It's Tuesday. Your boss just walked in and said: "We need sustainability help. Can you find someone?"
Cool. Easy, right?
You open LinkedIn. Type "sustainability expert." Get 2.4 million results.
You open Google. Type "sustainability consultant." Get 47 million results.
You ask your network. Get seven recommendations. They're all good, apparently. But they're also all completely different. One does carbon. One does circular economy. One does "holistic ESG transformation" which... what does that even mean?
Fast forward two months. You've talked to 23 people. Gotten 11 proposals. Everything is expensive. Nobody is available until Q3. Your boss is asking for updates.
You finally pick someone—mostly because they can start soonest and you're desperate—and hope it works out.
This is how sustainability hiring works in 2025.
And it's completely broken.
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Why Finding Sustainability Experts Feels Impossible
Here's the thing: the problem isn't that sustainability experts don't exist.
Sustainability consulting is highly competitive, with firms regularly receiving between 1,000 and 5,000 resumes per open position as technical sustainability skills have become more prevalent.
The experts are out there. Lots of them.
The problem is the matching process.
Think about it: How do other professional services work?
Legal: You need an IP lawyer? There are directories. Specializations. Clear credentials (bar exam, law school).
Medical: You need a cardiologist? Insurance networks. Referrals. Board certifications.
Software: You need a developer? GitHub portfolio. Stack Overflow reputation. Coding challenges.
Sustainability: Uh... Google? LinkedIn? Hope for the best?
There's no standardized way to: - Verify expertise - Compare specialists - See past work - Understand pricing - Check availability
So everyone improvises. And mostly gets it wrong.
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The Five Ways Traditional Sustainability Hiring Fails
1. The Generalist Problem
Most job posts look like this:
"Seeking sustainability expert with experience in carbon accounting, circular economy, supply chain transparency, ESG reporting, stakeholder engagement, and biodiversity..."
That's six completely different skill sets.
It's like posting: "Seeking medical expert with experience in heart surgery, dermatology, pediatrics, and psychiatry."
Nobody is good at all of that.
According to industry experts, executing against sustainability requires so much institutional knowledge and internal relationships that often take years to develop—sustainability knowledge can have a much shorter learning curve, but implementation requires deep business understanding.
But because the market has no specialization structure, companies default to looking for unicorns. And then wonder why they can't find anyone good.
2. The Vetting Nightmare
How do you know if someone is actually qualified?
Their LinkedIn says "10 years sustainability experience." Great. Doing what? For whom? With what results?
Their website says "proven track record." Cool. Prove it?
Most sustainability consultants should have qualifications, certifications, and work experience, with many having degrees and certifications from recognized facilities, though searching for the right consultant can be challenging.
References? They'll give you three people who liked them. They won't give you the client where things went sideways.
You're basically hiring based on: - How good their website looks - How confident they sound in meetings - Whether you get "good vibes"
That's... not a great hiring methodology.
3. The Timeline Mismatch
You need help NOW. Your Q2 targets are slipping. Your board wants updates. Your investors are asking about ESG metrics.
The consultant you really want? Available in Q4.
The consultant available now? You've never heard of them. Are they good? Who knows! But at least they can start Monday.
So you either: - Wait months (and fall further behind) - Hire whoever's available (and roll the dice)
Neither option is great.
4. The Pricing Black Box
"How much will this cost?"
"How much will this cost?" "Well, it depends..." Everything in sustainability consulting is "custom pricing." Which means:
You have no idea if you're getting a fair deal You can't compare options effectively You suspect you're being overcharged but can't prove it
A carbon footprint assessment costs €15K at one firm, €80K at another. Same scope. Why? Nobody knows. The market has zero pricing transparency. 5. The Post-Hire Surprise You finally hire someone. They start work. And then you discover:
They're great at strategy but can't actually implement They know theory but not your specific industry They're a solo consultant who gets sick and now you're stuck They subcontract everything and you're paying a markup for coordination
These aren't malicious bait-and-switches (usually). They're just... mismatches that happen when you're hiring blind.
What Good Matching Would Look Like Imagine if sustainability hiring worked like this: You: "I need help reducing packaging waste for consumer electronics. €30K budget. 12-week timeline." Platform: "Here are 8 specialists who've done exactly that. For companies your size. In the past two years." You see:
Their past projects (with results) Their availability (starts next week) Their pricing (transparent, comparable) Reviews from similar companies
You pick one. You start. Done. That's it. No months of searching. No endless vetting. No guessing. Just: specific problem → relevant specialists → choose → start. Why isn't this how it works? Honestly? Because nobody built it. Until recently.
The Challenge-Based Hiring Model (It Changes Everything) Here's the shift that's happening: Old model: "I'm looking for a sustainability consultant with these qualifications." New model: "I have this specific sustainability challenge. Who's solved it before?" See the difference? The first one is credential-based. The second is outcome-based. And outcome-based matching is SO much better. Why Challenge-Based Works Better 1. Attracts Specialists, Not Generalists When you post: "Need sustainability help" → Everyone applies (including people who shouldn't) When you post: "Need Scope 3 emissions reduction strategy for Asian textile supply chain" → Only specialists who've done that apply Self-selection does half the filtering for you. 2. Shows Relevant Experience Upfront Instead of: "Tell me about your experience" You get: "Here's a similar project I did. Here were the results. Here's how I'd approach yours." You're comparing actual work, not résumés. 3. Creates Competition (Which Helps You) Traditional hiring: You reach out to consultants one by one. They quote whatever they want. Challenge-based: Multiple specialists see your project and compete for it. Better proposals, faster responses, fairer pricing. 4. Faster Timeline Traditional: 6-12 weeks to find someone Challenge-based: 48 hours to get proposals Because the specialists come to you. You're not chasing them. 5. Transparent Pricing You see multiple quotes side-by-side. You understand market rates. You can make informed decisions. No more "is €50K reasonable for this?" guessing games.
How to Actually Hire Sustainability Experts in 2025 Okay, practical advice. Whether you use a platform or not, here's what works: Step 1: Get Ridiculously Specific Don't post: "Looking for sustainability consultant" Post: "Need CSRD double materiality assessment for pharmaceutical company. €2.3B revenue. 12 EU countries. Must have healthcare sector experience and ESRS expertise." Specificity attracts specialists. Step 2: Focus on Past Work, Not Credentials Don't ask: "Do you have a sustainability degree?" Ask: "Show me a similar project you've completed. What were the results?" Credentials tell you they studied. Past work tells you they delivered. Step 3: Request Proposals, Not Meetings Traditional: "Let's have a call to discuss your needs" → Then they learn about your project → Then they send a proposal → Weeks pass Better: "Here's my challenge. Send me a proposal showing how you'd approach it." Proposals tell you:
Do they understand the problem? Is their methodology sound? Is their pricing reasonable? Can they start when you need them?
All before you even talk to them. Step 4: Compare Options Side-by-Side Never evaluate in isolation. Get 3-5 proposals. Compare:
Approach (whose methodology makes most sense?) Experience (who's done this most recently?) Team (who will actually do the work?) Timeline (who can start fastest?) Price (who offers best value?)
Having options gives you power. Step 5: Start Small, Scale If It Works Don't commit to a year-long engagement. Start with: "Phase 1: 8-week pilot. If this goes well, we'll expand to Phase 2." Test the relationship with low risk.
What iWinForest Does Differently Full disclosure: I'm obviously biased because I built this platform. But here's why we built it differently: Traditional platforms (LinkedIn, Upwork):
General purpose You search for people No specialization filters No project-based matching
iWinForest:
Sustainability-specific Specialists find you Challenge-based (not résumé-based) See past work before you talk
The mental model is: LinkedIn: "Here are people. Go find the right one." iWinForest: "Here's your problem. Here are people who've solved it before." One approach makes you do all the work. The other does the matching for you.
Real Example: How This Works in Practice Let's say you need help with circular economy for packaging. Traditional approach: Week 1: Google "circular economy consultant" Week 2: Message 15 people on LinkedIn Week 3: 4 respond, schedule calls Week 4: Have discovery calls Week 5: Request proposals Week 6-8: Review proposals, negotiate Week 9: Pick someone, hope for the best Challenge-based approach: Day 1: Post challenge → "Need circular economy packaging redesign for cosmetics brand. Must maintain performance specs. €25K-40K budget." Day 2: Receive 7 proposals from specialists who've done packaging projects Day 3: Review proposals, shortlist 3 Day 4: Quick calls with finalists Day 5: Select specialist, start work 9 weeks → 5 days. And you're not picking randomly. You're picking from people who've proven they can do this exact thing.
FAQ: Hiring Sustainability Experts Should I hire a big firm or a specialist? Depends on what you need. Big firms for brand credibility and resources. Specialists for deep expertise and value. Most companies overpay for big firms when a specialist would deliver better results. How do I vet someone's expertise? Ask for specific case studies. Talk to past clients (ask for ones they DON'T suggest). Check LinkedIn for actual recommendations. Request a detailed proposal showing their methodology. What should I pay? Highly variable. But rough benchmarks:
Independent consultants: €800-2,000/day Boutique firms: €1,200-3,000/day Big firms: €3,000-8,000/day
Project-based pricing usually better than day rates. Can I hire someone part-time? Yes! Many specialists do fractional work. "2 days/week for 6 months" often works better than "full-time for 6 weeks." What if they don't deliver? Use milestone-based payments. Escrow for large projects. Clear deliverables in contract. Start small before committing big.
The Bottom Line The traditional way of hiring sustainability experts is broken. It's slow, expensive, and full of guesswork. Challenge-based matching fixes this by:
Attracting specialists (not generalists) Showing relevant past work (not just credentials) Creating transparency (pricing, timelines, availability) Speeding up the process (days instead of months)
Whether you use a platform like iWinForest or just apply these principles on your own, the shift from "résumé-based" to "challenge-based" hiring will save you time, money, and stress. Stop looking for perfect people. Start looking for people who've solved your exact problem before. They're out there. You just need a better way to find them.