Careers · senior roles · checked 30 September 2026
Head of sustainability: the role that runs the calendar
The head of sustainability is the person who makes a company’s sustainability reporting happen, year after year and deadline after deadline.
It is also, according to ISEP’s 2025 survey of its members, the most common job title in the profession.
This page sets out the statutory calendar the role runs, how it differs from director and chief sustainability officer, how people reach it, and what is really known about the pay.
The role
What a head of sustainability spends the year doing
The head of sustainability owns the function: its data, its deadlines and the programme that delivers the company’s targets.
ISEP’s 2025 survey shows how much of the work protects value rather than creates it: most respondents work on reporting, compliance and risk, and only 30% on product and service innovation.
More than 40% said their responsibilities had shifted in the past year.
The same survey had 101 respondents with “head of” job titles, and found the role typically carries 11 or more years’ experience.
The work reaches across the business: ISEP describes the profession moving towards a hub of expertise that supports operational managers, and 40% of respondents work in a hub-and-spoke model.
The head of sustainability is usually the person who assembles the figures behind the SECR report, the ESOS compliance and any UK SRS disclosures.
The statutory calendar
Five regimes, five different clocks
These are the obligations a UK head of sustainability most often runs.
Each has its own instrument, its own date and its own test of who is in scope.
| Obligation | Instrument | When | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| SECR energy and carbon report | SI 2018/1155, inserting Sch 7 Part 7A into SI 2008/410 | Every year, in the directors’ report | Quoted companies; large unquoted companies unless two or more of the “not more than” conditions (£36m turnover, £18m balance sheet, 250 employees) are met |
| ESOS Phase 4 | SI 2014/1643, reg 4 | Qualification date 31 December 2026; notification of compliance by 5 December 2027 | Large undertakings: at least 250 employees, or turnover over £44m and balance sheet over £38m |
| Climate-related financial disclosures | Companies Act 2006 s 414CB | Every year, in the non-financial and sustainability information statement | Companies in the s 414CA scope |
| UK SRS reporting, comply or explain | FCA PS26/19; UKLR 6.6.6R | Accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027; first reports 2028 | Companies listed in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 |
| Declaration on material controls | UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, Provision 29 | Financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026 | Companies in the commercial companies and closed-ended investment funds categories |
SECR is an annual report inside the directors’ report, under SI 2018/1155.
For an unquoted company the test is an exemption: it is in scope unless it meets two or more of the “not more than” conditions in ¶20B.
ESOS runs on four-year phases, and Phase 4’s qualification date is 31 December 2026, with notification of compliance due by 5 December 2027.
ESOS sign-off belongs to the “responsible officer” under regulation 30 — a director or equivalent, in the Environment Agency’s guidance — so the head of sustainability prepares the work and someone with management control signs it.
For listed companies, the FCA’s PS26/19 adds UK SRS reporting on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with a one-year relief for Scope 3 emissions and a two-year relief for matters beyond climate.
A company using a relief says so and needs to give no further explanation while it runs.
The 2024 Governance Code contains no sustainability reporting requirement, but Provision 29 asks the board to declare the effectiveness of material controls, including those over narrative and ESG reporting, for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026.
That declaration is signed by the board and rests on controls the sustainability function runs.
Assurance and transition plans
Two things the rules ask you to state, not to have
Neither a transition plan nor assurance is required by the FCA’s final rules.
A listed company states whether it has a climate transition plan and where to find it — what UK SRS asks about transition planning covers the detail — and whether its UK SRS disclosures were assured.
The FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 governs how an assurance engagement is performed if a company commissions one, and it is for voluntary use.
Our page on sustainability assurance sets out what an engagement involves, and IFRS S2 is the international standard UK SRS S2 builds on.
Whether it has a climate-related transition plan, and if so where it can be found.
Whether it obtained third-party assurance and, if so, the provider, the disclosures assured and the standards used.
Source: PS26/19 ¶¶2.37, 2.45
Titles
Head, director or CSO: how the titles differ
| Head of sustainability | Sustainability director | Chief sustainability officer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual seat | Runs the function | Senior leadership team | Executive committee |
| Usually answers to | A director, the CFO, the COO or a CSO | A CSO or the chief executive | The chief executive and the board |
| Owns | The inventory, the reporting cycle and the programme | Strategy and a portfolio of programmes | The company’s sustainability position and its oversight |
| Where it appears in the report | Behind the figures | Sometimes in the governance description | Often named in the governance description under UK SRS S1 ¶27(b) |
ISEP’s survey lists head of sustainability, director, sustainability manager and sustainability director as separate common titles among its members, which is itself evidence of how inconsistently they are used.
Where a company has a chief sustainability officer, the head usually reports to them; where it has a sustainability director, the two often divide strategy and operations.
Reporting lines vary by sector: ISEP found 48% of functions report straight to the board or chief executive, 62% in the built environment and 27% in energy and utilities, where 45% report to health, safety and environment.
Getting there
The route to head of sustainability
No qualification is mandatory, but the profession’s data shows what most heads of sustainability hold.
More than half are Chartered Environmentalists, a status awarded by the Society for the Environment through licensed bodies such as ISEP.
The level 7 sustainability business specialist apprenticeship lists head of sustainability and environment among its typical job titles, and its duties include leading on business transparency in corporate reporting.
The common routes up are from consultancy, from an in-house manager role, or from finance, where the link between sustainability disclosures and the financial statements has made the skills transferable.
Our guide to becoming a sustainability consultant covers the early rungs.
Qualifications among “head of” respondents
52% are Chartered Environmentalists.
37% hold a sustainability or environment-related postgraduate degree.
24% have six years’ experience or less.
Source: ISEP 2025
Pay
What is known about head of sustainability pay
No official statistic reports pay by seniority for sustainability roles.
The one official figure for the occupation group is the going rate for SOC 2152, £37,200, which is a median across every grade and so says little about a head of function.
The professional bodies’ surveys come closer: IEMA’s 2022 survey recorded a £54,601 average for members in sustainability or environmental manager roles, and ISEP’s 2025 report puts its Fellows at £91,911.
ISEP also found that a large organisation pays on average £15,000 to £20,000 more than a small one, which matters more at head-of level than anywhere else.
Figures quoted elsewhere for this title without a stated sample are recruitment-market claims, not statistics, and we do not repeat them.
The sustainability salary guide sets out every benchmark in full.
| Evidence | Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Home Office going rate, SOC 2152 | £37,200 | Median of ONS data for the whole occupation, not a senior grade |
| IEMA 2022, sustainability or environmental manager | £54,601 | Members’ average in that role |
| ISEP 2025, Fellows | £91,911 | Members’ average at the most senior grade |
| ISEP 2025, pay gap at senior management | 12% | Men’s average over women’s |
Hiring one
If you are recruiting a head of sustainability
Brief on the regulatory perimeter first: which of the five regimes above apply, on which dates, and what the board has already committed to.
A candidate who has run an ESOS phase and a SECR cycle is a different hire from one who has written a transition plan.
Ask to see the professional record: ISEP grade, CEnv, and the regimes the candidate has actually delivered.
Most senior hires go through specialist recruiters or executive search; our guide to sustainability recruitment agencies explains how they work and what the law says about them.
Frequently asked
Head of sustainability, answered
What does a head of sustainability do?
A head of sustainability runs the sustainability function day to day: the emissions inventory, the energy and carbon reporting the law requires, the ESOS cycle, the data behind any climate disclosures in the annual report, and the programme that delivers the company’s targets.
In ISEP’s 2025 survey of its members, 79% were involved in reporting and disclosure, 76% in compliance management and assurance and 68% in risk management.
What does a head of sustainability earn in the UK?
No official statistic reports pay by job title or seniority for sustainability roles.
The only official figure for the occupation group is the Home Office going rate for SOC 2152, Environment professionals, a £37,200 median across the whole occupation.
The professional bodies’ surveys show pay at senior grades well above that: ISEP’s 2025 report puts its Fellows’ average at £91,911, and IEMA’s 2022 survey found members in sustainability or environmental manager roles averaged £54,601.
What is the difference between a head of sustainability and a chief sustainability officer?
Titles vary, but a chief sustainability officer usually sits in the executive team and answers for sustainability to the board, while a head of sustainability runs the function and its reporting cycle.
Many companies have a head of sustainability and no CSO.
Under UK SRS S1 ¶27 a company describes the governance body or individual responsible for oversight and management’s role, including whether that role is delegated to a specific management-level position, which is where either title appears in the annual report.
Is head of sustainability the same as sustainability director?
Often.
Employers use the titles inconsistently, and ISEP’s 2025 survey lists head of sustainability, director and sustainability director as separate common titles among its respondents.
Where both exist in one company, the director usually sits on the senior leadership team and the head runs operations below it.
What qualifications does a head of sustainability need?
None is mandatory, but chartership is common.
ISEP’s 2025 report found 52% of respondents with a “head of” job title are Chartered Environmentalists and 37% hold a sustainability or environment-related postgraduate degree.
The level 7 Sustainability Business Specialist apprenticeship lists head of sustainability and environment among its typical job titles.
How much experience does a head of sustainability need?
ISEP’s 2025 report says the role typically has 11 or more years’ experience, and only 24% of people with the title have six years’ experience or less.
Who does a head of sustainability report to?
It varies by company and sector.
ISEP’s 2025 report found 48% of sustainability functions report directly to the board or chief executive, rising to 62% in the built environment and falling to 27% in energy and utilities, where 45% report to health, safety and environment instead.
Does a head of sustainability have to get the company’s reporting assured?
No UK rule requires sustainability disclosures to be assured.
Under the FCA’s final rules a listed company states whether it obtained third-party assurance and, if so, the provider, the disclosures assured and the standards used.
ISSA (UK) 5000, the FRC’s assurance standard, is for voluntary use.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- Institute of Sustainability and Environmental ProfessionalsState of the Sustainability Profession 2025 (PDF)
Head of sustainability as the most common job title; CEnv and postgraduate shares; reporting lines; remits; salaries.
- Institute of Sustainability and Environmental ProfessionalsThe shape of sustainability: State of the Profession 2025 findings
101 respondents with “head of” titles; the pay gap at senior management and board level.
- IEMA (now ISEP)State of the Profession Survey 2022 (PDF)
Members’ average pay by occupation, set against ONS benchmarks.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1155)
SECR: energy and carbon information in the directors’ report.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410 Schedule 7 paragraph 20B
The SECR test for an unquoted company: two or more “not more than” conditions.
- legislation.gov.ukESOS Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/1643), regulation 4
Phase 4: compliance period to 5 December 2027, qualification date 31 December 2026, compliance date 5 December 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukESOS Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/1643)
Regulation 30: the responsible officer who signs off.
- GOV.UK (Environment Agency)How to comply with ESOS Phase 4
The Phase 4 milestones and the sign-off rules.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers' sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply-or-explain UK SRS reporting for listed companies from 1 January 2027.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 (PDF), ¶¶2.37, 2.45, 3.6, 3.12 and 3.14
Transition plan and assurance statements, scope, start date and reliefs.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 414CB
The climate-related financial disclosures in the non-financial and sustainability information statement.
- Financial Reporting CouncilUK Corporate Governance Code 2024
Provision 29, the board’s declaration on material controls including narrative and ESG reporting controls, for financial years from 1 January 2026.
- Financial Reporting CouncilISSA (UK) 5000 (PDF)
The sustainability assurance standard, issued for voluntary use.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 (PDF), ¶¶26–27
What a company discloses about who oversees sustainability, and management’s role.
- Society for the EnvironmentChartered Environmentalist (CEnv)
The chartership most heads of sustainability in ISEP’s survey hold.
- Skills EnglandSustainability business specialist (integrated degree), ST0748
A level 7 standard whose typical job titles include head of sustainability and environment.
- Home OfficeImmigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations, Table 1
The only official pay figure for the occupation group: SOC 2152, £37,200.
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