Director Climate Solutions

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global community of over 225 of the world’s leading businesses driving systems transformation for a better world in which 9+ billion people can live well, within planetary boundaries, by mid-century. Together, we transform the systems we work in to limit the impact of the climate crisis, restore nature, and tackle inequality.

We accelerate value chain transformation across key sectors and reshape the financial system to reward sustainable leadership and action through a lower cost of capital. Through the exchange of best practices, improving performance, accessing education, forming partnerships, and shaping the policy agenda, we drive progress in businesses and sharpen the accountability of their performance.

Role details

Team: Climate Solutions, part of WBCSD’s Action Theme “Scale Climate Solutions at Pace”

Reporting to: Senior Director, Physical Risk, Climate and Circularity

Role type: People manager, full-time, 1 position

Role overview

Lead WBCSD’s assessment of how fast companies are cutting their emissions and what is holding them back. You will look at both the targets companies set (emissions inventories) and the actions and investments behind them, work out what needs to change for progress to accelerate toward 2030 and beyond, and turn this into a flagship public report.

You will engage senior leaders at member companies before and after the report is published: gathering case studies and insight beforehand, then working with them afterwards, through WBCSD’s network of corporate heads of climate and its program for turning commitments into company-level action, to put the findings into practice.

You will also lead the teams delivering WBCSD’s “value chain” work: a portfolio of focused projects that help companies decarbonize their products, operations and supply chains, including market-based instruments, and WBCSD’s support for supplier decarbonization.

Key responsibilities

• Set the strategy, scope, delivery plan, budget, governance and success measures for both the annual emissions progress report and the value chain project portfolio, keeping them aligned with WBCSD’s wider priorities.
• Lead a rigorous assessment of corporate progress on emissions targets and the actions behind them, combining data, business experience and member input to identify what is working, what isn’t, and what would unlock faster progress.
• Work with WBCSD’s Policy & Insights team on a related but separate report, the Business Breakthrough Barometer, sharing data and analysis so the two stay consistent, while keeping this report as the main priority.
• Commission, quality-check and deliver a flagship public report that turns complex evidence into a clear narrative, practical recommendations and a call to action for senior business leaders.
• Drive member engagement before publication (through case studies and participation in the assessment) and after (turning findings into action through WBCSD’s climate leadership network and action program).
• Promote the report externally, help shape the public debate on what it takes to speed up corporate climate action, and work with outside experts and partners to strengthen its credibility and reach.
• Direct the portfolio of value chain projects across products, operations and supply chains: set priorities, balance emissions potential against business value, member demand and feasibility, and build the pipeline of future projects with the program’s advisory group.
• Oversee the use of market-based instruments within these projects, drawing on technical input from the Director, Climate and Circularity, and ensure the evidence feeds into WBCSD’s standards and target-setting work.
• Oversee WBCSD’s supplier decarbonization support, including tools for suppliers, a program to embed decarbonization into procurement, making sure a fair (just) transition is built into the project portfolio.
• Engage WBCSD’s member communities, embedding this work in their agendas and channelling their input back into the report and project portfolio.
• Maintain quality assurance, risk management and reporting across all work, resolving issues and taking corrective action when outcomes, quality, resources or timelines are at risk.
• Lead, develop and direct a team of (senior) managers covering electrification, transport and mobility, the built environment, and supply chain work, delegating technical depth to them while remaining accountable for overall quality and delivery.
• Help the Senior Director build and run an advisory group of senior member companies, using it to steer priorities and secure senior ownership of the program.
• Take an active role in WBCSD’s broader content leadership group, contributing to priorities and collaboration across the organization.