Sustainability consultant

A sustainability consultant is someone who advises businesses on methods to deliver their products or services in a sustainable manner (usually in an ecological sense). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown to be a very specific field and includes focal areas like "green building, renewable energy, waste management and sustainable development."[1]

Construction and Engineering

Sustainability consultants for building construction focus largely on the energy performance of a building: how much energy will be needed to heat, cool, or otherwise power a building, and how efficiently this energy can be recycled. They might also consult on the source of the energy if it will be from an alternative source.

One engineering technique to reduce energy usage is Passive Building Design.

Organisational culture and behaviour change

Research on the role of sustainability consultants in the UK found that there is a tendency to focus on technical aspects of building energy efficiency, facilities management and renewable technologies, but that consultants were aware of the need to support businesses on the ‘softer’ aspects of sustainability such as organisational culture and values.[2]

Behavioural change initiatives can be effective in reducing emissions, and have multiple benefits including boosting staff morale,[3] while research has found that collaboration between businesses can improve environmental performance.[4]

Online tools are available to support sustainability consultants to broaden their skills.[5]

Industry Associations

See also

References
  1. "What is a Sustainability Consultant". www.eco-officiency.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  2. Hampton, S., 2018. ‘It’s the soft stuff that’s hard’: Investigating the role played by low carbon small- and medium-sized enterprise advisors in sustainability transitions. Local Economy 33, 384–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094218778526
  3. Rotmann, S., 2017. “Once upon a time…” Eliciting energy and behaviour change stories using a fairy tale story spine. Energy Research & Social Science, Narratives and Storytelling in Energy and Climate Change Research 31, 303–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.033
  4. Lewis, K.V., Cassells, S., Roxas, H., 2015. SMEs and the Potential for A Collaborative Path to Environmental Responsibility. Business Strategy and the Environment 24, 750–764. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1843
  5. "OLCreate: Promoting sustainability in business Promoting sustainability in business: A values-based toolkit".
  6. "Home". Accounting for Sustainability accountingforsustainability.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  7. "American Sustainable Business Council - ASBC". American Sustainable Business Council. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  8. "Home". iema.net.
  9. AASHE. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. "Homepage | Climate Disclosure Standards Board". www.cdsb.net. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  11. "ISSP". ISSP. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  12. The Sustainability Consortium. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. Business Coaching and Business Planning. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
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