6 Remote Sustainability Jobs to Save the Planet From Home

Making a visible difference amid the climate crisis is challenging, yet inspiring, to accomplish. Some feel trading out single-use plastic water bottles for reusable ones is a massive impact, while others feel the pull to work from the inside. Remote sustainability jobs are in a world that longs for freedom and flexibility in work schedules. Regardless if you’ve majored in environmental science or related fields, there are remote sustainability jobs for all types of learners and advocates.

1. Project Manager

A project manager is one of the most versatile remote sustainability jobs out there, because you can wear numerous hats. One day you could analyze a client’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the next, you’re helping discuss corporate social responsibility initiatives with board members. 

Ideally, the project manager would be the perfect team leader and motivator, making sure everyone participating keeps the planet a priority. Remote project managers can expect to be in many meetings, as they frequently negotiate with clients, vendors, and team members. Many require some certification or degree in Engineering or Environmental Science. However, most days will revolve around analyzing environmental metrics like waste, energy, and resources and looking at that against costs.

2. Research Associate

Someone could be remote research assistants for a university, and others could work for Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits. Everywhere needs research and development to find new strategies and technologies to make the planet more sustainable. It can only happen when there are dedicated roles for it.

For example, nonprofits work heavily from grants. Organizations awarding grants want to give the money to companies that take time to understand the landscape. Those with the best proposals with the most well-researched data and information will likely win the check. Researchers may only partially be responsible for looking into prominent topics like water quality or waste production. What if a tech company needs research on green cloud computing, or financial outfits want to know how cryptocurrency impacts climate change?

3. Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)

A CSO is one of the most traditional roles in the field. It’s often an in-person role, but remote options exist — especially if you’re already working for a company and want to transition to a remote position with CSO responsibilities. 

The job of a CSO is a little bit of everything — financial planning, resource oversight, and emissions evaluation. It may sound like a combination of several jobs on this list, and that’s because it is. CSOs have to juggle multiple areas of environmental study. There will be many people managing and project navigation to ensure stakeholder needs are met, compliances are followed, and the organization is getting better every day with its eco-conscious projects.

4. Content Creator

YouTube, TikTok, and even LinkedIn are only a few options for content creators nowadays. The democratized platforms allow everyone, from doctoral candidates to high school students, to participate in the sustainability conversation. Content creators don’t even have to go what’s now considered the “traditional” route of social media. Blog writing and email newsletter campaigns are unique content creation that still has a broad audience — and let’s not forget about podcasting. 

Being a content creator might breach the realm of social media marketing. So, content creators may not just be behind a camera all day. They could do anything from:

• Write blog posts or trade articles
• Edit video or audio content
• Scriptwriting for videos
• Schedule and write social media posts
• Report social channel analytics
• Set up online advertising campaigns
• Perform outreach to influencers for collaborations

5. Sustainability Consultant

Consultancy is one of the remote sustainability jobs that doesn’t require a degree — you could be part of an organization or start your own business. All you have to have is a deep care and passion for helping the planet. It’s one of the jobs that will probably gain the most traction in the coming years, as it’s already seeing astronomical growth. You could consult individuals, businesses, or both — because it isn’t just companies who want a little insight on how they can become greener. 

Day-to-day operations for remote consultants will be mostly meetings, discovering how clients operate and finding solutions to their environmental pain points. It’ll be your job to find out how to reduce their carbon footprint by determining where most of their emissions lie. Clients who work with consultants expect to meet with them until the client sees results regularly, so they intend to develop relationships with lots of environmentally concerned folks. It will include third-party companies, like solar providers, that you’ll recommend clients use, so consultants must do their research to find products and services with solid reputations.

6. Data Analyst

Every company is leveraging artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to gather data, especially for those wanting analytics about their environmental stats. The right pieces of tech can measure air quality, volatile organic compounds, contaminants in water, or wasted energy from utility providers. Businesses need people to parse incoming data from software and submetering tools into usable information applicable to company projects. That’s where a data analyst comes in. 

Work might be looking at spreadsheets one day, making a PowerPoint presentation to stakeholders the next, and drafting solutions on another. Once you collate the data into a tangible, accessible format, data analysts may be responsible for developing strategies to curb those numbers. They may be accountable for answering how companies meet their corporate social responsibility and environmental, social, and governance policies. What solutions are available to make the numbers more pleasing?

Remote Sustainability Jobs Up for Grabs

There are ways to help save the planet while working from home. It provides immense freedom in your schedule, and remote work advocates for the planet’s health by reducing fuel use, power, and resources needed to keep offices running. Suppose you’re the kind of person who already cares about the environment but never feels like you’re doing enough. In that case, it’s possible getting a remote job in sustainability is your calling to do something more remarkable for the world.