Three Skills You Need to Work in ESG
ESG is one of the biggest buzzwords on the market. And as the Environmental, Social, and Governance industry grows, so does the job availability within it. To unpack ESG, CSR, and the corporate impact acronyms in between, 18 Coffees hosted a panel conversation with Senior Director of ESG at GitLab Stacy Cline, Head of Enterprise ESG & Chief of Staff to the Chief Information and Operations Officer at Guardian Life Veena Jayadeva, and Loyola University Baumhart Center’s Dr. Jenn Griffin. These industry experts understand what it takes to grow a career within the impact space and know what to look for amongst new talent. We ask each of them what skills you’ll need if considering a role with ESG. Here’s what they had to say:
Understanding Trends
It’s always beneficial to have a pulse on industry trends, but within ESG, it’s crucial to establishing a strong foundation and growing a career in the space. “I did not start in ESG — I started in CSR. I started in employee volunteerism, and then social impact, and then worked my way to an ESG role by following trends,” said Cline. She encourages practitioners to ask questions and find opportunities to apply new ideas within their current organization. “For the company I’m working for, where is there benefit in these things that are happening? How can I impact change? How can I bring this to the table and say, ‘Here’s what’s shifting, and here’s where we need to focus,’ and propose those ideas?”
“When you stay ahead of the curve and you know where the field is moving, you can get ahead of it and bring things back to your company,” agreed Jayadeva. Whether it’s through conferences, courses, or panels like this one, absorbing all the industry knowledge you can will grow your foundation in ESG and make you stand out.
Networking
As with any industry, networking with those already in the field can help you answer questions, understand different perspectives, keep up with trends, and carve a path to new opportunities. Cline said, “A lot of learning happened from conversations like this. Just talking to people who have been in the field is really important, growing your network there.”
While networking outside of your organization is helpful, don’t forget to look inward and foster relationships with those inside your workplace as well. These connections can be pivotal when securing buy-in for ESG initiatives and capitalizing on opportunities to try something new.
Jayadeva recommends being proactive and entrepreneurial when it comes to growing your network. “Don’t shy away from reaching out and building relationships. You never know where opportunities come from. Stacy and I sat on a bus together years ago and here we are now — you never know when your paths will cross again.”
Adaptability
With new tactics and benchmarks constantly in flux, the ability to pivot quickly is essential as the ESG space constantly evolves. If looking to make a transition to ESG, practitioners shouldn’t be afraid to be innovative and leverage their current skills and experience in new ways.
Changemakers can also make an impact where they currently are, without having a designated ESG title. All panelists agreed that this work should be incorporated into every position within an organization. All panelists recommended identifying how your current work connects to the organization’s broader business strategy. “If I think long, long, long, long-term, we won’t have these jobs,” said Jayadeva. “The whole point of this is for us not to have these jobs so it’s a part of what everybody does. There’s no reason to have a position dedicated solely to diversity and inclusion, solely to CSR, solely to ESG. This is what people should do. This is what organizations should do.”
Career paths are rarely linear, and the same applies within ESG. Just because ESG is the latest buzzword does not mean practitioners have to or should shift away from CSR. Cline was clear to caution, “You don’t have to shift from CSR to ESG. There is so much need around the program development side of things. Employee engagement, social impact programs, non-profit partnerships aren’t going away. It’s just figuring out how those fit into an organization, and that might be in a larger ESG team or group.”
18 Coffees is invested in growing the mission economy and regularly hosts social impact conversations for our pro bono professional network, Community Partnership. If you’re interested in becoming a member of our community and joining more events like these, apply here.
