Vice President, Sustainability & Impact

The role likely combines portfolio-level strategy with hands-on governance. In practice, that means setting sustainability priorities, defining KPIs, building reporting structures, and making sure energy, water, waste, recycling, and food-waste data can be tracked consistently across properties. A second layer of responsibility appears to be operational enablement. The VP would probably work with property leaders, corporate operations, people operations, engineering, F&B, and design teams to translate goals into SOPs, tools, training, and accountability mechanisms that teams can actually use. The third dimension is external-facing: shaping how Starwood explains its impact to guests, investors, owners, media, and internal audiences. That makes this a role where performance management and brand narrative are tightly linked.

This job could deepen expertise in multi-property sustainability governance, especially in how to standardize metrics and execution across a complex hospitality portfolio. The candidate is likely to learn how sustainability decisions are made at the intersection of operations, development, investor communications, and guest experience. It may also offer strong exposure to reporting frameworks, benchmarking tools, and third-party certifications, since the role explicitly references consolidation, analysis, and external expertise. For someone growing in ESG leadership, that could be valuable experience in converting operational data into executive-ready outputs. Because the role touches F&B, engineering, design, and communications, it may also build rare cross-disciplinary fluency. That combination can strengthen future pathways into broader sustainability leadership or corporate impact strategy.

The ideal candidate likely has several years of experience in luxury hospitality, design-led brands, or other multi-site environments where sustainability needs to be operationalized rather than merely reported. Executive presence matters here, because the role appears to influence senior leaders, owners, and cross-functional teams. Technically, the profile probably includes familiarity with sustainability reporting frameworks, benchmarking, data interpretation, and performance tracking across environmental topics such as energy, water, waste, and food waste. Experience with certifications or external assurance would likely help. Soft skills seem equally important: the ability to translate complexity into clear storytelling, align diverse stakeholders, and persuade teams to adopt standards. This suits someone who is both strategic and practical, with a strong bias for measurable implementation.

To stand out, candidates should show that they have done more than write strategies or reports: they have embedded sustainability into operations. A strong application would likely include examples of driving KPI adoption, changing property-level behaviors, or improving measurable performance across multiple sites. It would also help to demonstrate fluency in the hospitality language of owners, operations, and guest experience. Starwood seems to value sustainability as a business driver, so the most convincing material will connect environmental outcomes with brand value, operating discipline, and commercial relevance. In interviews, be ready to explain how you would balance rigor and storytelling. Evidence of working with leadership reporting, communications, and external certifications could be especially persuasive, as could examples from luxury or design-led environments where the guest experience is part of the sustainability story.

This role is likely to focus on making sustainability visible across the hotel lifecycle, from new development and design to daily operations and guest-facing experiences. The job description points strongly to energy, water, waste, recycling, food waste, and building performance as core environmental priorities. Because Starwood emphasizes purpose and nature-inspired hospitality, the role may also touch brand storytelling, wellness, community engagement, and guest education. In other words, sustainability here is not only a back-office reporting function; it is part of how the brand differentiates itself. There is also likely an investor and governance angle. The role appears to help convert sustainability commitments into standards, reporting, and measurable outcomes that can be communicated credibly to owners and stakeholders.

One likely challenge is operating across many moving parts at once: global brands, property teams, development projects, F&B programs, engineering systems, and communications. The VP will probably need to keep a common framework intact while adapting it to different contexts and maturity levels. Another challenge is turning ambition into consistent execution. Hospitality properties often have competing operational priorities, so aligning teams around sustainability KPIs and maintaining data quality may require persistence, training, and strong governance. A third difficulty is balancing authenticity with polish. Because Starwood uses sustainability as part of its guest and brand story, the role may need to ensure communications remain credible, specific, and measurable rather than becoming vague marketing language.

A typical day could start with reviewing performance data, portfolio KPIs, or updates from property teams, followed by meetings with operations, F&B, engineering, or development partners to remove blockers. The role may also include reviewing reporting materials or preparing executive updates. Later in the day, the VP might work with marketing or communications on sustainability storytelling, or with property leaders on training, SOPs, and implementation support. Some days may also include discussions with owners, consultants, or investors about standards, progress, or upcoming projects. The rhythm likely shifts between analytical work and high-level coordination, with a fair amount of context switching. That makes the role feel both strategic and operational, with sustainability outcomes depending on strong follow-through.

This role could be a strong platform for expanding into broader enterprise sustainability leadership, especially because it spans governance, reporting, operations, and brand strategy. Success here might lead to even greater influence over corporate impact agendas or group-wide ESG leadership. There is also clear potential to build a deep portfolio of high-visibility accomplishments: developing frameworks, launching standards, influencing new developments, and improving measurable performance across multiple brands. Those are the kinds of outcomes that can accelerate a sustainability career. For someone who wants to grow in hospitality specifically, the job offers rare exposure to how responsible hospitality is built from the inside out. That could open doors into strategic roles across luxury, real estate, asset management, or brand-led operating platforms.

The main stakeholders likely include the Senior Vice President of Operations, property leaders, corporate operations, people operations, engineering, F&B, marketing, communications, investor relations, and development teams. Each group probably interacts with sustainability from a different angle, so the VP will need to adapt messaging and priorities accordingly. Externally, the role may also engage owners, developers, consultants, benchmarking partners, certifiers, and media contacts. Those relationships suggest a need for both technical credibility and strong diplomacy. Because the function sits across brands and properties, the role may also rely on close coordination with executive leadership and the Sustainability Governance Committee. In effect, this is a hub role where alignment matters as much as expertise.