Sustainability recruitment · labour-market data · checked 1 October 2026
UK sustainability hiring trends: what the published data shows
The published data on UK sustainability hiring is thinner than the commentary on it, and this page sets out what it actually says.
There is an official estimate of green jobs, a professional-body survey of the sustainability profession and a measured count of organisations with a reporting duty, and each has limits.
There is no official vacancy series for sustainability reporting roles, so a claim about vacancy growth comes from a commercial source and is not repeated here.
What is measured
Three sources, three different things
The first source is the Office for National Statistics, whose green jobs estimate counts 652,100 full-time equivalents in 2024.
That is 27.8% above 2015 but 10,800 below 2023, and ONS labels the series official statistics in development.
It counts green jobs across the economy, so it cannot tell you whether sustainability reporting roles rose or fell.
The second is the professional body: ISEP’s 2025 state of the profession report surveys its members and found 79% involved in reporting and disclosure.
It also found 64% with a pay rise in the past year, down from 72% in 2022, which describes how often respondents received a rise, not demand for the roles.
The third is a count of organisations with a duty, which is the closest thing to a demand floor.
Organisations with a duty
The SECR count, against the forecast
DESNZ’s independent evaluation of SECR measured 19,900 organisations in scope, 76% more than the 11,300 forecast.
It also found a mean ongoing compliance cost of £7,100 a year, including about 94 hours of internal staff time, with external costs for 56% of compliers.
Those are costs per organisation, which tells an employer how much work the duty creates but not whether it hires for it.
The 2026 post-implementation review recommends retaining SECR with amendments, and a streamlining consultation is planned and not decided, so the duty stays for now.
For listed companies, the FCA’s final rules in PS26/19 give no total count of those affected; the consultation, CP26/5, estimated around 600.
Organisations in SECR scope
- Forecast, 2018 impact assessment11,300
- Measured, DESNZ evaluation 202619,900
Source: DESNZ, independent evaluation of SECR, 29 January 2026.
The measured count is 76% above the forecast.
The calendar
Dated duties shape the year
Hiring in this field follows the calendar of duties more closely than it follows the economy.
ESOS Phase 4 qualification is fixed on 31 December 2026, and the Environment Agency’s milestones run to a notification date of 5 December 2027.
UK SRS periods begin on 1 January 2027 for listed companies in scope, with first reports in 2028.
A dated duty is a reason an employer may plan a hire, not a requirement to hire, and the data above cannot say how many did.
The ESOS assessment guide explains the Phase 4 steps, and the guides on UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S1 and S2 explain the listed-company duty.
Dated duties that create hiring need
- 5 Dec 2026Second progress update on Phase 3 action plans
Due on the Phase 3 cycle.
Source: Environment Agency, ESOS Phase 4
- 31 Dec 2026ESOS Phase 4 qualification date
Whether an undertaking is a large undertaking is fixed on this date, even if it changes size afterwards.
Source: Environment Agency, ESOS Phase 4
- 1 Jan 2027UK SRS periods begin for listed companies
Accounting periods beginning on or after this date, on a comply-or-explain basis, for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- 5 Dec 2027ESOS Phase 4 notification of compliance
The compliance date; the energy savings achieved in the period must be stated.
Source: SI 2014/1643 as amended by SI 2026/701
- 2028First annual reports under the FCA’s rules
A company using a relief says so; during the relief period it need explain nothing further.
Source: FCA PS26/19 ¶3.14, ¶3.20
- 29 Jun 2028ESG ratings regulation applies
Providing an ESG rating becomes a regulated activity from the main commencement day.
Source: SI 2025/1349
- 5 Dec 2028ESOS Phase 4 action plan due
The action plan covers 6 December 2027 to 5 December 2031.
Source: Environment Agency, ESOS Phase 4
What is not measured
Claims you will meet, and where they come from
| Claim you may hear | What the published data says |
|---|---|
| “Sustainability vacancies are up X% year on year” | No official vacancy series exists for these roles; the figure is from a commercial source and cannot be checked here. |
| “There is a severe skills shortage” | Not measured by any source this page relies on; the Green Jobs Taskforce’s skills work (2021) is historical. |
| “UK SRS makes hiring compulsory” | No rule requires a hire; the FCA’s final rules are comply or explain for listed companies in scope. |
| “Green jobs fell/rose” | ONS: up 27.8% on 2015 and 10,800 down on 2023, for green jobs generally. |
| “Sustainability pay is rising fast” | ISEP 2025: 64% of respondents had a pay rise, down from 72% in 2022. |
The honest summary is that the rules are clear, the dates are fixed, and the labour-market numbers are broad.
For pay, the salary guide shows how to read the figures that exist, and for the process, agency or direct hire tests an intermediary’s claims.
The role guides on carbon manager, ESG analyst, ESG reporting manager and head of sustainability recruitment each set out the duty behind the title.
ONS also publishes a related series, low carbon and renewable energy economy estimates, which measures turnover and employment in that part of the economy.
The Green Jobs Taskforce’s group page is kept as history.
The hub lists every guide in this series.
Frequently asked
Hiring data, answered
Is demand for sustainability jobs in the UK growing?
The official evidence is mixed.
ONS estimates 652,100 full-time equivalent green jobs in 2024, up 27.8% on 2015 but 10,800 fewer than in 2023, in figures it labels official statistics in development.
The series covers green jobs generally, not sustainability reporting roles, and no official vacancy series for those roles exists.
How many sustainability reporting jobs are there in the UK?
No official source counts them.
The ONS green jobs estimate counts jobs in the green economy, which is broader.
The SECR evaluation measured 19,900 organisations in SECR’s scope, which is a count of organisations with a duty, not of jobs.
Which rules are driving sustainability hiring in 2026 and 2027?
Dated duties: ESOS Phase 4, with qualification fixed on 31 December 2026 and notification due on 5 December 2027; the FCA’s final rules in PS26/19, with UK SRS reporting on a comply-or-explain basis for listed companies for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027; and the ESG ratings regime from 29 June 2028.
No rule requires an employer to hire a specialist.
How many organisations does SECR cover?
DESNZ’s independent evaluation, published on 29 January 2026, measured 19,900 organisations in SECR’s scope, 76% more than the 2018 impact assessment forecast of 11,300.
The same evaluation found a mean ongoing compliance cost of £7,100 a year per organisation, including about 94 hours of internal staff time.
How many listed companies does UK SRS affect?
The FCA’s final rules in PS26/19 give no total count.
The consultation, CP26/5, estimated around 600 listed companies would be affected, and that figure is the consultation’s estimate, not a count under the final rules.
Scope is UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22.
Is there a sustainability skills shortage in the UK?
This page cannot confirm one from the sources it relies on.
The Green Jobs Taskforce reported on skills in 2021, but its work is historical, and no current official source this site relies on measures a shortage in reporting roles.
Do sustainability professionals expect to stay in their roles?
ISEP’s 2025 report is the best available professional-body source on the profession’s experience, covering reporting involvement, pay rises and pay gaps.
This page makes no claim about retention because the sources it relies on do not measure it.
What share of the profession works on reporting?
In ISEP’s 2025 survey, 79% of respondents said they were involved in reporting and disclosure and 76% in compliance management and assurance. Those are respondents who answered the survey, not the whole profession.
Where can I find vacancy numbers for sustainability roles?
There is no official published series for them.
A claim about vacancy growth or candidate scarcity is therefore from a commercial source, and should be tested with the five questions on the salary guide: who was counted, how, for which role, when and by whom.
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.
- Office for National StatisticsEstimates of green jobs, UK: March 2026
652,100 full-time equivalents in 2024, 10,800 fewer than in 2023; official statistics in development.
- ISEPState of the Sustainability Profession 2025 (short report)
Professional-body survey: roles, pay by grade, pay rises, gender pay gap.
- IEMA (now ISEP)IEMA Survey 2022
Pay by role among 1,190 UK members.
- DESNZIndependent evaluation of SECR (29 January 2026)
19,900 organisations measured in scope.
- DESNZ2026 Post-Implementation Review of the SECR Regulations 2018
Recommends retaining SECR with amendments; a streamlining consultation is planned, not decided.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers' sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply or explain across UK SRS for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22, periods from 1 January 2027.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 (PDF): ¶¶2.45, 3.6, 3.12, 3.14, 3.20
Assurance statement, scope, reliefs and the explain statement.
- Environment AgencyHow to comply with ESOS Phase 4
Milestone dates, qualification, lead assessor, sign-off.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/701: ESOS (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Phase 4 changes, including energy savings achieved and the third progress update.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2025/1349: ESG Ratings Order 2025
Regulates the provision of ESG ratings from 29 June 2028.
- Home OfficeImmigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations
The going rate for SOC 2152: £37,200 on a 37.5-hour week.
- Office for National StatisticsStandard Occupational Classification 2020
Unit group 2152, Environment professionals.
- Office for National StatisticsAnnual Survey of Hours and Earnings
Earnings by occupation group, not by sustainability job title.
- GOV.UKGreen Jobs Taskforce (closed; historical)
A government group that reported in 2021; cited as history, not current policy.
- Department for Business and TradeUK Sustainability Reporting Standards: UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2
The standards, published 25 February 2026; voluntary for any UK entity not required by the FCA’s rules.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410 Sch 7 ¶20B
The SECR size test for unquoted companies: exempt if two or more “not more than” conditions are met.