The last decade has seen an evolution of what has become known as sustainability consulting: Corporate demand for expert advice on social responsibility, environmental impact mitigation strategies, environmental or socially-minded re-branding efforts development of new product and marketing strategies to serve environmental markets and internal and supply-chain assessments that have led to improved efficiencies and regulatory risk mitigation.
Initially led by boutique firms (headed by professionals with personal passions for environmental or social causes and career histories to match), larger firms (accounting, legal and traditional corporate consulting) soon entered the market, redirecting existing personnel or acquiring new expertise and applying their traditional business models to market demand for sustainability services.
The question, however, is whether there will be continued demand in the future -- i.e., is sustainability consulting sustainable?
The Drivers of Change
Over the past decade, mega-trends like globalization, e-commerce and information technology have fundamentally impacted businesses and markets. Over the next decade these and an expanding number of powerful drivers of market change will place a higher priority on foresight, innovation and adaptation -- by both companies and the consultants that seek to serve them. Among the key issues:
• Planetary Constraints. Population growth, land and agricultural stresses, growing stresses on water quantities and quality, extreme weather -- and social and regulatory responses to all -- will challenge markets and businesses in the 21st Century. Threats to the economic and political stability of the markets for companies' goods and services.
• Energy Dynamics. Rising populations, expanding middle class populations and increased urbanization will increase demand for modern energy services and the resources upon which they rely. These demands will have consequences for national and world economies, geopolitical relations as well as the environment.
• Information Flows and Expectations for Radical Transparency. The combination of changing stakeholder expectations and the power of social media will have impacts on corporate governance and transparency.
• Social Megatrends. Changing demographics and consumption, urbanization, population aging, deteriorating air and water quality with resulting health impacts, the liberalization of autocratic economies -- and the social and political responses to all -- will change markets and demand new business strategies.
• Market Push: Governmental Response. Governments around the world will respond to these global changes. Environmental regulation, trade policies, incentive structures, performance standards and disclosure rules are already business-impacting; their business relevance will only increase.
• Market Pull: Response of Global 100. Many of the world's largest multinational corporations are putting new demands on the companies in their supply chains far faster than governments are able to craft regulations.
Next page: The nine skills sustainability professionals need
Knowledge of how to implement
Knowledge of how to implement sustainable infrastructure.
Here is another skill that has been relevant for me in today's market place - knowledge of sustainable infrastructure. Sustainable infrastructure involves systems, tools and processes that are implemented to serve sustainable initiatives which are ideally based on internally created or external adapted frameworks. The infrastructure may involve tools, such as information technologies, that may have huge impacts. These impacts, to fit most frameworks, must be reduced.
What about understanding
What about understanding change?
Thank you for this Roger. I would like to add a skill which in my opinion is the one of the most crucial: the understanding of individual and organizational change processes and the ability to connect on both rational and emotional levels with people you are working with.
Organizational change begins and ends with individual change. Therefore any sustianability consultant that is not able to take an active role in that process - often focussing on technical aspects such as energy management or sustainability reporting - is lacking a very important aspect of durable results.
Thank you for a well
Thank you for a well articulated and thought provoking article – particularly for me as an owner of what Roger would describe as a niche sustainability agency.
One additional business area worth mentioning is marketing.
Of all company functions, marketing is perhaps the most challenged in knowing what to do with sustainability. Just how do you shift more product and be more sustainable? And how can mainstream companies make green more appealing to their core customers? The challenge of making consumerism sustainable is one of the most important and fascinating that confronts us.
One more set of skills to be developed by sustainability consultants.
The observations of diverse
The observations of diverse drivers and skills are very well summarized. I have enjoyed a diverse career journey that allows me to be as close to a "Jack of all trades" as I know.
I would add a few comments on choosing a career of "sustainability" "consulting" learned as much from hard knocks as exciting success stories. A few include:
Work for a company before attempting to consult to companies. MBA management consultants can be too confident about the "best practice" service approach and underestimate the value and importance of the client company's leadership skills and industry experience that influences their perspective on the best strategy to proceed with.
Once on a sustainability consulting career track, know your personal passions and business strengths and find a consulting company that compliments those well. Can you travel? Do you like to sell? Can you manage others and delegate or are you more of an expert personality?
There are many many of us that have ended up as entrepreneurs and work in small boutique companies. In this setting you need to watch your business fundamentals while preserving your values. There are many new sustainability consultants entering the market each day. They tend to drive hourly rates or general service pricing down, but don't understand half of the skills described in this article. There services and advice tend to follow the herd or even worse chase the ambulance to where they believe they can make a buck. Meeting the client where they are on their journey is distinctly different from telling them what they want to hear or having a service "hammer" and making every recommendation your nail.
One closing comment. This is a market of abundance! The need for more sustainability consultants with broad global awareness and skills is great and from my viewpoint the supply still too scarce.
More on Sustainability
More on Sustainability Consulting as a Career
The observations of diverse drivers and skills are very well summarized. I have enjoyed a diverse career journey that allows me to be as close to a "Jack of all trades" as I know.
I would add a few comments on choosing a career of "sustainability" "consulting" learned as much from hard knocks as exciting success stories. A few include:
Work for a company before attempting to consult to companies. MBA management consultants can be too confident about the "best practice" service approach and underestimate the value and importance of the client company's leadership skills and industry experience that influences their perspective on the best strategy to proceed with.
Once on a sustainability consulting career track, know your personal passions and business strengths and find a consulting company that compliments those well. Can you travel? Do you like to sell? Can you manage others and delegate or are you more of an expert personality?
There are many many of us that have ended up as entrepreneurs and work in small boutique companies. In this setting you need to watch your business fundamentals while preserving your values. There are many new sustainability consultants entering the market each day. They tend to drive hourly rates or general service pricing down, but don't understand half of the skills described in this article. There services and advice tend to follow the herd or even worse chase the ambulance to where they believe they can make a buck. Meeting the client where they are on their journey is distinctly different from telling them what they want to hear or having a service "hammer" and making every recommendation your nail.
One closing comment. This is a market of abundance! The need for more sustainability consultants with broad global awareness and skills is great and from my viewpoint the supply still too scarce.
The observations of diverse
The observations of diverse drivers and skills are very well summarized. I have enjoyed a diverse career journey that allows me to be as close to a "Jack of all trades" as I know.
I would add a few comments on choosing a career of "sustainability" "consulting" learned as much from hard knocks as exciting success stories. A few include:
Work for a company before attempting to consult to companies. MBA management consultants can be too confident about the "best practice" service approach and underestimate the value and importance of the client company's leadership skills and industry experience that influences their perspective on the best strategy to proceed with.
Once on a sustainability consulting career track, know your personal passions and business strengths and find a consulting company that compliments those well. Can you travel? Do you like to sell? Can you manage others and delegate or are you more of an expert personality?
There are many many of us that have ended up as entrepreneurs and work in small boutique companies. In this setting you need to watch your business fundamentals while preserving your values. There are many new sustainability consultants entering the market each day. They tend to drive hourly rates or general service pricing down, but don't understand half of the skills described in this article. There services and advice tend to follow the herd or even worse chase the ambulance to where they believe they can make a buck. Meeting the client where they are on their journey is distinctly different from telling them what they want to hear or having a service "hammer" and making every recommendation your nail.
One closing comment. This is a market of abundance! The need for more sustainability consultants with broad global awareness and skills is great and from my viewpoint the supply still too scarce.
Interesting and very
Interesting and very recognisable observations in this article. I do think that there is a current shift away from "selling green" as we have all seen that that is not a credible way forward. However, any consultant that claims to be a jack of all trades will bring little extra value to the party. Your tips for evolving strategies are spot on but I don't agree that the business is self limiting. Innovation is something that powers all businesses and sustainability (not compliance or risk mitigation) is the framework to drive innovation in the next industrial revolution.
The "green guy" is not the one with the woolly socks and Citroen 2CV, he's the business guy that sees the big picture and can comprehend a systems approach to deliver multi-stakeholder value.