Environment and sustainability

How to become a sustainability specialist

Official title: Sustainability specialist

Also called: Sustainability consultant, Sustainability officer, Environmental and sustainability manager, Sustainability and climate change adviser, Environmental consultant, Chief sustainability officer, Land and water manager

Sustainability specialists manage issues and develop sustainable solutions to reduce an organisation's effect on the environment and improve efficiency.

Main tasks

Manage environmental impacts of organisations
Develop sustainable business strategies and practices
Check environmental goals and progress
Assess cost of products, projects and services
Set business rules and guidelines
Advise on business and environmental matters
Prepare financial reports and budgets
Write reports on business sustainability

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a sustainability specialist and experience may be useful. You need Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: a relevant tertiary qualification in environmental studies, engineering studies, building and construction or similar area OR; an accredited qualification approved by the Carbon and Energy Professionals New Zealand (CEP). Other requirements: experience in similar work; to be certified with Carbon and Energy Professionals New Zealand.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Agriculture & Environment degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand
University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
University: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $79,115 to $96,567 a year (median $87,822), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $63,558 a year · Upper: $110,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Social Professionals: 6,828 at the 2018 Census and 8,142 at the 2023 Census (+19.2%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 540 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Social Professionals, 60% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Social Professionals work (2023 Census): Auckland 35.8%, Wellington 19%, and Canterbury 12.7%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a sustainability specialist?

How much does a sustainability specialist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $87,822 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $79,115 to $96,567 a year.

Has the number of people working as a sustainability specialist grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a sustainability specialist?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026