For any student seeking to be a trailblazer for positive change in their career, check out this latest blog from student Nadine Guerfi with her valuable tips on kickstarting a sustainability or environment-focused career.

Nadine has an impressive track record as a former Climate Champion, has done inspiring work through One Young World, and was previously chair of Bath Model United Nations.

Why a green career?

There are many ways in which graduates can fight climate change within their careers and industry. While some roles directly act on climate, there are many other roles where individuals can work in climate-positive companies or even work to create change from within companies that are not currently doing great things for climate action. 

We are at a pivotal time in the job market where linking your professional life with a meaningful social and environmental impact is increasingly possible. Environmental jobs are rising today, as a green transition cannot occur without a green workforce.

1. Choose your sector 

Where do students start with knowing what they’d like to do or who they’d like to work for?

Your course is a great place to start, whether you study chemical engineering, business management, or politics: the environment is a topic that will come up. Climate action can be undertaken in different realms of business life: in the production and design process, in policy and decision-making, and so on. As a result, I recommend seeking climate action from within your respective sector. This strategy throughout different sectors allows for a uniform approach to effective change.

Furthermore, within the environmental sector, you can be involved in several ways: communication and public affairs, consulting and strategy, innovation and research, politics, and policy-making. This shows how today’s job market allows you to join your corporate fantasies and goals with environmental impact.

2. Build your experience 

What skills, knowledge, or experience might a student need to consider getting to be suitable for these roles? Join student groups to start your impact journey at the University!

• Choose your modules wisely: the University and various departments have been incorporating climate-related/ social responsibility modules. Beyond being extremely relevant when looking for jobs, they give you the necessary knowledge on how climate action can be driven within your field of study.
• Become Climate Literacy certified by taking part in a workshop led by the Climate Action Team; it'll look great on your CV and give you something to talk about with prospective employers. 
• The SU: plenty of student groups have an environmental realm and tackle climate action, such as People and Planet and Bath Model United Nations. Beyond giving you the necessary knowledge needed on core topics, they allow you to gain experience from within through being surrounded by like-minded people, working on projects, attending conferences and joining the committee.
• One Young World Bath: is a yearly conference held at the University in collaboration with One Young World. Each year, the conference discusses different SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals): you can get involved as a delegate, as a volunteer, as an organising committee, or as a co-chair. Whichever role you hold, you will have the chance to meet, talk to, and listen to experts in sustainability. This event is an excellent opportunity to learn, build your network, and narrow your interests and passions.
• Climate Champions: Do you want a great experience as a student representative for the Climate Action Team here at the University? Where you can have an impact on transitioning to a green campus! The projects you get involved in range from energy saving to recycling and fair-trade, allowing you to gain experience across different aspects of sustainability. Last year’s climate champions almost unanimously went on to a placement or graduate role in an environmental field including sustainability consulting, social impact, and so on.
• Get involved in your community: pay a visit to the student climate action webpage where you can learn more about the climate and gain hands on experience in a variety of ways. 

3. Dive in! 

• LinkedIn is the place to go, in my opinion: connect with people who are already working in roles or companies that you aspire to. Join groups and networks to join potential change-makers, for example, Corporate Social Responsibility, Women in Sustainability… The algorithm will then increasingly recommend companies that work for the environment and individuals. Feel free to take the lead and message professionals whose careers inspire you and whose path you aspire to follow. Most people will answer you and provide you with feedback and golden advice.
• Podcasts and learning resources: Chatham House, World Economic Forum, The Climate Question, and Ted Climate. These reliable and legitimate sources give you the knowledge you need on the environment, can be a source of discussion at networking events, and can be mentioned in the ‘interests’ section of your CV to illustrate your commercial awareness.
• Check out nationwide student networks like SOS-UK - Students Organising for Sustainability, which have plenty of resources for learning, advocacy, and gaining practical experiences such as Green Auditing training and more!

4. How to escape greenwashing 

How to identify greenwashing?

How can students navigate Greenwash to ascertain who they might like to work for? Solution: research, research, and research. Students are often afraid to end up working in a company that is known or may be known in the future for greenwashing. As it may hinder their reputation in the environmental field. What should we do, and how should we escape it? It is hard to know for sure with ESG, CSR, and Net Zero becoming buzzwords in the sector. So, researching the companies and looking at their social impact or sustainability reports may help you understand the quality of the transition they aim to achieve and whether or not you want to be part of it. Furthermore, there is a wide range of online resources such as Change Agents and Environment Jobs which are ethical and environmental-focused recruitment sites to support you in your job search.

We are the world’s future leaders, decision-makers, and project managers. Being at such a crucial turning point with the advent of environmentalism across different areas of business and the workforce, we should make sure to contribute to correcting the mistakes of businesses of the past for a more sustainable future and genuinely embody being a driver of change.

Nadine Guerfi

3rd year Politics with Economics student, currently on placement