Daily Sustainability Job Post

* The link and job description provided was active on February 11, 2021 – the date this was posted. Please refer to the employer’s website for up to date information. This is not our search, we are providing these links as a service to the community of sustainability and ESG jobseekers.

Position Overview:

What makes this a great opportunity?

As a world leader in premium spirits, Beam Suntory inspires human connections. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark Bourbon brands, Suntory Whisky Kakubin and Courvoisier Cognac, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s and Legent Bourbon; Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki and Toki Japanese Whisky; Teacher’s, Laphroaig and Bowmore Scotch Whisky; Canadian Club Whisky; Hornitos and Sauza Tequila; EFFEN, Haku and Pinnacle Vodka; and Sipsmith and Roku Gin.

Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and vision of Growing for Good. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. Our culture is anchored deeply in a set of core values, including our East-Meets-West Culture, Yatte Minahare spirit, Giving Back to Society, Delighting Consumers, responsibly and Embracing Diversity & Inclusion.

Beam Suntory has recently established its first enterprise-wide sustainability strategy to elevate the company’s commitment to all key elements of sustainability and establish a leadership position in our industry and beyond. Inspired by the philosophy and values of our parent company, Beam Suntory’s Growing for Good sustainability strategy demonstrates our ambitions to make a positive impact on the planet, our consumers and our communities. It’s built on a simple but powerful framework distinctive to Beam Suntory – Nature Positive, Consumer Positive and Community Positive – supported by ambitious goals reflective of our unique Yatte Minahare spirit, and framed by a compelling narrative. The company plans an external announcement of its strategy in Q1 2021.

Role Responsibilities

The Role

To support our sustainability goals, Beam Suntory is hiring a team of environmental and sustainability professionals. The Manager, Packaging Sustainability position will be based at our Global Innovation Center and will be a member of the Global Packaging and the Environmental & Sustainability teams.

Role Responsibilities

• Develop a baseline of the current sustainability attributes (recyclability, recycled content, renewable content, etc.) for all BSI packaging materials.
• Develop strategic plan / roadmap to successfully achieve the 2030 and 2040 sustainability goals as well as the objectives of the commercial organization by supporting development, growth, and profitability of sustainable packaging.
• Update the master material specifications for all BSI packaging to include the minimum sustainability attributes for each type of packaging material needed to successfully achieve the 2030 & 2040 sustainability goals.
• Partner with other BSI functions (Brand House, Quality, Procurement, Manufacturing, etc.) to ensure that the proposed sustainability improvements meet their performance expectations and achieve BSI quality standards.
• Research new sustainable product platforms including recyclable, renewable, post-consumer recycled, compostable, and rigid to flexible packaging. Emphasis on high-recycled content glass bottles, recycled/renewable material plastic bottles, corrugate cases, aluminum closures, labeling, etc.
• Evaluate more sustainable packaging materials by conducting material characterization and testing, product shelf life evaluations, LCA assessments, and recyclable / biodegradable / compostable assessments.
• Scout for advancements and new technologies in sustainable packaging and create an innovation “pipeline” of new and emerging packaging sustainability options.
• Brings innovative packaging concepts in-house and builds prototypes with vendor partnerships… to help ensure success prior to full scale implementation.
• Develops Sustainability “menu” for use by R&D and Brand House teams in the development of new or re-designed product packaging.
• Support all packaging sustainability data requests (internal and external) for product performance and technical information.

Qualifications & Experience

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Packaging Engineering, Packaging Technology, or related field required. Equivalent experience may be accepted for certain attributes of the position. Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Material Science or Packaging Engineering preferred.
  A minimum of 7 years of packaging engineering experience in consumer-packaged goods required. Experience in beverage industry preferred.
  • Minimum of 3 years progressive industry experience with sustainable bottle/container design (glass, PET, rPET, renewable materials) required.
    Minimum of 3 years progressive industry experience with sustainable bottle/container closures, labels, and other premium ornaments required.
    Minimum of 3 years progressive industry experience with sustainable corrugate cases and other secondary and tertiary packaging material required.
    Minimum of 3 years progressive industry experience with packaging innovations using renewable materials and designs to support growing eCommerce business preferred.
• Must be fluent in English; second language is a plus, but not required. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and written, and explain technical concepts or innovations to technical and non-technical employees.
• Advanced computer skills (PowerPoint, Excel, online meeting software, web-based KPI reporting software) and expert PowerPoint presentation development and delivery.
• Excellent collaboration and negotiations skills to support senior leaders with defining relevant data and analytics for sustainable packaging roadmap development. Comfortable working in a new department amidst ambiguity and transformational change.
• Strong working knowledge of packaging sustainability issues and trends, including external reporting frameworks, indices and ratings.
• Strong working knowledge of packaging used in the CPG (consumer product goods) industry, manufacturing processes and packaging materials, processing and performance.
• Proficient in “packaging design thinking” and able to bring that approach into sustainability programs, concept generation, consumer research and problem solving. Track record of successful execution of programs from idea, concept development, testing, validation to market commercialization.
• Physical requirements: ability to conduct visits and “gemba” activities throughout the manufacturing site- on-grade, below-grade and above-grade working surfaces.
• All applicants must have legal authorization to work in the country in which the manufacturing site is located. The candidate must be able to travel to (and throughout) countries in which BSI has manufacturing locations (travel <25%).

A successful candidate will have a passion for sustainability and strong technical project management skills while working collaboratively with others and bringing a forward-thinking and entrepreneurial spirit to the position.