire supply chain entire supply chain
- Co-designing processes and products to improve the company's eco-balance
- Advising company management and specialist departments on environmental risks
- Implementation of processes for measuring the impact of CSR measures
- Development and introduction of environmentally friendly and social standards
- Coordination of training and further education for the relevant employees
- Organization of the social commitment of a company
- Helping to shape public relations (PR) and marketing
- and much more.
Good to know:
Involving important stakeholders and coordinating with management are key prerequisites for implementing sustainable processes in a company and systematically changing internal structures.
Qualifications & skills of a sustainability manager
Sustainability manager or CSR manager are not protected terms. There are therefore several ways to become a sustainability manager. Starting with special degrees such as these:
- Bachelor of Ecology and Environmental Protection
- Bachelor for Sustainable Development
- Master for Strategic Sustainability Management
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Sustainability Management
However, lateral entry is also possible. The prerequisite is usually a degree, and the specialization can vary greatly depending on the company and industry.
Good to know:
A sustainability manager at an organic lemonade producer, for example, will have a degree in beverage technology, whereas a CSR manager at an architecture firm is more likely to have a degree in engineering. The right degree is therefore a basic qualification, but ultimately the will to realize sustainable developments in society and the economy also counts.
Hard Skills
A sustainability manager needs specialist knowledge - especially in the areas in which the company operates. As the CSR manager has to work closely with (almost) all specialist departments as well as with senior management, they need the following hard skills in their job:
- Understanding value creation: Each specialist department pursues its own (approach) goals. The sustainability manager should be aware of these interests and harmonize them with his or her own goals. Changes are most likely to be accepted if they are not at the expense of others.
- Understanding the stakeholders: Implementing CSR goals is all about stakeholders. Understanding the values and needs of stakeholders helps CSR managers to realize a cross-interest orientation and win over important partners.
- Economic thinkingSustainability is also all about business. It is a misunderstanding if the CSR manager is seen as a pure philanthropist. Every sustainability manager's project should have a solid business case and make a profit.
- Know the business language: Every industry, every specialist department has its own vocabulary that the CSR manager should master. If plans and projects cannot be presented in the right "language", internal support (and therefore implementation) will fail.
- Monitoring and evaluation capabilitiesThe implementation of a reliable reporting and analysis system is a basic prerequisite for measuring and improving the effectiveness of the CSR measures taken.
Good to know:
Corporate social responsibility cannot be done from an island. A sustainability officer must raise awareness of issues, develop strategies, establish processes, promote cooperation and point out shortcomings. They always need partners in the company to help with implementation.
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Soft skills
The hard skills mentioned above already show that the skills of a sustainability manager require a great deal of communication and coordination. The most important soft skills of a CSR manager include the following:
- Openness to different perspectives: Understanding the perspectives of other departments, stakeholders, etc. can be helpful in order to be able to implement your own goals. Finally, it is important to keep the dialog open and close the gap between different positions.
- Commitment and communication: Clear and concise communication of the values and objectives of the measures to be implemented is often crucial to ensure that new social and environmental standards are supported and implemented by all those involved.
- Strategic empathy: A CSR manager should not only help themselves. Ideally, they should have an understanding of the goals and positions of important stakeholders and be able to reconcile these with their goals and measures - and ultimately create win-win situations.
- Know the pain points: Every company struggles with certain threats, weaknesses, obstacles, challenges and competitors. One of the skills of the sustainability manager is therefore to think strategically about which CSR measures can help to eliminate certain pain points.
- Willingness to learn: Working as a sustainability manager requires a lot of research. You have to have a lot of patience and always be willing to familiarize yourself with new topics. Learning a lot of new things and taking a flexible approach are always part of a Sustainability Manager's everyday life.
Good to know:
Communication is the key skill of a sustainability manager. Clear, concise, interest-based communication is essential to convince all stakeholders to develop and implement CSR measures.
Sustainability manager: training & further education
Sustainability is one of the greatest challenges of our time. On the one hand, more and more people prefer sustainable products and services, while on the other, companies increasingly want to take on more ecological responsibility and offer their employees a "green" environment - with high social and ecological standards.
This is why many companies and corporations around the world have long had their own CSR departments and more and more jobs for sustainability managers and sustainability officers are being advertised.
Education
There is no special training for sustainability managers. There are special courses of study that certainly make it easier to become a CSR manager. However, depending on the industry and size of the company , skills may also be required that are better suited to graduates from other degree courses, such as engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine.
In practice, there are always career changers as sustainability managers. They often previously worked in specialist departments of the company and then switch to the CSR department. For this reason, numerous training courses for CSR managers are offered in the DACH region, which enable training and further education in this area.
Further training
Specialist further education and training courses for sustainability managers focus on the most important topics relating to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Suitable further education and training courses for sustainability managers therefore usually cover the following content:
- Implementing sustainability in processes
- Sustainability in supply chain management
- Sustainability within the organization
- Sustainability in transport logistics
- Measuring and promoting sustainability
- Green HR (Human Resources)
- and many more...
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How much do you earn as a sustainability manager?
The salary of a sustainability manager depends heavily on the respective industry, degree and previous professional experience. However, other factors such as location, region and company size also have an impact on the salary.
Tip: Further training can have a positive effect on salary negotiations.
In principle, it can be assumed that a sustainability manager earns between €50,000 and €80,000 gross per year on average. Six-figure annual incomes are possible, but rare in practice.
How do you become a sustainability manager?
In principle, there are two ways to work as a CSR manager:
- You complete an appropriate course of study, e.g. a Bachelor's degree in Ecology and Environmental Protection, a Master's degree in Strategic Sustainability Management, etc.
- You have a degree (e.g. Diplom, Bachelor's, Master's) and start your career in sustainability management as a "career changer".
Courses, training and further training for sustainability managers can refresh the application - especially for lateral entrants.
Did you know: Although almost all companies claim that climate protection is an urgent task for the economy and society, many companies have not yet taken a systematic approach to achieving CSR goals. According to a study published in 2022, over 50% of the companies surveyed have not yet developed a sustainability strategy or are only just in the process of drafting one.
Sustainability manager is a job of the future
– Training & further education at Haufe Akademie
More than ever before, companies are being judged by society on the extent to which they set and achieve sustainable development goals. Sustainability within the company and corporate social responsibility along the entire value chain are increasingly becoming strategically important tasks of today's corporate policy.
These are important reasons why the profession of sustainability manager will be more important in the future than it is today. If you want to become a CSR manager, you basically only need two things: a degree and the will to bring about sustainable change in business and society.
The range of further training courses for both existing and prospective sustainability managers is extensive. And in this dynamic professional field in particular, continuous further training is an important prerequisite if you want to be successful as a CSR manager. With our practice-oriented courses and seminars, we prepare you optimally for your job as a sustainability manager - regardless of whether you have completed a suitable course of study or are starting out as a career changer.
For reasons of better readability, the article does not use female and male language forms simultaneously and uses the generic masculine. All personal designations apply equally to all genders.
FAQs: Sustainability manager
What is a sustainability manager?
Sustainability managers - also known as CSR managers or sustainability managers - are responsible for implementing all of a company's social and environmental concerns - but always with an eye on profitability.
What does a Corporate Social Responsibility Manager do?
In order for a CSR manager to implement sustainable processes and establish new social and ecological standards in the company, they must work together with the specialist departments. A sustainability manager therefore not only needs specialist know-how, but also communication skills.
How do you become a Sustainability Manager?
In principle, there are two ways to become a sustainability manager:
- Through an "ecological" course of study, e.g. a Bachelor's degree in Ecology and Environmental Protection or a Master's degree in Strategic Sustainability Management.
- You have a different (industry-specific) degree and are applying as a "career changer".
How much do you earn as a sustainability manager?
On average, a sustainability manager earns between 50,000 euros and 80,000 euros gross per year. Depending on the industry and company size, six-figure gross annual salaries are also possible.
Why do companies need a sustainability manager?
Companies are increasingly being judged by society on the extent to which they implement sustainable principles. Sustainability managers ensure that climate protection is implemented throughout the entire company - from production and services to the supply chain.
