What do you do if your sustainability skills and experiences don't align with your new role?

Everyone has different levels of knowledge in their own way about sustainabilty, this may be from basic information to more of an indepth understanding. Discussing what you know with others, may bring fresh ideas to your new place of work. Also, open you up to new ideas and strategies for your new place, to make a greener future.

Wing it! Lol, jk. Do your best to get up to speed by finding someone knowledgeable and trustworthy within your new organization. Make them your go to contact point and try your best to confirm your new understandings with them Just don’t overdo it so to burden or annoy them :)

Assess Your Sustainability Skills: Core Sustainability Knowledge: Evaluate your understanding of core sustainability principles like circular economy, life cycle assessment (LCA), and climate change. Industry-Specific Knowledge: Consider if your previous sustainability experience focused on a specific industry (e.g., renewable energy) and how it might translate to your new role. Sustainability Tools and Frameworks: Review your familiarity with tools like LCA software or reporting frameworks (GRI, SASB) used in your previous role. Soft Skills: Identify transferable soft skills like data analysis, communication, and project management relevant to sustainability.

Perform a self assessment to assess the current sustainability skillset. There are various skills such an energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste efficiency, product efficiency, carbon footprint, renewable energy, biodiversity, environmental impacts, business impacts, materiality assessment etc. Now evaluate how these sustainability skills can be integrated with the current job responsibilities and will lead to process or business optimization in terms of social, environment, & economic impacts.

Conduct a thorough self-assessment to identify the specific skills and knowledge gaps between your current capabilities and the requirements of your new role. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses, as well as areas where you need further development.

While a lot of gaps can only be filled with on job training, you must find ways of bridging them yourself. Try to identify the individual gaps and plug them with appropriate workaround. You progression on any path would be a testament to your efforts towards sustainability. While perfection is a journey, an approach of bridging the gaps is the fuel that takes you closer to it.

If there is a gap between the sustainability skill set and current new job responsibilities then identify the nature of gaps. After identification of gaps, bridge the gaps by adapting new learning paths to gain the skill. There are numbers of ways to seek or improve the skill set such as seeking feedback from peers, seeking feedback from advisors, seeking feedback from consultants, short courses, certification, degree, webinar, learning benchmarked sustainable practices, seeking mentorship etc. Adopt the learning path according to your goal and embark on a new journey.

If you find your sustainability skills don't quite align with your new role, don't fret. It's like facing a new challenge – an opportunity for growth. Take proactive steps to bridge the gap. Seek out learning opportunities in your new industry, whether it's through courses or mentorship from experienced professionals who have successfully integrated sustainability. By adapting and expanding your skills, you not only enhance your own capabilities but also contribute to making your new role more sustainable. It's about embracing change and demonstrating your commitment to personal development and sustainability in any context.

Take advantage of training programs, workshops, courses, or certifications that can help you acquire the necessary skills and knowledge related to sustainability and your new role. Look for opportunities both within your organization and externally to enhance your expertise

If your sustainability expertise doesn’t align with your current role, seek intersections where your knowledge can contribute to organizational efficiencies and waste reduction. Advocate for initiatives that offer both financial savings and enhance the company’s environmental profile. Position yourself as the in-house authority on sustainability, sharing insights, setting an example, and documenting the positive outcomes of implemented measures. This method not only showcases the tangible value of your skills but also integrates sustainability into the corporate ethos, underscoring its importance across all roles.

Engage with professionals in the sustainability field through networking events, conferences, online forums, or professional associations. Connect with individuals who can offer insights, advice, and support as you navigate your new role and develop your sustainability skills.

Incorporate sustainability into your work by identifying energy savings, waste reduction, and process improvements. Promote sustainable innovations and integrate environmental considerations into decision-making. This approach enhances efficiency, drives innovation, and demonstrates your value as a forward-thinking employee.

Incorporate your sustainability skill set and learnings into new job role. Find ways how you can contribute towards improving sustainable business practices which will eventually optimize the operations. Implement your sustainability skill set to reduce the significant social, environmental, and economic impacts on business activities such as green initiatives, green technology, green energy, waste minimization, energy optimization, etc. You can offer your sustainability expertise to help organization in reducing environmental footprints followed by significant cost savings.

You have always something différent and specific that you can bring to the table ! Diversity brings growth and adds to the talent pool.

Clear, transparent, and effective communication is the key to success. It is necessary for you to communicate the sustainability consequences either positive or negative to your stakeholders transparently and effectively. Establish effective communication on how sustainable practices can improve business case, business results, processes optimization, environment footprint, brand reputations, cost reductions etc. Your communication will setup the engagement and interest level for your stakeholders. To seek positive outcomes, the communication must be concise with clear business impacts of sustainable practices.

Set clear goals for yourself in terms of what specific sustainability skills you want to develop and prioritize them based on their relevance to your new role and career aspirations. Break down larger goals into smaller, achievable milestones to track your progress.

Clear communication is an asset, a key skill you can leverage on ! And that is not so common actually. Concise and funny beats long and dull !

Being a sustainability professional it is necessary to show other colleagues the value of sustainable practices by advocating and exhibiting sustainability examples such as reducing your carbon footprint, reducing paper printing, reduced use of fossil based vehicles, promoting green initiatives such as tree plantation, digitalization of work processes etc. there are all the examples of fostering the sustainable behavior and culture within the organization.

Alignement of your speech and your actions is imperative. Don't greenwash yourself you will pay dearly in the end. Admit shortcomings shows maturity and willingness to progress. Fake perfection can blow up and kill credibility j. a moment

Try to work with individuals doing work in the field. You may want to identify different groups basis - seniority (Executive level, senior executive level, ground team, etc.) - industry domain (health, travel, retail, etc.) - work type (Advisory, implementation, monitoring) Eventually, an exposure of learning from different groups will augment your skills to suit the environment.

Sustainability is a journey towards life / business models within planetary / human boundaries. Indeed all current / future roles will need to be upgraded; requiring new skills. So don’t worry! start adding this skills step by step by having access to external/int. education, follow thought leaders & start practicing this in your day to day! Second be aware that sustainable solutions come with a market tension as there is a market failure for most environmental & societal externalities ; so you should learn about this gaps and more important how to monetize them in order to make sustainable solutions under current growth model. Having said that be sure that the new skills not only would be of great demand; they have a huge value !

If one's Sustainability skills do not align with a new role, there are several steps one can take to bridge the gap and adapt to the requirements of the position: - Gain Experience: Seek opportunities to gain practical experience in sustainability through internships, volunteering, or projects. Hands-on experience can help apply theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills. - Obtain Credentials: Consider earning sustainability credentials or certifications to demonstrate commitment to sustainability and enhance credibility in the field. - Networking: Build a professional network within the sustainability field. Networking can provide opportunities for mentorship, learning from experts, and gaining insights into the industry.

1. Most importantly, check out you transferable skills that you have from past jobs that fit this new role. It's comforting to know you've got some skills and not everything is new. 2. Get a tutor, teacher, or mentor and self learning or discipline is difficult. It's way faster than trying to figure it all out on your own. 3. Instead of investing on courses, invest in a good mentor. A great mentor can help you get where you want to go way faster if you're open to learning from them. 4. Remember, upskilling takes time and consistency is the key.

Conforme minhas experiências se suas habilidades em sustentabilidade não estiverem alinhadas com sua nova função, primeiro avalie as lacunas de competências necessárias e em seguida, busque aprendizado e desenvolvimento. Participe de cursos, workshops e treinamentos relacionados. Além disso, procure mentores e colegas que possam oferecer orientação. Busque integrar suas habilidades em sustentabilidade de maneira criativa, identificando oportunidades para aplicá-las na nova função, seja através de projetos específicos, iniciativas internas ou colaborações interdepartamentais. Mantenha-se atualizado sobre as tendências e práticas emergentes em sua área, e esteja aberto a novas perspectivas e abordagens.