Sustainability manager (Manager duurzaamheid)
Information on this skill...
A sustainability manager is responsible for various activities that have to do with the sustainability of organizations. In short, we can best describe the work of a sustainability manager as implementing the policy of the organization in question with regard to sustainability. Sustainability is a broad concept and can differ in content per organization. Sustainability does go beyond just installing solar panels as an organization. Sustainability can relate to many different types of measures. Consider, for example, measures that reduce the number of employees who come to work by car or measures to use less paper within the organization. Depending on the organization in which a sustainability manager works, it may also be the case that a sustainability manager has to deal with customers of the organization with regard to sustainability. Think, for example, of energy companies, municipalities and the national government. The profession of sustainability manager should therefore be seen as fairly general, because a sustainability manager can work for various companies and governments. As a sustainability manager, you are in all cases responsible for implementing the sustainability policy. Nowadays, more and more organizations have to deal with sustainability policy, because corporate social responsibility is important. Corporate social responsibility means that organisations do not only look at economic performance. Sustainability policy is now just as important to organisations as the economic performance achieved. It is the sustainability manager who will implement all new policies that affect the organization.
As a sustainability manager, you are responsible for making the organisation in which you work more sustainable. A sustainability manager can also be responsible for making the customers of the organization in question more sustainable. Because sustainability is in many cases only possible through changes, a sustainability manager can also be regarded as a change manager or as an innovation manager. Depending on the type of organization in which a sustainability manager will work exactly, it is conceivable that a sustainability manager will manage various specialists such as energy consultants who are responsible for informing the relevant customers of the organization about sustainability measures. Another example could be managing waste coaches who tell residents within certain municipalities more about waste separation. There are also more and more organizations that use a mobility advisor transport with regard to sustainability.
TRANSITION TO AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND/OR ENERGY-NEUTRAL SOCIETY
In short, energy transition comes down to the switch from fossil fuels to fully sustainable energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy. The use of fossil fuels such as coal in coal-fired power stations to generate energy will become increasingly limited, because the emergence of new techniques can also generate energy in other ways. Heat pumps also make it possible to become more sustainable. A heat pump uses electricity to extract heat from the air, soil or groundwater. Energy transition does not only relate to wind turbines and solar panels, because the energy transition relates to sustainable technology in a broad way. Consider, for example, the further use of electric vehicles or the use of electric aircraft, so that there will be fewer emissions of harmful substances.
ACTIVITIES MANAGER SUSTAINABILITY
The activities of a sustainability manager cannot be clearly defined, because they can relate to different types of work. Think, for example, of insulating a company building, of better recycling of work materials or of consultancy work to make employees and / or customers more aware of sustainability. Other activities can be switching to modern lighting so that energy is saved by the organization. How a sustainability manager will work exactly and what responsibilities a sustainability manager has can differ per organization.
As a sustainability manager, you can therefore be responsible for implementing sustainability measures in a broad way. In many cases, it is internal or external policy advisors who devise new policy measures. It is up to the sustainability manager to implement the new policy measures within the organization. It is not the case that a sustainability manager can simply be regarded as an environmentalist. It is true that a sustainability manager can work together with an environmentalist. In addition, in most cases, a sustainability manager can work together with various supervisors who have specialized in sustainability measures. A sustainability manager can therefore use various sparring partners to be able to do business in a socially responsible manner as an organization.
SOME TASKS AS SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER:
- Managing other employees
- Coordinating the work
- Implementing the policy in the workplace
- Possibly devising and developing marketing strategies
- Informing about company policies
- Informing the board and other managers
- Organizing possible training meetings
- Monitoring the efficiency of measures
- Monitoring the set objectives
WHAT DOES A SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
There are no specific recognized training courses for sustainability manager, other than courses and short training courses for experienced managers. A sustainability manager will generally have to have at least an appropriate hbo education in the field of project management and/or quality management. Some possible hbo programmes are the Hbo programme Commercial Economics and the Hbo programme Business Management. In some cases, the Bachelor's degree in Architecture can also be seen as a suitable programme, depending on where exactly the sustainability manager works. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE A SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER CAN WORK
A sustainability manager can work for various types of companies, governments and institutions, because everyone has to deal with sustainability. For example, a sustainability manager can be a civil servant who works for municipalities or works for water boards as a sustainability manager. In addition, it is perfectly conceivable that a sustainability manager works as a consultant or as an entrepreneur.
COMPETENCES SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
The most important competence of a sustainability manager is that the sustainability manager has general management skills, because a sustainability manager will manage various employees. Another important competence can be working as a motivation coach, so that other employees and / or customers also understand that sustainability is important. Inspiration can also be seen as an important competence. Generally important words are communication, collaboration, delegation, vigilance, control, planning, organizing, creativity and critical thinking.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
The labour market perspective as a sustainability manager cannot simply be indicated, because this will generally depend entirely on the education received and the sector in which you work. In general, it will certainly not be impossible to find work as a sustainability manager, because sustainability plays an important role within many organizations. The career opportunities as a sustainability manager cannot simply be indicated because they can differ per organization. The level of education and your own competencies generally play an important role when we talk about possible career opportunities.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
There are no examples of the employment conditions as a sustainability manager, because a sustainability manager can work for various types of companies, governments and institutions that use different collective agreements. A sustainability manager who has a bachelor's degree will generally earn a salary between 4000 and 6000 euros gross per month depending on age, education and further responsibilities.
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