Sustainability Specialist

About the role

The Sustainability Specialist supports 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, with intermittent travel as needed (10‑20%).

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

Skills

• Sustainability and Product Stewardship Knowledge: Understands how sustainability expectations, product requirements, packaging, and emerging regulations affect business decisions
• Collaborator and Relationship Builder: Develops effective working relationships across Brand, Product, Engineering, Purchasing, Regulatory, Legal, and Corporate Sustainability teams
• Self‑Directed: Able to organize and advance work in an environment with multiple priorities, evolving requirements, and ambiguous issues
• Problem structuring and resolution – can understand the core issue, identify information gaps, and work with the appropriate subject‑matter experts to develop practical next steps
• Strong Communication Skills: Can translate sustainability and regulatory information into clear, business‑friendly guidance for internal and external stakeholders
• Business‑Minded and Detail‑Oriented: Balances compliance, customer expectations, business priorities, and execution while maintaining accurate data and documentation

Qualifications

• 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,