Reasons to Consider a Career in EHS & Sustainability: A Growing Field

The field of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability (EHS&S, or simply EHS) is growing rapidly and based on our increasing population, climate change and limited global resources, will continue to do so in the future. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s projected to grow 8% in the next ten years, much faster than any other field - in part due to increased attention globally to environmental hazards and concerns. 

One of the most common career paths  in EHS&S is as an EHS consultant. EHS consultants use their training, experience, and creative thinking abilities to build a safe and sustainable world for society. You’ll find EHS consultants in just about every country and industry – from private equity consultants conducting due diligence to safety technicians performing inspections on oil rigs to engineers helping impoverished villages gain access to safe drinking water. In this post, we are going to highlight some of our favorite aspects of being in an EHS career and discuss how you can explore this career for yourself.

1. Growing Opportunities in the EHS Field

First, EHS&S is a field that is growing, especially given the increased focus on business resilience and sustainability. EHS consultants are involved at every step of that process, from the high-level strategic planning with institutional investors all the way down to the operational fieldwork required for implementation. No matter your background or level of experience, there is something interesting and exciting in the world of EHS&S for you to do.

2. Having a Positive Impact on the World

EHS&S consultants often enjoy that their work allows them to have a tangible impact on the world around them. Everyone benefits from a safe working environment, a more sustainable world, and a clean environment, and many consultants are fulfilled because their projects often very clearly lead to improvements in these areas.

3. Mobility and Varied Work Environments

Many EHS consultants also enjoy the fieldwork that is associated with projects. EHS&S consultants often have the opportunity to perform site visits for research, audits, and client visits, and they may even have the chance to explore foreign countries too. If you’re not a fan of international travel, that’s OK – many projects are done close to home. You can explore different opportunities to find the team and project that are right for you.

4. Becoming an EHS&S Expert

Consultants can often develop deep expertise in important topics in this field, and they may become experts who are trusted by industry and political leaders. A career in EHS&S gives you the opportunity to quickly develop a lot of knowledge about critical topics and apply it immediately to pressing global challenges. If you like to learn constantly and apply that knowledge to real problems, this is a great field for you.

5. Collaboration and Continued Learning

EHS&S consultants can also develop their careers by collaborating across industries and geographies. This collaboration can happen at conferences, during webinars, while working on projects, via online networking, among other ways, and it provides consultants the opportunity to explore new types of problems in new contexts. This collaboration is one of the most exciting parts of the field, especially for colleagues who work with international partners!

6. Varied Work Experience Opportunities

EHS consultants can also make career moves easily because there is so much crosscutting work in the space. A consultant could start consulting in one industry, do similar work in a different industry, and then start to specialize in that industry if they find it interesting. Unlike other fields, EHS&S is also a field with jobs everywhere, because regulations and the local context vary in every single country and region. You will have the ability to impact many companies in many industries and learn about their culture, risk tolerance, and priorities.

7. Technical or Business-Related Opportunities

A consultant in the EHS field can also explore different types of roles both with a technical and business focus. Some consultants may be interested in technical analysis and reporting, while others wish to explore the EHS&S impacts on the business operations of a client. This field has lots of opportunities for work with different kinds of roles, and as mentioned elsewhere, collaboration and learning are common too. If you want a variety of opportunities to explore, this is a great field for you.

8. Interesting Colleagues

Your colleagues can be interesting too! EHS&S specialists come from a wide variety of backgrounds and enjoy a lot of different hobbies, and the collaboration mentioned before is a great way to build new partnerships. Inogen Alliance team members love to get together during our semiannual meetings, catch up about work, and have fun – we’ve explored our Associates’ countries, shared delicious food, and developed relationships that last beyond our tenure at our companies. This field is a great way to meet and connect with other passionate people.

EHS&S Consultants love their work – one consultant in Inogen Alliance, Sophie Xu from SIET, is proud of a project where she helped a company better accommodate disabled employees by implementing various new technologies in their office building. Sophie says that her career in EHS&S “allowed her to have a tangible impact on our clients and understand the true value of the environment”. If you’re interested in becoming an EHS&S consultant, you can look for in-house jobs at any major company or institution, or you can apply for an available position at an external consulting firm.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of dozens of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Career page or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates here and follow us on LinkedIn.