Sustainability Specialists Career, Salary and Skills
Sustainability Specialists have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $83,050 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 1,087,090. Wage data is published for 443 locations.
Occupation description
Address organizational sustainability issues, such as waste stream management, green building practices, and green procurement plans.
O*NET code
13-1199.05
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$83,050
Hourly median
$39.93
Employment
1,087,090
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Monitoring | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| Active Learning | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Coordination | 3.25 | 3.50 |
Typical tasks
- Develop sustainability project goals, objectives, initiatives, or strategies in collaboration with other sustainability professionals.
- Monitor or track sustainability indicators, such as energy usage, natural resource usage, waste generation, and recycling.
- Assess or propose sustainability initiatives, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and acceptance.
- Provide technical or administrative support for sustainability programs or issues.
- Review and revise sustainability proposals or policies.
- Develop reports or presentations to communicate the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.
- Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.
- Collect information about waste stream management or green building practices to inform decision makers.
Technology
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
- Autodesk Revit
- Bentley MicroStation
- Esri ArcGIS
- Extensible markup language XML
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Google Analytics
- Inventory management systems
Sustainability Specialists salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in CAMedian $87,570 · Employment 155,000
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in TXMedian $80,820 · Employment 104,270
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in Washington, DCMedian $104,770 · Employment 76,600
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in GAMedian $78,410 · Employment 67,450
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in FLMedian $79,650 · Employment 66,230
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in WAMedian $100,360 · Employment 51,650
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $82,750 · Employment 50,470
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in COMedian $92,520 · Employment 45,670
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in VAMedian $85,200 · Employment 45,160
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in Atlanta, GAMedian $80,020 · Employment 43,720
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in NCMedian $80,230 · Employment 41,180
- Sustainability Specialists Salary in MDMedian $101,500 · Employment 39,820
Related careers
- Architectural and Engineering ManagersNational median $171,270
- Landscape ArchitectsNational median $79,870
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development ManagersNational median $171,270
- Water Resource SpecialistsNational median $167,220
- Information Technology Project ManagersNational median $116,580
- Conservation ScientistsNational median $73,010
- Environmental Restoration PlannersNational median $82,220
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site ManagersNational median $141,900
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.