When Katie Kross released the first edition of Profession and Purpose: Your Guide to MBA Careers in Climate and Sustainability in 2009, sustainability careers for MBAs were still, as she put it, “just getting started.”
At that time, even the language around the field felt new. Corporate sustainability roles were few and far between. Socially responsible investing was still finding its place. Consulting in this area existed, but only in small pockets. For most MBA students, climate and sustainability were side interests – not full-fledged career paths.
Seventeen years later, Kross tells Poets&Quants, “There are so many more opportunities now, and so many ways to apply business skills to climate and sustainability challenges. It’s no longer a niche field.”
FROM NICHE FUNCTION TO ENTERPRISE PRIORITY
With the release of the third edition of her book this March, Kross – who leads the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE) at Duke Fuqua – is capturing a market that has not only grown, but evolved into something far more complex and unpredictable.
The most obvious change is scale. Companies that once had just a single sustainability officer now have entire teams – sometimes hundreds of people – working across operations, finance, strategy, and supply chains. Completely new types of roles have emerged, from climate finance to carbon removal to next-generation energy systems.
“There are lots of new fields,” Kross says. “Work on carbon removal, climate finance, and new energy technologies that we weren’t even imagining back then.”
This shift reflects a bigger truth: sustainability is no longer an add-on. It’s becoming central to how companies operate, compete, and plan for the future.
But growth hasn’t followed a straight line.
“There have been ups and downs in different sub-industries,” Kross explains. “Two years ago, I would have said ESG investing was booming. Now, maybe hiring has slowed there this year and picked up more in energy.”
Ask again next year, she says, and the story will likely change once more: “It’ll be something new.”
NETWORKS STILL MATTER MORE THAN RESUMES
Despite the growth in roles, breaking into the field still follows a familiar pattern.
“It’s really about networking and building relationships,” Kross says. “The job search comes down to how many people you’re talking to, how often, and how well you can communicate your passion alongside your business skills.”
In other words, the playbook hasn’t changed – even if the market has.
The MBAs who succeed are those who combine their traditional training with genuine interest and domain knowledge, whether in clean energy, climate tech, or sustainable finance.
“They’ve built this incredible MBA skill set,” Kross explains, “and then layered on top of it their interests, expertise, and passion for a particular area.”
BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE STILL PLAYING CATCH-UP
Even with the growth in the climate job market, Kross sees a gap within MBA programs themselves.
“I believe every MBA should be well-versed in climate and sustainability strategy before entering the workforce,” she says.
Why? Over a 30-year career, graduates will inevitably face climate-related decisions – even if they aren’t in a formal sustainability role.
Yet many schools still treat it as an elective.
“Every business school should teach sustainability and climate in the core curriculum,” Kross says. “And not every school does.”
At Duke Fuqua, where Kross is based, students can pursue an energy and environment concentration and access a strong ecosystem of courses and experiential learning. The school is recognized for its leadership in energy education.
But even there, she sees room for improvement.
“It’s still not as integrated into the core as I would like it to be,” she notes.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF CAREER CALCULUS
For MBA candidates thinking about climate careers, the decision often comes down to trade-offs – pay, prestige, or perceived risk versus purpose.
Kross frames it differently.
“Working in climate and sustainability is a way to bring real meaning to your career,” she says. “It lets you align your values and passions with what you do every day.”
But it’s also a field defined by complex, high-stakes business problems.
“How do we remove carbon from the atmosphere at scale? How do we supply enough critical minerals for next-generation manufacturing? How do we make global agricultural supply chains resilient to climate shocks?”
“These are enormous, fascinating challenges,” she adds. “Regardless of how you feel about the issues, they’re compelling business problems.”