Absolutely!

You don’t have to be a scientist to help combat climate change. There’s space for you in the ClimateTech realm despite your background. There are countless jobs across various disciplines and all skillsets are needed in this fight.

Hi, I’m Natalie! I’m a full-stack marketer for Climate People, a ClimateTech recruitment firm. I studied marketing and journalism and have a passion for writing and design. I’ve always been environmentally aware, an outdoor enthusiast, and care deeply about the planet. However, I never saw a space for me in the environmental industry on a professional level. Similarly, every one of Climate People’s employees has a liberal arts degree and background in a non-science related field. We aren’t scientists, we don’t have a background in nitty-gritty environmentalism, nor do we have any direct technical experience. But, we all do share a desire to make a difference. We care about the planet, the future, and the wellbeing of those who inhabit our earth and have found a perfect fit in the ClimateTech arena.

With a crisis as expansive and ever-evolving as climate change, we need a wide variety of skills, positions, and strengths to help find sound and concrete solutions. With Biden’s plan to create 10 million clean energy jobs, it’s no wonder that we need all hands on deck. The solution is rooted in the work of scientists, engineers, journalists, creatives, and sales people alike.

Demand aside, it also just feels good to have a job that is rooted in making a difference. The team at Climate People aren’t the only ones who feel this way. According to BetterUp Labs, employees value salary, benefits and company leadership, but meaningful work drives job satisfaction more than ever. Here are some of their key findings:

• 9 out of 10 career professionals told researchers that they would sacrifice 23 percent of their future earnings—an average of $21,000 a year—for "work that is always meaningful.”
• Career professionals who view their work as "very meaningful" put in an average of one extra hour per week. Those employees take two fewer days of paid leave annually.
• Employees who say they find meaning at work also express higher levels of job satisfaction, which links directly to greater productivity. In fact, the study reports that employees who rate their jobs as meaningful will generate an additional $5,437 per worker per year.
• Employees who say their jobs are "highly meaningful" are 69 percent less likely to quit in the next six months and will stay with the company 7.4 months longer, on average, than staffers who don't believe they're in meaningful jobs.

The best part? You don’t have to sacrifice salary to land a climate tech career. PwC’s “The State of Climate Tech 2020” found that even though ClimateTech is still an early-stage industry (only accounting for 6% of total capital invested in 2019), it’s growing rapidly. VC investment in ClimateTech increased from $418 million per annum in 2013 to $16.3 billion in 2019. This is approximately three times the growth rate of VC investment in AI and five times the average for all VC.

Many job seekers we talk to don’t realize and are delighted to be informed that there is space for them in this industry. As technology continues to advance, the need for various professionals will grow alongside the demand.  

Let’s take a deeper look at our built environment sector.

According to the World Green Building Council, building and construction emissions account for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world. The energy used to heat, cool, and light buildings accounts for 28%, while the remaining 11% comes from carbon emissions related to materials and construction processes, this is called embodied carbon.

Jeff Urbanchuk, director of strategic communications for the American Council of Engineering Companies stated, “Our members are uniquely positioned to educate policymakers with their own practical experience on what is necessary to design real-world infrastructure that delivers more efficient performance with fewer emissions and greater resiliency. Everyone has a part to play in this effort, but there are few more important roles than that of the engineer.”

Engineers can act as the link between the idea and the implementation of green building practices. These engineers are seeing first-hand the problem and the possibility.

The team at Climate People works diligently to raise awareness about these various possibilities within all of our sectors — with a special emphasis on the power of individual action. It takes a wide variety of skill sets to effectively combat climate change.

Climate People’s Founder and tech recruiter with 20+ years of experience, Brendan Andersen, coins the five most important steps to opening your eyes to the role you could play in the ClimateTech industry:

1. Awareness! We must all be aware of direct implications that coincide with climate change. We must also simultaneously see the opportunity that we have to make a better future. Climate change is already really bad and it will only continue to worsen – that is a fact. There are things that we can do now to dramatically improve the quality of life down the road and we must be aware of this to take the necessary steps.
2. Realize that you can be part of the solution! There are countless jobs out there that work to decarbonize the global economy. Doing your research, reading up on the industry, and taking active involvement steps are huge stepping stones for change.
3. Optimism! We are optimists in the fight against climate change and believe that the ClimateTech industry will decarbonize the global economy. We encourage you to see and act on both the problem and the possibility.
4. Recognizing urgency! Climate change is a fight against time. While we think it’s important to remain optimistic, we’re also realistic. Taking active career steps to quickly enter the industry is paramount.
5. Opportunity to create a DEI-inclusive workforce! Climate Change disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities. In order to fully address the climate issues at hand, we must pull from various lived experiences and incorporate inclusive policies within our companies and communities.

At Climate People, we provide our candidates with a multitude of resources to fully research and dive into this industry. We also help our candidates get their foot in the door by placing them in front of the right people. Working with a niche recruiter allows for genuine connection and a high-touch process that is backed by extensive industry knowledge and expertise.

Climate People’s motto is “We’re Stronger Together.” We do not consider ourselves typical recruiters, we are “Impact Partners.” Climate change is single handedly the most important issue facing humanity today and we see our work as part of a larger solution. Through candidate placement and client collaboration, we can place mission-driven individuals in influential ClimateTech roles that will ultimately decarbonize the global economy and lessen the harmful effects of climate change. We truly believe that when like-minded organizations and mission-driven individuals join forces, we can create a profound and lasting impact.

All of that said, awareness is the first step! Please help us spread the word about the opportunities to be a change maker within this space.

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