Director, Corporate Sustainability

~ VF Corporation outfits consumers around the world with its diverse portfolio of iconic lifestyle brands, including Vans®, The North Face®, Timberland®, Dickies®.  Founded in 1899, VF is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies with socially and environmentally responsible operations spanning numerous geographies, product categories and distribution channels. We’re committed to delivering innovative products to consumers and creating long-term value for our customers and shareholders. ~

We are a purpose-led company that seeks not only to succeed in business but also to leverage our success and resources to make the world better. Through our brands and nearly 70,000 associates around the world, we power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. We are movement makers. It’s who we are and have always been.

Powerful brands that are fueled by insights and innovation put us at the heart of our consumers’ lives. Many of our brands lead their respective categories, and some have risen to iconic status.

While our company and brands are diverse, we work together within a One VF culture to capitalize on our greatest opportunities for long-term performance. Across our company, a collaborative, global mindset differentiates our products and the unique experiences we provide to our consumers. It all adds up to a lasting competitive advantage built on harnessing the power of our differences to achieve great things together, all while positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of people and the world.   

Position Overview

Director, Corporate Sustainability - Become the Newest Member of the VF Family.

This role creates and leads VF’s corporate sustainability strategy and programs across all VF owned and operated locations globally.  The strategy directed and implemented by this leader measures, monitors, builds annual plans and directs cross-functional teams to continuously reduce the impact VF’s operations have on the environment.  The leader in this role shall have full proficiency on VF’s operational environmental impacts, including energy, carbon emissions and related GHG emissions, water use and discharge, and waste generated, covering all owned and operated locations, including retail stores, offices, manufacturing locations, and distribution centers.  This role is accountable to setting VF’s long-term environmental impact reduction targets, reporting Scope 1 and 2 emissions to organizations such as the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP), and ensuring multiple programs across the world and at each VF brand are operating in an aligned manner to deliver on our business unit and enterprise-wide goals.

Responsibilities

Sustainability Strategy:

• This leadership position creates and directs all aspects of VF’s sustainability strategy for enterprise-wide direct environmental impacts, including, but not limited to, energy use, water use, waste generation, building construction, transportation, etc. 
• The scope of this role covers all owned and operated locations and operations, including offices, retail stores, distribution centers and owned manufacturing locations. 
• While this leader directs a team of professionals to support the strategy, the leader must also work collaboratively with multiple leaders across VF and within each VF brand.
• The corporate sustainability strategy shall operate in conjunction with VF’s sustainability strategy for products, materials and the supply chain. 
• The corporate sustainability strategy, created and directed by this role, shall inspire internal and external stakeholders, set a vision for the future, and deliver results through annual operational plans that drive activity and measurable results.

Owned and Operated Environmental Impact Reduction:

• This role directs efforts to continuously measure and track all environmental impacts from our direct operations, leading a team of professionals to develop and implement plans to reduce impacts. 
• In addition, this leader shall build choice cascades which include measurable results, costs, and value delivered. 
• This leader shal present such choice cascades to senior leadership for decision-making. 

Carbon Emissions:

• This role is responsible for leading VF’s efforts to convert VF’s direct environmental impacts into a carbon emission equivalent metric, specifically for Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions, allowing VF to not only compare various business operations but also report externally to our stakeholders. 
• This process includes understanding the regional and global conversion factors based on energy generation. 

Energy Reduction and Renewable Energy Sourcing:

• This role is accountable for directing plans to achieve VF’s RE100 (100% renewable energy). 
• Using detailed analytics, this leader will build a multiprong strategy to methodically reduce energy use in our operations while making choices where VF will select renewable energy options. 
• This role also leads collaboration with cross functional teams across VF to support opportunities to develop renewable energy sources where they may not exist today, enabling the achievement of VF’s 100% renewable energy goal. 
• In addition, this role identifies opportunities to create a renewable energy supply with external stakeholders, including advocating with energy providers, governments, industry competitors and adjacent industries.

Zero Waste:

• This role leads the VF strategy, across all operations globally (distribution, retail, offices, manufacturing) to set and drive our strategy to achieve over 95% diversion from landfill, allowing each site to achieve their zero waste to landfill goals. 
• This role builds overarching strategies and site-by-site plans, in collaboration with the VF central team and facility management, to implement changes in operations, waste segregation, and external provider use, to achieve the VF enterprise wide goals. 
• In addition, this role will be a key leader in identifying and implementing creative solutions for other facility types in achieving waste reduction.

Leed Building Operations:

• This role is responsible for VF’s global LEED building policy and implementation vision. 
• In addition, this role leads the achievement of VF’s building operations strategy in achieving and maintaining LEED certifications. 

Reporting:

• This role directs the assurance process on all direct impact reporting, providing VF with the assurance that accurate information is being collected and reported externally. 
• In collaboration with the external engagement team, this role is accountable to deliver timely, accurate information to satisfy VF’s external stakeholder requests for data regarding our impacts, reduction results and overall strategy. 
• External requests may originate from customers, NGOs, governments and rating groups (such as CDP).

Science Based Targets:

• This leadership role is accountable for setting corporate-wide science based targets (SBTs) for all Scope 1 and 2 emissions, collaborating with the broader sustainability team on setting Scope 3 SBTs. 
• In addition to setting our goals, the leader in this role will develop plans that must be activated across the business to ladder up to VF’s overall, multi-year commitments. 
• Plans must be evaluated from a cost-benefit perspective, and a choice cascade perspective enabling VF and this leader to select activities that are most impactful and effective today, while potentially planning future activities when they may better align with technology or future business requirements.
• This role is also accountable for full proficiency on the science based target requirements, must be able to articulate VF’s level of ambition (i.e. 1.5°C), and must possess the capability to speak to senior management and external stakeholders regarding all aspects of SBTs. 

Global Impact:

• This leadership role will act as the global convergence point of expertise for corporate sustainability related topics. 
• The complexity within which this leader must operate requires the individual to create a shared sense of commitment, collaboration and collective goals. 
• The leader must use his/her expertise of global sustainability topics to build trust in various leaders across VF’s global footprint, enabling aligned action without direct reporting relationships. 
• This ability must be grounded in a well-rounded proficiency of global sustainability topics, covering operations ranging from retail to transportation, waste to packaging, and many others.

External Consultant's And Stakeholders:

• This leadership role manages multi-million dollar contracts with external consultants, which bring expertise and added value to the Corporate Sustainability function. 
• In addition, this role will determine, in collaboration with VF’s external engagement team, which external stakeholders are important, and lead the strategy and collaboration with identified stakeholders.

How you will make a difference:

• Monitor all VF direct environmental impacts globally, from over 2,000 locations, to provide real-time access to VF’s current direct environmental footprint. 
• Direct environmental impacts include, but are not limited to, electricity use, fuel use, waste generation, transportation, water use and disposal, etc.
• Set environmental impact reduction targets which are both aggressive and achievable. 
• Communicate targets internally to all appropriate stakeholders and externally when required.
• Deliver actionable strategy to reduce direct impacts on the environment. 
• Build annual and long-term business unit plans in collaboration with business unit leaders. 
• Set and achieve annual targets.
• Maintain engagement externally to remain current on best practices in reducing direct operational environmental impacts. 
• Leverage best practices internally to achieve environmental impact reduction targets.
• Ensure all direct impact data is accurately collected and aggregated supporting required external and internal reporting. 
• Direct engagement opportunities with key external stakeholders to enhance VF’s reputation.
• Direct team of professionals with a long-term vision, annual workplan, and aggressive goals, allowing VF to continuously reduce its direct environmental impact.

Qualifications

Years of Related Professional Experience:

• 8+ years.

Educational/ Position Requirements:  

• A Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, engineering, biology, public health, sustainability, business or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred.  
• Sustainability proficiency, including climate change, carbon equivalents, renewable energy, LEED certification and science based target setting.
• Ability to manage a team and deliver results within a highly matrixed environment.
• Strong understanding of global operations, including international locations, retail, distribution and manufacturing.
• Systems thinker with an ability to understand underlying points of connection and correlation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to motivate a team.
• Comprehensive understanding of environmental metrics, reporting standards, carbon calculations, water resources and scarcity.
• Excellent attention to detail, process, and organization skills, including a relentless focus on delivering measurable, objective, verifiable results.

Special Physical and/or Mental Requirements: 

• Travel up to 30%.