By Environmental Careers
To say that there is a dearth of environment and sustainability specialists in the market today would not be an understatement. Some reports suggest that approximately 20% of the Indian workforce is currently employed in “green jobs.” This is expected to increase to 40% by the year 2030. A cursory analysis of the job profiles posted on various online job platforms reveals that the demand for specialists in environmental science has increased by 80-85% during the last year. The majority of these jobs are located in urban metropolitan areas of India like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, etc., and across the globe. More interestingly, these jobs are spread across all kinds of economic sectors, major industrial houses, and multinationals.
Sectors that are consistently looking for green graduates from an institute of environment & sustainable development include Energy, Pharma, Automobiles, Fashion & Design, Infrastructure & Construction, Banking & Finance, Consultancies, Water & Energy Policy, Think Tanks, etc. Market leaders such as E&Y, KPMG, Enzen Global, Evans Denham, H&M, Novartis, L&T, PerkinElmer, Garrett, ExxonMobil, JLL, Hitachi Energy, Schneider Electric, ERM, World Resources Institute, Indicus Foundation, Council on Energy, Environment & Water, Tata, Infosys, NTPC, UltraTech, and Wipro have regularly issued public advertisements seeking environmental specialists. Unfortunately, owing to a dearth of trained environment & sustainability professionals, they are forced to outsource the jobs to external agencies or hire consulting firms to train their workforce for “green roles.”
Career Paths & Opportunities
For a more focused understanding of these jobs and markets, it is useful to look at some promising options for graduates from an institute of environment & sustainable development who may choose to work for Indian or overseas multinationals or think tanks.
- Renewable Energy: India has an ambitious target of generating 500 gigawatts (GW) of energy by the year 2030. Translated into workforce requirements, this would mean the availability of 2.3 million jobs by 2030. As of 2016, the total number of estimated direct and indirect renewable energy jobs in India stood at 385,200. This translates into a nearly 500% increase in the number of jobs in just the renewable energy sector in India.
- Environmental Impact Assessment and Risk Analysis (EIA): EIA, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), is a tool used to estimate the environmental impact of a project during the planning, execution, production, and post-production stages. It serves as an effective tool to manage and limit the negative impacts of development projects and processes. Environmental management plans, as a part of EIA, equip graduates to suggest and implement changes in project designs aimed at win-win situations benefiting various stakeholders.
India has a 1.8% share of the global environmental consulting market, with the majority of these being EIA firms and consultancies. In terms of size, India’s environmental consultancy market ranks 8th in the world. Career options for environment and sustainability graduates in these EIA firms range from Sustainability Managers and Consultants to Biodiversity Specialists, Climate Analysts, Risk Analysts, Hydrological Analysts, Sustainability Executives, Environmental Remediation Experts, and Environment, Sustainability, and Governance Managers. - Climate Change Jobs: India ranks 7th in terms of the Global Climate Risk Index concerning the impacts of climate change. To mitigate these impacts, the Government of India is focusing heavily on making industrial practices carbon-neutral. As a part of this policy, both private and public sectors are trying to employ Environmental Managers, Environmental Consultants, Environmental Monitoring Officers, and Carbon Credits Accreditation Officers.
International agencies such as the United Nations (UN), including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), regularly advertise positions such as Climate Change and Adaptation Specialists, Climate Risk Analysts, Marine and Mangrove Specialists, Environment and Social Safeguard Officers, Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, Climate Change Mobilisers, and Environmental Project Officers.
More recently, there has been a renewed global push to make all public and private sectors compliant with Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) norms. ESG will soon become a mandatory norm, as non-ESG firms may struggle to attract investors in the stock market. Reports indicate that the demand for ESG jobs in India grew by 468% between 2019-2022. Moreover, 57% of Indian CEOs agree that the growth of their companies is positively correlated with ESG strategic investments. - Waste Management: India generates about 62 million tonnes of waste each year, with per capita waste generation varying between 0.2-0.6 kg. The Government of India, under the aegis of the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” has recently started funding and promoting many startups to tackle the problem of waste generation.
Startups like SKRAP, Saahas Zero Waste, NAMO E-Waste, Anthill Creations, Extracarbon, Kabadiwala, and GEM Enviro Management are effectively putting the concept of “Wealth from Waste” into practice. These startups not only serve as avenues for employment generation by hiring Waste Management specialists but also provide entrepreneurship opportunities.
The waste management market in India was approximately USD 6.91 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 40 billion by 2030. Waste management is a core subject in any Environmental Science/Studies degree programme, ensuring that environment/sustainability graduates have an upper hand in finding entrepreneurship avenues and employment opportunities in this sector. - Pollution Control: Environment/sustainability graduates with expertise and hands-on working knowledge in pollution control and management strategies have always been in great demand in the public and private sectors.
Central and State Pollution Control Boards regularly hire scientists on a temporary and permanent basis. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), along with its subsidiary offices and private industries, hires Environment Specialists, Environment Officers, Scientists, and Pollution Control Officers to coordinate the regulation, implementation, and oversight of projects related to environmental protection and conservation.
Nearly all industries in India now have an environmental management unit in which specialists in pollution control, management, and abatement are employed.
Conclusion
Apart from the above-mentioned sectors and avenues, graduates from an institute of environment & sustainable development are also growing in demand in non-conventional industries. Sustainable Fashion and Green Architecture are the new buzzwords nowadays. Companies are investing heavily in both manpower and finances to enhance sustainability and resource optimisation.
The time is now ripe to move from the traditional choices of Medical, Engineering, or Basic Science/Social Science subjects to interdisciplinary areas like Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, and Environment & Sustainability programmes that offer a plethora of opportunities and better prospects for young students entering college. Not only will these programmes provide young students with gainful employment, but their jobs will also bring much-needed relief to a wounded Earth.