Must-have STEM skills for a sustainability career

There are a number of key skills that are crucial to a long and successful career in the sustainability sector.

When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, global sustainability and ensuring a fair and equitable future, graduates, early-career starters and established professionals will need a battery of science, technology, engineering and maths skills (STEM). 

Defined as advancing economic growth for the current population without depleting natural resources for future generations, sustainable development is a key focus for many modern-day organisations and employees. The following list highlights examples of the many skills professionals should brush up on if they are to have an impact in a highly competitive and important area. 

Clean energy

Renewable energy is a core tenet of sustainability and a key sector for green experts. People in this area should have intricate knowledge of clean energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power and the technologies used to harness their potential. 

Useful skills to have include physics, design and operational talents, as professionals should know how and why something works, how it can be turned into a usable resource and how it can be sustainably maintained overtime. Technical knowledge in the clean energy space is changing by the day, requiring professionals to commit to what may well be life-long learning. 

Although it isn’t strictly a STEM skill, another useful ability for clean energy experts is project management as initiatives often require years, or even decades, of intensive and accurate planning. A strong leader is needed to ensure that factors such as resources, stakeholders, deadlines, safety, usability and unpredictability are all taken into consideration, over a long period of time. 

Data and strategy

Unsurprisingly, many of the jobs in the sustainability sector depend on advanced technologies, strategies and an understanding of how data translates to action. Anyone planning on a future in sustainability should consider earning a qualification or certification in data and analytics. Nowadays, decisions are often data-driven and teams qualified to interpret and utilise that information are crucial. 

If you envision a future where you would like to work with information related to issues such as carbon emissions, resource waste, energy usage, changes in climate and more, then a solid background in data and analytics will be necessary. It is likely a very rewarding endeavour as you get to find new ways to compile, interpret and act upon information, for the betterment of the planet and the 8bn or so people who reside on it. 

Additionally, experts should aim to understand geospatial tools that enable the mapping and tracking of environmental data. Typically geographic information systems can be combined to aid natural resource planning. 

Artificial Intelligence 

AI is related to data and strategy, however, it sort of has celebrity status at the minute and for that it gets its own section. It is a major must-have when it comes to upskilling for a career in sustainability and wannabe experts would benefit greatly from certification in this area. 

Research from the World Economic Forum shows that AI is likely to super-charge sustainable development in four major ways: through innovation, sustainable financing, impact management and measurement, and lastly, by shifting the public perception of sustainability.

Potential STEM professionals should explore how the merging of AI and sustainability is a potential catalyst for solving many of the world’s most pressing problems. 

Whether it is research, innovation, finance, risk management, energy consumption, resource delegation or one of the dozens of other core areas of sustainability, AI will likely make an impact in all of them, making it a subject you are going to want to study and perhaps even perfect.  

Environmental economics

Whether we like it or not we live in a society that reduces almost everything to how much it will cost in the end. Therefore, experts looking to improve their STEM skills as a means to apply for a role in the sustainability sector should consider learning more about environmental economics. 

Interdisciplinary experience across the STEM sector could be useful here, as a range of skills in areas such as fintech, agritech, qualitative research, economics, statistics and analytics, among others would be ideal. 

By researching the economic principles of sustainability, for example weighing up cost versus benefits, individuals can empower their organisations to make financial decisions that are in line with long-lived sustainable practices. 

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.