Sustainability Manager
- Post Date:11th July 2024
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Job Description
The British Coatings Federation (BCF) is the UK Trade Association representing the interests of the decorative, industrial and powder coatings, printing inks and wallcovering manufacturers.
The purpose is to…
Deliver outstanding leadership and support on sustainability issues for the federation and its members. To ensure the sector and individual member companies stay ahead of upcoming legislative changes and best practice in regard to sustainability. To react and respond to individual member concerns and queries about sustainability matters.
A bit of background…
Sustainability issues are increasingly important for BCF members. As well as the global drive for Net Zero and decarbonisation, the upcoming environmental and sustainability legislation – e.g. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging – is a constant nowadays, and our members need expert advice and support to help navigate these challenges. The coatings sector is also looking to voluntarily move apace to improve its performance across a range of environmental matters, not least with our ambitious PaintCare scheme which will substantially increase the amount of leftover decorative paint that is recycled or remanufactured instead of going to landfill or incineration.
We are, therefore, seeking an experienced, self-motivated individual to join our small team here at the BCF. The Sustainability Manager will be working alongside our small regulatory team reporting directly to the CEO.
A typical day would be…
• Maintaining a sector-wide Net Zero Roadmap document (‘the BCF Net Zero Roadmap’) to ensure the industry is recognised as a key player in this area by decision-makers and stakeholders.
• Creating regular reports for the sector to show progress towards Net Zero.
• Guiding and advising members in their individual Net Zero journeys, providing relevant and practical resources and support, especially with carbon calculations and scope 3 emissions (from upstream raw material suppliers).
• Leading on the BCF’s Sustainability Committee, organising and providing secretarial support, as well as feeding into other member committees where appropriate.
• Developing and maintaining an in-depth knowledge of UK and EU sustainability legislation that could affect the sector, providing members with a single point of reference and being seen as an expert on these matters.
• Ensuring deadlines for industry responses and consultations to proposed legislative changes are met by collating the members’ views and preparing industry positions for submission to appropriate UK and EU agencies and departments, relevant industry organisations or others.
• Preparing and submitting environmental reports to the required authorities for the coatings sector, e.g. annual VOC emissions reporting to DEFRA.
• Organising sustainability webinars, seminars and events for BCF members.
• Promoting broader participation in BCF’s environmental and safety programme, Coatings Care, suggesting improvements to the scheme to align with the sector’s Net Zero ambitions.
• Supporting BCF’s PaintCare programme for the recycling and remanufacturing of leftover decorative paint in the UK.
• Collaborating with CEPE, the European trade association, to provide guidance documents and expert advice for members on emerging EU sustainability legislation which will affect our exporter members, e.g., ESPR, SSbD, CSS, etc.
• Engaging with key stakeholders to keep up to date on key sustainability issues and to represent the federation in relevant working groups and events.
The ‘essentials’ are…
• Educated to degree level and/or relevant professional experience on environmental/sustainability disciplines.
• Knowledge of environmental/sustainability legislation and its application.
• Ability to interact with and influence senior managers in the industry and stakeholders.
• Ability to meet deadlines and follow up actions from meetings.
• Competent with IT systems including Outlook, MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to travel for meetings and events.
Some ‘great to haves’ are…
• Previous work experience within a trade association.
• Experience in the coatings industry.
• Other languages.
The key capabilities you will use every day are…
• Organisational skills, diplomatic and team player.
• Self-starter with the ability to manage projects and workload/priorities without supervision.
• Proactive, with the ability to present technical arguments clearly and with confidence to members and stakeholders.
What we offer…
• A positive company culture, competitive salary and fringe benefits (private pension scheme, BUPA private health care, flexible working hours, hybrid working, etc.).
• We will consider full-time or part-time applicants for this position, based in the UK (location can be flexible).
• Start date: ASAP.