The inaugural Environmental and Ethical Careers Conference took place on Monday 23rd March. Over two hundred KCL students and alumni attended the event to listen to a host of industry experts discuss the array of potential roles available in the sustainability sector.
Speakers provided a broad overview of the sector as a whole, as well as a more detailed insight into specific sectors such as business, the not-for-profit sector, and finance and consultancy.
A careers information fair in the Great Hall also provided attendees with a chance to talk one-to-one with representatives from a selection of organisations including PWC, the RSPB and NUS.
There was something for everyone at the event, and panel discussions showcased the latest developments in sustainability. The conference demonstrated that sustainability is a major growth sector and increasingly becoming a core component of many businesses’ and organisations’ activities. As one speaker from Futerra put it, their aim is to make sustainability so desirable that it becomes normal.
The event also provided attendees with advice on the key skills and experience they require to get a job in the competitive sustainability jobs market, where demand for jobs vastly exceeds supply. Commercial awareness and time management skills were deemed as important as knowledge about sustainability, and potential employees need to clearly demonstrate the value they can add to the companies they work for.
The event also offered many topics of discussion about how best to drive sustainability; for instance whether to sell a positive message as opposed to warnings of impending crises, and whether large corporations or smaller businesses and NGOs were the more effective mechanisms to promote change. The event provided a platform for a range of opinions to be presented on this topic, all delivered by sustainability experts.
IEMA were present throughout the day, providing the most up to date information and advice about the sector and offering free memberships to students.
The event as a whole proved a resounding success, and plans are already underway to run the EECC bigger and better next year. For those who missed the event or wish to have a recap, summaries and recordings of the panel presentations will be online next week. In the meantime, if you would like any further information on the event, please email ecosock.kcl@gmail.com
