Sustainability Specialist

Worthington Enterprises • Worthington, OH

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Sustainability Specialist supports the implementation of Worthington's sustainability strategy within the business, with a focus on product and packaging sustainability, customer sustainability requests, emerging regulatory requirements, and cross-functional sustainability programs. The Specialist will serve as a day-to-day resource for Brand, Product, Engineering, Purchasing, and other business partners; coordinate data and documentation; support Design for Sustainability and New Product Development activities; and help translate sustainability and regulatory requirements into practical business actions. This is a hybrid role spending 3 days/week on-site at our Columbus, OH corporate headquarters.

Requirements

• Intermittent travel as needed (10-20%).
• Bachelor's degree in sustainability, environmental science, engineering, business, supply chain, or related field.
• 2-4 Years of experience in sustainability, product stewardship, product compliance, packaging, regulatory affairs, or a related business function.
• Experience managing multiple projects or workstreams and coordinating activities across cross-functional teams.
• Experience working with data, documentation, reporting, or enterprise systems; familiarity with Microsoft Office and collaboration tools such as Teams.
• Ability to research emerging requirements, synthesize information, identify business impacts, and coordinate appropriate follow-up.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with manufacturing, sourcing, engineering, or product development organizations preferred.
• Experience with customer sustainability questionnaires, product declarations, EPR, or related compliance platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Support business teams in integrating sustainability considerations into product development, packaging, and business processes
• Coordinate responses to customer sustainability surveys and environmental compliance requests
• Perform customer and competitor benchmarking activities
• Support packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) data collection and reporting, development of internal packaging guidance, and identification of emerging product/packaging regulatory requirements.
• Serve as a trusted sustainability resource for Brand and Product teams and coordinate cross-functional actions to address priorities.
• Participate in the Sustainability Council and contribute to internal teams established to carry out the Corporate Sustainability strategy.
• Support New Product Development and Stage Gate activities by identifying sustainability considerations, customer expectations, packaging requirements, and regulatory watch-outs; support Design for Sustainability tools and implementation; provide guidance to Brand and Product teams on product and packaging sustainability questions.
• Support packaging data gathering, organization, validation, and reporting for EPR requirements; support monitoring and assessment of emerging product and packaging regulations, including packaging labeling, electronic-waste and battery stewardship, PFAS, Canada Federal Plastics Registry, and PPWR; coordinate follow-up with Legal and other functions as needed.
• Coordinate responses to customer sustainability surveys and questionnaires; provide input to environmental compliance requests; support customer and competitor benchmarking, alignment reporting, and recurring customer updates regarding product and company sustainability performance.
• Serve as a sustainability resource for Brand and Product teams; participate in quarterly business touchpoints with brand and product leaders, purchasing and other cross-functional teams; support internal teams established to implement corporate sustainability goals and activities; coordinate stakeholders and suppliers on assigned initiatives; identify practical opportunities to improve sustainability outcomes.
• Maintain centralized sustainability and compliance files in Teams and other designated systems; track customer requests, EPR data, project milestones, and follow-ups; support team reporting to business leadership, templates, training, reports, and other repeatable processes that improve program execution.
• Use available technology, reporting tools, and appropriate automation to improve data collection, validation, tracking, and recurring reporting.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manual effort, improve data quality, and create more efficient and repeatable processes

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance that starts on your first day!
• Employer HSA contribution (up to $1,000/single or $2,000/family depending on plan type)
• On-site Medical Center, Pharmacy, Barbershop, and fitness center
• 401(K) Match + Employer contribution
• Ample opportunity for career growth- we promote from within
• Employee Assistance Program
• Quarterly profit sharing (with no cap!)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level