Going Green: The Most Sustainable Job Sectors in 2024
According to recent data, one in two Brits will be on the hunt for a new job this new year. And, with 880 monthly searches being made around "sustainable businesses", according to Google Search Trend Data, it’s important to know which sectors believe in a greener world.
In fact, a study commissioned by property agents Savoy Stewart working with job ads search engine Adzuna reveals that 88% of workers feel their jobs are more meaningful when they have the chance to positively influence social and environmental issues.
With this insight in mind, the study researchers were keen to uncover which careers prioritize sustainability the most through the terms they use in their job role advertisements
Top 10 Job Roles Prioritizing Sustainability
Sector
Sustainable company
Sustainability
Corporate social responsibility
Certified B
Zero waste
Total number of advertised jobs mentioning sustainability
1
Engineering
1
381
13
2
2
399
2
Accounting & Finance
0
199
10
2
0
211
3
IT
0
182
17
2
0
201
4
Trade & Construction
1
139
6
1
2
149
5
Consultancy
0
137
9
1
0
147
6
Retail
5
120
2
4
0
131
7
Sales
1
115
6
2
0
124
8
Graduate
0
105
6
0
0
111
9
Hospitality & Catering
2
78
7
5
2
94
10
PR, Advertising & Marketing
0
82
4
2
0
88
The research found that Engineering is the most sustainable industry in the UK for 2023, with 399 job advertisements using terms related to sustainability in October alone.
The role of a sustainable Engineer is to design and implement innovative solutions that focus on minimising waste, utilising renewable sources, and decreasing other environmental impacts by creating an efficient system for the future with the aim of a better world.
In second place is Accounting and Finance. The industry boasts 211 terms relating to sustainability cited in their job advertisements at the time of writing.
The goal of sustainable finance is to incorporate governance, social, and environmental factors into investment decisions. Over time, this results in increased funding for environmentally friendly initiatives and projects that can also support healthy ecosystems and a circular economy.
IT ranks as the third career offering sustainable roles in the UK, with just over 200 mentions in their job postings. Also known as Green IT, helps reduce the environmental impact through utilising energy efficient hardware, data centres, server virtualization and monitoring systems.
Ranking fourth place is Trade and Construction, with 149 vacancies mentioning terms related to sustainability, whilst coming close in fifth is Consultancy with a total of 147 open vacancies featuring terms and phrases around sustainability in the workplace.
Meanwhile, according to the data from the study, the most popular eco terms employers are using in their job ads as of October 2023 are “Sustainability” (25,774 job ads), “Corporate social responsibility” (1,386 job ads), and “Certified B” (341 job ads) in a total of 1,041,799 job ads released last month relating to the environmental factor.
