Corporate responsibility directors in North America average about $151,000 a year in salary, slightly less than what is paid to those in the same position in mainland Europe, according to the 2010 Corporate Responsibility Salary Survey from Acona, Acre, and Ethical Performance.
Counterparts in the United Kingdom make about $126,000, less than the $159,000 average for mainland Europe.
The survey was based on responses from about 600 professionals. See the chart for results from other job titles.
Generally, salaries for senior employees - both in-house and consultants – have slipped slightly over the last 12 months, while those in the middle ranks have witnessed an increase.
Consultants tend to make less than full-time, salaried CR professionals, noted Paul Burke, Senior Partner at Acona.
Women tend to predominate in community-oriented CR roles, while there are more men involved in jobs that focus on climate change and environmental compliance.
“It appears we have just started to emerge from the recession but already I have observed a rapid pick-up in the CR job market," Burke said.
About 84 percent of CR professionals indicate that their job stability has improved or remained the same in the past 12 months, up from 70 percent last year.
Last June, in a salary survey conducted by Reuters, about 68 percent of employees in the climate change sector said they felt the same or more job security than a year prior, due to a heightened response from government and business to the threat of climate change.