Manager Sustainability Interview Questions & Answers

Download PDF

This is as good a question as any to start an interview with. Ask genuinely and listen to the answer. You never know what might emerge that's worth your knowing.

This sounds a bit like a whistleblowing question, but that's OK, occasionally. I think the CEO should know who is blocking the process. If sustainability is important to you as CEO, and reporting is a key part of that, you need to have set your expectations clear. If your people are blocking progress, you might want to consider how this should affect their performance review, bonus or career development prospects. As a minimum, you might want to talk to them to find out what prevented them from being collaborative.

This is a fundamental question that every company should ask itself before re-embarking on the process another year around. The answer may not be the exactly the same each year and its worth taking a few minutes to articulate specific hopes for this cycle of the reporting process. NB: The response, "because we reported last year" is not really quite good enough.

Following on from the existential "why are we doing this" question, the obvious next thing to ask is "how will we know if we have done it well". As a minimum, you should expect to hear quantitative targets such as adherence to budget and on-time publication, but equally, qualitative targets about the process of reporting should not be overlooked. Does your SRM intend to get feedback on the process of developing the report? Did your SRM run an effective Reporting Steering Team in which people have had the opportunity to influence? If your report is the single-handed work of your SRM and a consultant, you can bet there's something essential missing.

Sustainability reports have a talent for coming in over budget. The SRM is a business manager and must know how to manage budgets. This question is more about understanding if your SRM has it covered than understanding the gory details of what was spent where.

Of course, I am biased, being a sustainability reporting consultant:) but it is always worth having some external help when writing your Sustainability Report. However, you should know how much it is consuming of your total reporting budget.

Many many moons ago, I attended a Leadership Program which included a strategy session run by the inspiring Aslam Malik. One of the things he talked about as a feature of great leadership, which has always stuck in my mind, was the fact that a leader is always asking questions and eager to listen to the answer. Just as a simple question such as: How are you? can be a real floodgate opener, so can the question: What's new? be an opportunity to learn lots about what's top-of-mind in your business and also about the person you are asking. Anyone who answers the question What's new? with the answer: Nothing much has obviously checked out of life for a while, because in life, work and in sustainability reporting, there is always something new.

Fit is important at the organizational level, but also at the interpersonal level. Make sure that you have met the people who will be working on the project. The most important person will be the account manager (or the project manager) - the person who will be your primary point of contact on day-to-day matters. But it's also helpful to jump on a video conference (seeing them in person makes a huge difference here!) with the entire project team.

How can you have a conversation about Sustainability Reporting without ice cream?

Solar. It sounds very obvious, and yet the sun is everywhere around us and is there for the taking. Frankly, the solar industry has been on a very sharp learning curve, so I have expectations that that learning curve will continue and that it will, over time, be able to contribute a much higher percentage of energy.

Every report is a learning process. How does your SRM learn from experience? How does your SRM value continous improvement? This question will enlighten you.

Yes, here is the list of people to give fat bonuses to at the end of the year:)

My job is very involved in energy topics. I'm not doing physical work to make a building more efficient, but I bring ideas to energy management, share information, and find ways for people to get involved with our conservation programs. I helped coordinate forums between energy staff and students to hold conversations with students wanting to get involved.

There are many different types of possible objectives for Sustainability Reports. These may relate to the collaborative process of developing the report, the cost, the adherence to an agreed timetable without a last minute rush, the amount of time invested, the quality of the output (which may be the report content, design or presentation) or objectives might also refer to the range of feedback received after publication of the report. Of course, we are assuming that your SRM did actually establish objectives. If not, that begs another question.

Everyone likes to quote figures about how potential new recruits (including the zillions of Green MBA and Net Impact grads that join the job market each year) seek socially responsible employers. But once and for all it might make sense to check whether those who joined your company were actually influenced to do so by your sustainability performance.

The interviewers want to feel special. Things to talk about could include the training scheme structure, opportunities to take on early responsibility, support for taking professional qualifications or the company's policy on sustainability and social responsibility. You probably shouldn't say that the salary is one of your biggest motivations for applying, even if that is in fact the case.

The best way to prepare for these types of question is, of course, to read up about the company and the wider industry. But you should also consider where you fit in; how will this particular training scheme help you develop as a leader?

I like being in this role of coordinator and being part of setting a direction for the university to be more sustainable. Sometimes, it's still an information overload, but it's a great asset to be able to learn and have access to the work and research of faculty experts at the university. I like being in the middle of these changes and the focus the university researchers are bringing to critical issues of our world.

I enjoy working with the operations team - we have a sustainability steering committee - and their expertise in running our university. It's great to help make stronger connections between these very busy people and fill the communications gap between departments. When I started, the energy engineers were doing great work but they were trying to fill energy job openings and didn't have time to develop a market campaign about what they are doing. There were many people involved in getting the "It All Adds Up" energy conservation campaign underway. There is now more cohesion amongst student groups working on these issues. The energy campaign helped make unique connections and focus efforts.

Maybe there weren't any. Maybe the report turned out exactly as your SRM envisioned. Maybe not. Understanding how your SRM measured up to her own expectations may tell you a little about the organizational issues your SRM faces in driving sustainability processes. These are the issues where a helping hand from the CEO might just be what is needed.

If you were completely honest with yourself, would you be best suited for a more technical role (e.g., supply chain auditor), a less technical role (e.g., communications) or a managerial position (e.g., self reflection corporate responsibility director or vice president)? Use your self-analysis to filter -- or at least prioritize -- the jobs in your search.

In our experience, this is an often-overlooked issue. Most proposals will specify deliverables - a report, a carbon footprint, etc. But few will take the next step and clearly outline how they (and the client) should judge the success of the consulting engagement itself. It can be extremely helpful to make sure you're on the same page here. For example:

A positive and open ended question for a gentle introduction to the subject. The SRM should be able to talk with enthusiasm about the sustainability report and in response to this question is free to select the things that personally gave her the most satisfaction. Whether these things are the same as those which are important to you, the CEO, or to the business, will give you an idea as to how well your SRM is aligned with the business and with your aspirations. The response may also enlighten you about things you may not have realized were such a big deal as you read the Sustainability Report.

People and strong communication skills, along with the technical skills and knowledge are helpful for working in this field. My engineering background helps me understand some complex technical issues. I have an understanding of business practices and organizational management, and use those skill sets by bringing people together into ideas and engage them in actions. I rely on many people, and collaboration is important. It helps to be pro-active and willing to circumvent many barriers. Everyone I need to work or talk with is busy, so sometimes I have to get in peoples' faces - politely! Being able to listen is important. I hear many opinions about what the university needs to do or not do, and how quickly. In this type job, you have to be a self-motivator. I'm pretty introverted personally, so sometimes it's a push for me to be in front of people all day. I try to connect the dots between groups. Other times I bring people together and just get out of the way. The size of the university creates huge challenges. Culture change at a place like the university can move very slowly, so I need to be patient!

This question gets at two important things. First, a good consultant will be able to quickly and clearly identify common obstacles that they will come up against. If they don't have a good answer, you should take that as a big red flag.

Second, a consultant's response to this question will give you a heads up about what kind of interpersonal, time management, scope of work, and other problems they may encounter. Every consulting approach has its weakness, but you should go into it with open eyes.

What you're looking for in a good fit is a) a consultant who thinks proactively about the challenges that will inevitably occur and b) a consultant who will work together with you throughout the engagement to quickly surface and resolve obstacles that stand in your way.

Your Managers are your sustainability ambassadors and the Sustainability Report is a key tool in their arsenal, whatever their role in the company. If they are not using your Sustainability Report, your SRM is not engaging them effectively. Your SRM should have her finger on the pulse of how your Sustainability Report is being used in the organization.

Give yourself more future options by sticking out the tougher math and science classes. Find out which classes you need to get into the field you think is interesting. It can be a challenge to pick up classes later if you don't have a good foundation. Volunteer in your community or check out student internships. Getting involved in student groups that work on sustainability is a good start too. For instance, on campus we have a student group Engineers without Borders. They work on global projects and look for people (other than engineers) to be part of the team. The Solar Decathlon team included students from across disciplines, from design, architecture, and engineering. The Active Energy Club conducts energy audits. MPIRG is politically involved. You can learn good skills in student groups like these. Students show a lot of interest in these topics. On campus, we had students at forums talking about energy and wanting to be involved. Conversation at these forums revolved around what students could do. Now they are involved in re-commissioning buildings by measuring energy use, and putting up "Turn off the lights" reminders on switches. You can put those things on your resume.