Environmental manager
Help businesses and organisations move towards a greener, more sustainable future.
Also known as: sustainability manager, environmental sustainability manager, environmental impact assessment manager
About the job
Career insights
What it's like
Businesses and organisations need people who can help them adapt to climate change. They may have goals to reduce their carbon footprint or even become 'net zero'. You'll help them achieve these ambitions.
You might focus on an organisation's impact on the local environment, how sustainable their practices are or both. Some roles will have a more specific focus, for example:
conservation and ecology
energy
construction practices
products and packaging
supply chain
waste and recycling
air quality and pollution
health and safety
As a manager, you'll lead a team and make sure they have the training and direction needed to work towards the goals of the organisation. You'll also need to be able to make the case for change to colleagues. That could be convincing people about the benefits of new policies. It might also mean persuading the business to invest more in sustainability.
Your tasks might include:
leading on the delivery of environmental policies and ways of working
overseeing sustainability or environmental impact assessments and giving recommendations
managing projects, for example to install renewable energy systems, like solar panels or heat pumps
analysing data to spot trends and identify opportunities to cut emissions and costs
writing scientific reports and using these to develop sustainability strategies and targets
making sure your organisation is complying with environmental legislation
Green job
In this job you'll be doing work to help the environment. Find out more about green jobs.
Explore more information about this job
Here are some useful links to learn more about this career:
Scottish Renewables – learn careers in Scotland's energy industry
Prospects – discover a wide range of sustainable careers you could get into
Green Careers Guide from The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Scotland (PDF download)
Green Careers Hub – discover possibilities, explore live jobs and find careers advice tailored for a green career
Green Jobs for Nature – browse environmental jobs
Like the sound of this career?
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- taking responsibility
- making decisions
- taking initiative
- concentrating
- attention to detail
- social conscience
- researching
- evaluating
- written communication
- working with technology
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
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Biology
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Chemistry
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Engineering Science
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Environmental Science
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Geography
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Maths (Mathematics)
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Physics
For a managerial role, employers often ask for a relevant degree but it’s not always essential. It's possible to get into this career with other qualifications or by getting significant experience in similar roles.
Explore some of the routes you could take to get to the career you want.
University
A degree or postgraduate qualification will be helpful for getting into this job.
There are a wide range of courses which could be useful for this career, including many sciences. Also, courses related to business, management and construction could be relevant depending on the sector you want to work in.
Some degrees have a focus on the environment and sustainability, such as:
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Management
Environmental Science
Environmental Engineering
Sustainability
Sustainable Aquaculture
Sustainable Energy
Sustainable Development
You can browse a list of university courses approved by the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals.
College
Getting qualifications at college, such as an HNC or HND, can help you secure an entry-level role or move on to more advanced study. Subjects you could do at college include:
Environmental Management
Sustainability
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Other qualifications related to science, business, management or construction may be useful.
Apprenticeships
Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) mean you learn on the job. You get paid and work towards a qualification at the same time. You might want to consider an MA in areas such as:
Sustainable Resource Management
Trees and Timber
There are lots of apprenticeships to choose from and others could be useful for this career. Check out the different types available on Apprenticeships.scot.
Work
You may be able to get into this career by gathering a lot of experience in other roles related to the environment or sustainability.
You could get experience in other entry-level environmental roles. From there, you may be able to work towards a managerial role.
You can use the My World of Work job search to look for job vacancies.
Not all employers list specific qualification requirements but they might ask for relevant experience, usually work based, that show a range of transferable skills.
It’s helpful to become a member of a relevant professional body and many employers find this desirable.
Some professional bodies include:
Some employers ask for knowledge of ISO 14001. This is a globally recognised standard for an environmental management system. You may cover this in courses or apprenticeships. If not, there are lots of online learning opportunities that’ll help you get up to speed.
You may need a full UK driving licence for some roles.
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