Stopping the sustainability brain drain

The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.

The current landscape for sustainability professionals is undergoing a major shift, transitioning from years of growth to a period of cutbacks. In some cases, companies are downsizing or reorganizing their teams, and academic institutions are following suit by eliminating programs or downsizing their sustainability initiatives. But as the climate crisis worsens and the geopolitical energy crisis escalates, it’s essential to consider the effects these shifts may have on our future workforce. 

A delicate environment for higher ed 

Over the past few years, the Trump administration has cracked down on funding for colleges and universities, terminating over 4,000 grants to more than 600 institutions, with many of those including EPA-funded higher education initiatives. 

Facing mounting political pressure and budget constraints, some colleges and universities have   closed their sustainability offices, such as the University of Florida, which shuttered its office after two decades, citing a 5 percent administrative budget cut. Similarly, Boston College’s sustainability department paused hiring this year. (It should be noted that sustainability offices are mainly responsible for managing an institution’s climate goals and don’t always have influence over academic courses.) 

But other schools have cut back directly on academic programming from funding issues at the federal and state level. Washington State University, for instance, has faced severe cuts to its clean energy research. Similarly, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a top-ranked school for environmental studies, is eliminating staff positions and graduate student support, which has received widespread backlash from students and staff. 

These examples show that institutions are facing economic and political pressures to prioritize other higher revenue-generating programs, such as computer engineering or finance programs, hindering institutions from embracing sustainability as a core subject and impacting our next generation of workers. 

The future sustainability workforce

Data shows these cuts don’t serve students’ career interests, as more than half of Gen-Z say they have an increased interest in jobs that align with environmental values. Moreover, today’s workforce requires this skillset. In 2025, the LinkedIn Green Skills Report found that hiring outpaces skilling in the green economy.

This creates a potential “brain drain” when the world needs sustainability professionals more than ever. Knowing this, higher education institutions and our industry can protect the future workforce by: 

• Commit to a long-term strategy: Cuts in higher-education funding ultimately defund the people we’re relying on to fix the future. If students don’t have the resources to understand and master our climate problems now, they won’t be equipped to solve these critical issues down the line. With sustainability no longer being a niche subject, higher education institutions should reaffirm their commitment to sustainability curricula and continued student demand. 

• Embrace the benefits of doubling down: Arizona State University (ASU) is a clear example of a university that’s asserted its commitment to sustainability and witnessed the valued return in doing so. It developed the first comprehensive school of sustainability in the country and now has a reputation as a pioneer in sustainability education and research — both in rankings and financially — receiving large philanthropic donations to continue its growth.

• Integrate sustainability into core curriculum: Although it’s unrealistic for all higher education institutions to specialize in sustainability programs, colleges and universities would help their students by integrating basic sustainability knowledge into their core curriculum to prepare students for today’s workforce demands. Cornell University, for example, requires all incoming students to take a sustainability literacy course. 

• Better align the classroom with real-word needs: What’s valued in the classroom also needs to be reflective of today’s workforce values. The University of New Hampshire, for instance, has a corporate partnerships program, which allows students to directly support sustainability projects and goals of local companies such as ReVision Energy, Wyman’s and Tom’s of Maine. Additionally, at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, students are required to participate in a “First Year Project” in partnership with a business client, and these projects have become increasingly ESG-focused. These examples create direct pathways for student-led research and professional training for the next generation of sustainability leaders. 

The future of sustainability has two ways it can go. It can bow down to political pressures or  take the long view and value sustainability as foundational, like math or writing. The sustainability workforce doesn’t have to weaken but sustaining it will require institutional commitment to sustainability and faith that our current political climate will change.