What brought you to this moment in your career where the Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) credential made sense for you?

In spite of the fact that "sustainability" is assumed to be about the environment, it is, at its core, a social issue. As a global development professional, I realized early on  sustainability involves balancing environmental concerns such as climate change; social issues such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), upskilling local workforce, eradicating poverty and hunger; and economics such as affordability and fair wage. My experience working in the social impact sector has given me first-hand experience in harnessing human creativity,co-developing innovative solutions to pressing global challenges, forging shared value among stakeholders, cultivating respect and peaceful coexistence, and centering the voices of marginalized communities. As a project manager working in the social impact domain, I did not merely focus on scaling the ideas but also seeing sustainability from a macro level, reflecting on organizational culture, structure, and processes, existing human resource skills and personnel practices. A desire to enhance my practical experience and build credibility with employers, clients, and colleagues as a professional that took sustainability seriously motivated me to become a certified Sustainability Associate Excellence (SEA).

How are you putting the knowledge, skills, and ability demonstrated in the SEA to work in your career (or work) today?

The SEA certification has provided me with the visibility needed to share my unique expertise with a broader audience. For example, recently, I was invited to present about the nonprofit landscape in Central Asia and shed light on the implementation of the sustainable development goals number 5 (gender equality) and 6 (clean water and sanitation) at one of the lecture series on Central Asia held at the Foreign Service Institute. There, I also  got the chance to shed light on the relationships between global development frameworks, local action plans, and the risks and best practices when engaging with local stakeholders. 

Additionally, this certification allowed me the confidence and knowledge to create and fight for bold and robust policy changes that highlight the importance of sustainability. This confidence has led to undeniable accomplishments, including co-authoring a policy memo titled, “Should Turkmenistan use the Caspian Sea to quench its thirst? A feasibility assessment of building a desalination plant on the Caspian shore.” This policy brief is not only providing sustainable solutions to major water challenges facing Turkmenistan, but it is also helping to promote international solidarity between Central Asian countries and other global players that pave the way for a more sustainable future.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this sustainability work?

While there are organizations hiring "Sustainability Directors", "Sustainability Officers", or teams of “Sustainability Analysts” to help drive sustainable initiatives forward, finding the rare gems with "sustainability" in the job title can be challenging. 

My first piece of advice to newcomers in sustainability work would be this: don’t be limited by your title, your background, or being new to the field, everyone has something they can contribute when it comes to sustainability! Oftentimes, we fall into a trap of believing that sustainability initiatives must be handled by the environmental, social and governance (ESG) team. However, no matter your current job title or occupation, you have something to contribute to sustainability initiatives. Sustainability is a broad and relatively new field. Because of this, my second piece of advice for all newcomers in the sustainability field is to narrow down their interests, and understand what type of sustainability excites them. Examples of sustainability fields could include:

• Climate change (adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions, resiliency)
• Corporate social responsibility
• Ecological or environmental justice
• Environmental health
• Environmental protection
• Environment, social, and governance (ESG)

Finally, my third piece of advice for newcomers is to continually pursue education within the field. If you don’t have the time or resources to pursue credentials, there are still ways to get involved in elevating your skillset and becoming more sustainably minded!  Webinars organized by the ISSP and other organizations are great resources to learn more about the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Even something as simple as a TED Talk on YouTube can provide incredible insight on how to incorporate sustainability into your daily life. Ready to take it a step deeper? Large corporations such as McKinsey and PwC offer sustainability reports to show how they are taking strides to create a more sustainable workplace that aligns with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).