India Inc is in the midst of a mad scramble to hoover up sustainability experts. Everyone, from large conglomerates like Reliance to unicorn startups - is beefing up their sustainability teams. A simple LinkedIn search throws up well over 4,000 such positions across the country.
It's tempting to attribute this to a belated realization that sustainability is critical—both in terms of business as well as the preservation of the planet. The more likely explanation, though, is that corporate are waking up (or being forced to wake up) to the reality that ignoring sustainability could impact them financially. Change is hard...until it hits your pocket.
Already, India’s market regulator SEBI is introducing sustainability-related disclosure requirements for India's biggest listed companies. Some corporations are even linking executive pay to environmental, social, and governance goals. Investors—both retail and institutional—are also wary about putting their money in companies with poor sustainability track records.
Little wonder, then, that companies that previously tasked existing roles—even those in marketing, comms, or HR—with sustainability functions, are now looking for bonafide experts.
There's just one problem. Accordingly, as per our article today there simply aren't enough sustainability experts to go around. And even as some of the top B-Schools roll out sustainability-focused MBA courses to meet this demand, businesses are left to either find makeshift solutions or pay hefty salaries to land qualified candidates for sustainability roles. If the past few years have seen the rise of product managers, the next few could be just as important for chief sustainability officers.