Environmental Sustainability Lead

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

The Environmental Sustainability Lead is responsible for defining and executing the global environmental sustainability strategy across the enterprise real estate portfolio. This role establishes the standards, governance, and performance frameworks required to achieve the company’s ESG commitments, including carbon reduction, energy efficiency, and sustainable workplace practices.

As a key leader within the Global Real Estate Center of Excellence (CoE), this role integrates sustainability into real estate strategy, design, construction, and operations. The position drives measurable environmental impact, ensures global compliance, and enables regional teams through scalable standards, tools, and insights. This leader serves as the central authority on real estate sustainability, partnering across functions to embed ESG into business decisions and capital investments.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sustainability Strategy & ESG Integration

• Define and lead the global sustainability strategy for real estate, aligned with enterprise ESG commitments and long-term business objectives.
• Establish enterprise targets across carbon (Scope 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3), energy, water, waste, and circularity.
• Integrate sustainability into real estate portfolio strategy, capital planning, and workplace initiatives.

Global Standards, Policies & Governance

• Develop and maintain global sustainability policies, standards, and requirements for design, construction, and building operations.
• Define mandatory vs. adaptable regional guidelines to ensure both consistency and local compliance.
• Establish governance frameworks across the project lifecycle, including sustainability stage gates, audits, and exception management.

Carbon, Energy & Resource Management

• Lead real estate–related components of the company’s net-zero strategy.
• Own carbon accounting methodologies, emissions tracking, and reduction roadmaps.
• Develop and implement energy strategies, including efficiency programs, electrification, and renewable energy procurement (e.g., PPAs, RECs).
• Drive water conservation, waste reduction, and resource efficiency programs globally.

Sustainable Design, Construction & Operations

• Embed sustainability requirements into all new builds, renovations, and fit-outs.
• Govern adherence to green building certifications (e.g., LEED, BREEAM, WELL) and performance thresholds.
• Oversee life-cycle analysis, embodied carbon assessments, and sustainable materials strategies.
• Partner with facilities teams to optimize operational performance through smart building technologies and IoT solutions.

Data, Reporting & ESG Disclosure

• Own real estate sustainability metrics, dashboards, and performance tracking.
• Lead internal and external ESG reporting and disclosures related to real estate.
• Provide actionable insights to leadership on performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Establish KPIs and benchmarking frameworks across the global portfolio.

Vendor & Supply Chain Sustainability

• Define sustainability requirements and standards for vendors, contractors, and suppliers.
• Develop performance scorecards, SLAs, and governance processes to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
• Lead supplier engagement and sustainability audits.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify, pilot, and scale innovative sustainability solutions (e.g., smart energy systems, low-carbon materials, AI-driven optimization).
• Drive adoption of emerging technologies and best practices to improve environmental performance.
• Continuously evolve standards based on market trends, data insights, and regulatory changes.

Workplace Experience & Culture

• Integrate sustainability into workplace experience, including healthy buildings, indoor air quality, and sustainable workplace services.
• Partner with workplace and HR teams to promote sustainable behaviors and employee engagement.
• Develop training programs, playbooks, and toolkits to enable adoption across regions.

Stakeholder Engagement & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Corporate Sustainability, Finance, Risk, Procurement, IT, and Real Estate leaders to align ESG priorities.
• Serve as the global advisor on sustainability for regional real estate teams.
• Support executive decision-making with data-driven insights and strategic recommendations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Little to no travel is expected for this position.

SUPERVISION:

• Leads a small global team or network of sustainability leads (direct + dotted line).

EDUCATION AND REQUIRED CREDENTIALS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Engineering, Sustainability, Architecture, or related field required.
• Master’s degree in Sustainability, Environmental Management, Engineering, or MBA preferred.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., LEED AP, WELL AP, ISSP, CEM) strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

• 12+ years of experience in sustainability, ESG, or environmental strategy within global, complex organizations.
• Proven experience developing and implementing enterprise-wide sustainability strategies and governance models.
• Deep expertise in carbon accounting, energy management, and climate risk mitigation.
• Strong knowledge of green building standards (LEED, BREEAM, WELL) and sustainable construction practices.
• Experience integrating sustainability into real estate, facilities, and capital projects.
• Demonstrated success in ESG reporting, disclosures, and regulatory compliance.
• Strong data and analytics capability, with ability to translate insights into business decisions.
• Experience managing vendor and supply chain sustainability programs.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including executive-level engagement.
• Proven ability to drive global change and adoption in a matrixed organization.
• Strong business acumen, including understanding of financial impacts of sustainability investments.

If your location allows for pay/benefit transparency, please click the link below to request further information on this position.   Pay Transparency Request Form

Benefit Overview: This position offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) with company match, paid time off, parental leave and potential for performance-based bonuses depending on company and individual performance.

Bonus Eligible Positions – include language below. 
Benefit Overview: This position offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) with company match, paid time off, parental leave and potential for performance-based bonuses depending on company and individual performance.”