Here’s the sustainability recruiting mistakes I see companies make over and over….
They bring in someone who deeply understands environmental systems.
Carbon cycles. Water stress. Biodiversity loss. Circular economy. Supply chain emissions.
All critical knowledge.
But then they're shocked when that person can't get traction with the executive team.
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
The leaders who actually drive change? They speak two languages fluently.
They can explain why Scope 3 emissions matter 𝐚𝐧𝐝 how reducing them protects margin in a carbon-constrained market.
They understand water scarcity 𝐚𝐧𝐝 how it impacts facility location decisions and insurance costs.
They see the circular economy and the revenue opportunity in secondary material markets.
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞:
They walk into procurement meetings and talk ROI, not just responsibility
They frame renewable energy as price hedging, not just emissions reduction
They connect biodiversity risk to supply chain resilience and brand value
They translate ESG metrics into investor language and competitive positioning
Because sustainability can't live in a silo anymore.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲:
Companies hire deep environmental expertise, then wonder why sustainability stays in the CSR department instead of influencing capital allocation, site selection, or product development.
It's not that the technical knowledge isn't valuable — it absolutely is.
But without commercial fluency, sustainability becomes a compliance function instead of a strategic one.
The leaders who earn board influence understand that every sustainability decision is also a business decision. Risk mitigation. Cost optimization. Market positioning. Innovation pipeline.
They don't ask for budget to "do the right thing." They build business cases that CFOs actually approve.
𝐒𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 recruit, 𝐚𝐬𝐤:
Does this person understand how environmental systems connect to business systems? Can they translate planetary boundaries into competitive boundaries?
Or will they be the smartest person in the room that no one listens to?