Improving prospects for sustainability professionals, finds Environment Analyst & ALLEN & YORK survey

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1 PRESS RELEASE 27 May 2016 Improving prospects for sustainability professionals, finds Environment Analyst & ALLEN & YORK survey Specialist staff numbers increasing according to majority of environmental consultants surveyed (52%) with infrastructure investment a strong underlying driver Job prospects in the public sector remain constrained by austerity climate Pay creeping up again post-recession, with sector average increase of 1.8% and 3.1% in the consulting sector Specialists in due diligence, energy and renewables command greatest pay premium Gender gap is narrowing with average pay for female survey participants at 41.5k, compared to 49.8k for their male counterparts Increasing opportunities in the commercial sector - and within consultancy firms in particular - are offsetting the more subdued public sector side of the environmental and sustainability profession, according to the latest careers and salary survey report from Environment Analyst and sector recruitment specialist ALLEN & YORK. The report is based on records of 1,200 recent UK positions available through ALLEN & YORK as well as around 1,700 responses to an online survey which ran from November 2015 to January providing a unique and comprehensive insight into salary, career and recruitment trends across the green jobs sector. It is more than five years on since our previous sector survey - when employers were reeling from the impacts of recession and pay freezes, wage cuts, redundancies and job insecurity were the order of the day - and there are some interesting points of comparison between the two. The overarching picture emerging from the 2016 survey is of a profession continuing to mature in terms of the average age and length of service, as well as the diversification of specialist skills and career paths. The majority of consultants surveyed said that the number of specialist staff in their firms had increased over the last year (52%) compared to 35% of individuals working in the corporate/industrial field and just 7% of those in government bodies. enquiries@environment-analyst.com tel +44(0) fax +44(0) Environment Analyst Limited, 2 Nettles Lane, Shrewsbury SY3 8RJ, United Kingdom

2 Executive director of ALLEN & YORK Paul Gosling comments: The environmental sector is vibrant and growing. The demand for highly skilled specialists is rising, due in the main to new infrastructure projects and the proposed rise in house building across the UK. This calls for skills across the board including; environmental impact assessment, permitting and compliance, geotechnical engineering, contaminated land and ecology; as well as sustainable design, landscape architecture and SuDs [sustainable urban drainage systems] skills. Sustainability in construction and energy management are two more areas of strong growth. With companies increasingly buying into the idea of doing business in a sustainable way and also seeing commercial advantage this, sustainability - and the people - who deliver it, is a mechanism for driving innovation and keeping ahead in competitive markets, he adds. People are generally feeling more secure in their jobs, according to the survey, with the proportion of participants feeling less secure in their current role than twelve months previously dropping from 30% in 2010 to 18% this time round. However, those working in the public sector are feeling greater pressure given the climate of austerity and departmental cuts, with around four in ten saying their jobs are less secure now than twelve months ago. The progression of the sector more broadly is also hampered by government environmental policy uncertainties and price volatility in the energy industry, together with the fragile economy. On average 41% of survey participants said the number of specialist staff employed within their organisations had increased over the last twelve months, with 57% of consultancy respondents indicating staff numbers were expected to rise again over the next year. And there is also positive news on pay trends, with an average salary increase of +1.8% reported amongst those who have stayed in the same job in the past year, double that indicated in the 2010 survey. For those working in consultancy, this figure rises to an average increase of +3.1%. Some 23% of respondents reported a freeze on pay in their organisation, although this is a significant step down from the 58% six years ago. And 28% indicated there had been some job losses. While average pay has generally crept up, there is evidence that the gender pay gap is also narrowing with female employees earning an average of 41.5k in 2016 (compared to 34.6k in 2010), but still more than 8k lower than their male counterparts who average 49.8k across the age spectrum, levels of seniority, organisation types and different primary work areas of those surveyed. Paul Gosling says of this trend: As the business world continues to move towards more flexible working and a family friendly agenda, and as more men are encouraged to share the responsibility of childcare we are seeing a definite move towards this gap being closed, albeit slowly. We see an enormous amount of extremely talented women in this industry, and

3 businesses will have to move with the times, as they can t afford to lose or disengage these skilled professionals. The corporate environmental/sustainability management, due diligence, renewables and energy engineering sub-sectors emerge as the strongest paid individual disciplines/areas of specialism. Career prospects are generally felt to be brightening with two-thirds of respondents believing the prospects within the sustainability/environmental profession to be good or very good for the next five years - even in the face of a few storm clouds on the horizon. As the report says, there are strong underlying drivers at play: Infrastructure development in the UK remains a political imperative, as does as commitment to renewable energy as part of the overall energy mix. In and around a small densely populated UK landmass, development in these and other areas cannot go ahead without environmental expertise. There remains strong demand for core environmental skills, not to mention project management and wider business acumen. ALLEN & YORK s Paul Gosling expects growing demand for environmental expertise, and in specific disciplines in particular. Future areas for growth include water and energy management. Sustainable use of water in particular is, I predict, going to rise up the agenda in coming years. This will include flood risk, effective use of water resources and water management and will take different forms across the globe. Water is definitely a market to watch, he concludes. Contact for further information: Liz Trew, Editorial Director Tel: +44 (0) liz@environment-analyst.com FURTHER INFORMATION 1. The 2016 Sustainability, Energy and Environmental Professionals Careers and Salary Survey is based on: i. Results from an online survey, completed by over 1,700 individuals in November 2015 to January The participants were also asked about their salary increases, bonuses, benefits, job prospects, job satisfaction and other details of their careers and salaries. ii. Records of 1,200 recent UK positions available through ALLEN & YORK analysed to give an accurate record of average real salaries across the sustainability professions 2. For further details (including a full list of contents and figures) see:

4 3. Environment Analyst Ltd ( is a publishing and market research organisation focusing on the environmental consulting and support services sector we collect and analyse information from the industry for the benefit of the industry. Environment Analyst also publishes Environment OnSite and Brownfield Briefing newsletters, as well as running 8 industry conferences each year and an industry awards dinner. 4. Brownfield Briefing ( is the leading b2b news service covering the development of previously used or contaminated land. It also covers regeneration, remediation, regulation, policy and regional news. 5. Environment OnSite ( is an online news service designed to help site developers, consultants, contractors, planners and public sector officials keep abreast of the environmental work and opportunities associated with UK development projects. 6. ALLEN & YORK ( is a leading international technical recruitment consultancy, specialising across Sustainability, Environment, Energy, Planning, Health & Safety, Waste & Recycling and Rail & Transportation. With over 20 years recruitment experience we have a unique blend of sourcing expertise and technical knowledge. Every consultant is an expert in their field and we work with consultancies, corporate companies and the public sector to source the perfect talent for each business.

5 Fig 1 % of participants saying staff numbers are likely to increase in the next 12 months Consultancy 57% Corporate/ industrial 35% Educational & Academia 35% Environmental industries 42% Public Sector 11% All 43% 0% 20% 40% 60% Fig 2 Average salary by primary work area for specialists, technicians and consultant-grade employees Air, Noise & Acoustics Building & Low Carbon Design Business Development, Sales & Procurement Contaminated Land & Geotechnical Engineering CSR & Sustainability Due Diligence EHS & Compliance EIA, ESIA & Ecology Energy Engineering Energy Management & Consultancy Facilities Managament Landscape Architecture Renewable Energy Waste Management & Recycling Water s

6 Fig 3 Salaries by post qualification experience > < s