The best first step is to attend an upcoming meeting and introduce yourself.

Our group includes students, practitioners, and researchers at various career stages, and it's a very supportive space for learning and collaboration.

Even simply bringing a sustainability lens into your current clinical or organizational work can be a meaningful beginning. Look for opportunities to identify environmentally relevant behaviors or systems-level efficiencies in what you're already doing.

There are several accessible entry points for getting involved:

• Collaborate on projects: Small research or applied projects are great starting points

• Assist with research: Help with data collection or literature reviews

• Share your work: Contribute to blogs or conference presentations

• Network across disciplines: Connect with professionals in environmental science, public health, urban planning, and related fields

• Apply a sustainability lens: Identify environmentally relevant behaviors or systems-level efficiencies in your current work

Absolutely.

Passion for conservation, sustainability, and psychology aligns very well with the work of this special interest group. We welcome and actively encourage diverse perspectives and interdisciplinary thinking.

Many of our most valuable contributions come from people who bring fresh perspectives from fields like environmental science, psychology, public health, and conservation biology.

Careers in this space are diverse and still very much emerging. Professionals work in areas such as:

• Environmental behavior change: waste reduction, water and energy conservation

• Public health and population-level interventions: community-wide initiatives

• Implementation science: translating research into practice

• Policy evaluation: assessing the effectiveness of environmental policies

• Community-based research: partnering with communities on sustainability projects

• Sustainability consulting: advising organizations on behavior change strategies

• Nonprofit and government roles: working within public sector organizations

• Academic or applied research: contributing to the knowledge base

Not at all.

Many practitioners maintain traditional clinical roles while also contributing to sustainability-focused projects. Others transition fully into research, systems-level work, or interdisciplinary teams outside of direct service delivery. The path you choose depends on your interests, goals, and circumstances.

You can also bring a sustainability lens into your current clinical or organizational work by identifying environmentally relevant behaviors or systems-level efficiencies within your existing role.

No, and you might have more impact by staying where you are. You've built skills, experience, and influence in your current role, even if it doesn't feel like much. Here's the thing: sustainability and climate issues touch every sector and every job. Your work is already connected.

Rather than starting over, deepen your knowledge of sustainability principles and apply them to what you're already doing. This lets you use your existing expertise and proximity to decisions, budgets, and trade-offs - where real change actually happens. You won't need to lobby for a new role or rebuild your career from the ground up!

Real influence comes from being close to the decisions that matter, not from a job title. The most effective climate action often comes from embedding it into existing work, not treating it as a separate career path.