“It’s a broad term, but degrees like a bachelor of science are needed for the more scientific roles, and some sort of postgraduate study in sustainability would be pretty valuable.”
Demand for sustainability graduates in areas like carbon emissions, clean energy, accountancy and data analysis is set to soar with new laws requiring businesses to provide annual Climate Related Financial Disclosures (CRFD) from next January.
Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council.
Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, says the mandatory requirements are likely to be a game changer for Australian businesses.
“The new laws will require companies to disclose a raft of climate-related information alongside their annual reports, including climate-related risks and opportunities, internal governance, and metrics and targets relating to greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.
“Initially these regulations will only apply to very large companies, but by July 2027 they will apply to any entity that is required to lodge financial reports and meets at least two of the following criteria: a consolidated revenue of $50 million or more; consolidated gross assets of $25 million or more; or more than 100 employees.
“Eventually, companies will need to disclose emissions in their supply chain, meaning smaller companies that sell goods and services to these larger companies are likely to be quizzed on their emissions and plans for cutting them over time.”
Tuning into company needs
A survey by ABB, a global technology company that advises industry on how to achieve a sustainable future, found 83 per cent of Australian businesses will increase investment in sustainability over the next three years.
Sarah Al-Hashimi, ABB’s head of Australian communications, says the top-tier executive role of chief sustainability officer is becoming a lot more prominent in Australia and internationally.
“Sustainability is growing in importance for a number of reasons,” she says. “Everything from investor expectations to board expectations and general public expectations in terms of corporate behaviour and dealing with climate change.
Sarah Al-Hashimi, ABB’s head of Australian communications.
“The engineering discipline, for instance, will start to take on new tertiary modules to deal with decarbonisation, so education is evolving and will continue to evolve as traditional jobs are re-skilled to meet the energy transition needs.”
Universities and educational institutes generally will need to make sure qualifications are being modified to meet the rapidly evolving technology landscape, Al-Hashimi adds, so that when workers enter the field, they are well qualified to handle the latest technologies.
“We need that talent to help construct and operate green infrastructure, but also within businesses to ensure sustainability strategies can deliver real commercial outcomes.”
Blackburne says the sustainability job candidates Hayes sees are driven by environmental motives rather than by money and are looking for employers that are genuine about sustainability and have a core belief in net zero.
“The sort of people that are attracted to this space want genuine, authentic principles at the company they work for, not just tokenistic,” he says.
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