Corporations and the employees within have a vital role to play in driving meaningful transformation amid the urgency of the sustainability challenge. This research explores the enablers and barriers that influence employee engagement and shape employees to become change agents for sustainability, drawing from the perspectives of external sustainability consultants hired by for-profit corporations working across industries and continents. Through semi-structured interviews, researchers examined how consultants perceive their role and the approaches they use to engage employees in the sustainability journeys. The findings reveal that while change agents for sustainability exist, they remain a minority. Characterised by qualities such as resilience, creativity and the ability to inspire others, their emergence and effectiveness are shaped by individual, organisational and societal structural elements that either support or hinder engagement. This study also highlights the approaches consultants use to foster engagement, build capacity, and unlock creativity among employees. Although focused on the perspectives of consultants, this research underscores both the potential of employees to drive meaningful change within corporations and the critical role consultants play in creating the enabling conditions for this engagement. Future research could expand this understanding by including multiple perspectives and incorporating observational methods to capture how change unfolds in practice.