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Sustainability Specialists

Address organizational sustainability issues, such as waste stream management, green building practices, and green procurement plans.

$83,050 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).

now
14%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 94%
  • 0%
  • 6%
18%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
June 2027

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 94% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 8%. Today's estimate: 14%.

0%5%10%15%20%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 0% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 0% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 1% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 1% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 1% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 1% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 8% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 14% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 14 tasks from .

TaskKind
Develop sustainability project goals, objectives, initiatives, or strategies in collaboration with other sustainability professionals.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 13%6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days10%Half by May 2027
Collect information about waste stream management or green building practices to inform decision makers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 12%6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days8%Half by Sep 2027
Assess or propose sustainability initiatives, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and acceptance.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 11%1 work day2.5 h to 3.1 work days5%Half by Oct 2027
Monitor or track sustainability indicators, such as energy usage, natural resource usage, waste generation, and recycling.Done daily by most who do it. 10%3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days25%Half by Mar 2027
Provide technical or administrative support for sustainability programs or issues.Done daily by most who do it. 8%1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h43%Half by Nov 2026
Create marketing or outreach media, such as brochures or Web sites, to communicate sustainability issues, procedures, or objectives.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.7%1 work day3.3 h to 2.5 work days5%Half by Jul 2027
Create or maintain plans or other documents related to sustainability projects.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 7%3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days25%Half by Mar 2027
Research or review regulatory, technical, or market issues related to sustainability.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 7%5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days15%Half by Jun 2027
Develop reports or presentations to communicate the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days9%Half by Jul 2027
Identify or investigate violations of natural resources, waste management, recycling, or other environmental policies.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work daysStays with people
Write grant applications, rebate applications, or project proposals to secure funding for sustainability projects.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 5%2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks1%Half by Jul 2028
Review and revise sustainability proposals or policies.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 4%4.2 h1.3 h to 1.6 work days20%Half by Apr 2027

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.