Jobs related to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sector have increased more than 223% in India from April 2019 to April 2023, reports The Economic Times, citing research from Indeed. The most significant increase in ESG job postings on Indeed’s platform occurred between April 2021 and April 2022, growing by 109%. Despite this increase, last year saw a decline of 22% in postings for ESG jobs.

“This indicates that while sustainability formed a key part of organisational goals due to the pandemic, it may have cooled down in the last one year, indicating a stabilisation of this segment of jobs following the post-Covid growth spurt,” Indeed stated. 

Meanwhile, demand from job seekers increased in the last year. Searches for sustainability roles increased by 31% between April 2022 and April 2023, the highest growth in the last three years. Interest in sustainability roles grew by 13% from job seekers overall in the last three years. This shows that there is an increasing demand from job seekers to work in sustainability and allied fields.

“The growing demand for ESG professionals can be attributed to several factors, including rising consumer expectations and the need for companies to enhance their brand reputation,” said Sashi Kumar, head of sales for Indeed India. “Employers are actively seeking individuals with expertise in sustainable practices, environmental science, conservation, corporate social responsibility, and related fields to fill these positions. Additionally, employees, especially the younger ones today, place much more importance on environmental and social concerns than the previous generation.”