Chief Sustainability Officers

Participating in an internship or part-time job at a company with a sustainability department is a good way to gain valuable work experience. Search for sustainability projects and volunteer your time; this will give you firsthand experience with the types of programs that chief sustainability officers develop and oversee. If you are still in school, join an environmental club and volunteer for environmental projects and events. Investigate the sustainability programs that are in place at your school. If such a program does not exist, offer to work with professors and college staff to develop one.

Another great way to develop business skills that will be beneficial for future sustainability officer work is by joining national student clubs such as Business Professions of America (http://www.bpa.org) and Junior Achievement (https://jausa.ja.org). Get involved in a local chapter near you.

Keep up with corporate and management issues by reading publications such asBarron’s(https://www.barrons.com), the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com), Forbes (http://www.forbes.com), Bloomberg Businessweek (https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek), Fortune (https://fortune.com), and Financial Times (http://www.ft.com). (Note: Certain sections of these publications online may be available only to subscribers.) You should also read sustainability-focused journals such as Sustainability (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability), Frontiers in Sustainability (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainability), and Sustainable Business Journal (https://journals.usm.ac.id/index.php/sbj).

Set up an information interview with a chief sustainability officer. Find candidates through an online search and contact them by e-mail. You can also find interviews with CSOs by conducting a keyword search using the phrase "chief sustainability officer." Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? How have your job duties changed in recent years?