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Associate Director - Sustainability

Lotus's • Thailand • Added on Aug 3, 2026
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As the Associate Director of Sustainability, you will take the helm of Lotus’s environmental and social transformation across its extensive retail network. You are responsible for architecting a long-term roadmap that moves beyond compliance into measurable value creation. This involves auditing current operational processes, identifying efficiency gaps, and deploying large-scale initiatives in energy conservation, waste reduction, and sustainable facility design. You will serve as the central orchestrator, ensuring that every department contributes to a unified mission of responsible retail.

Working for a retail giant with over 2,000 stores means your decisions directly influence the consumption habits and supply chain standards of an entire nation. This role is pivotal in translating high-level ESG commitments into localized actions that benefit Thai communities while aligning with the rigorous global standards of the CP Group. It is a rare chance to drive systemic change in one of the region’s most visible and essential industries.

This suits someone who is a seasoned strategist with a decade of experience navigating complex, matrix-style organizations and possesses the business acumen to prove that sustainability is a driver of long-term profitability.

Job FAQs

What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?

The Associate Director is tasked with architecting the sustainability roadmap for the entire organization, ensuring that environmental and social goals are integrated into the core business strategy. You will oversee the execution of diverse programs, ranging from energy efficiency and pollution reduction to waste management and facility design across thousands of retail locations. Beyond strategy, you are responsible for the efficacy of the sustainability department. This involves analyzing existing policies to identify areas for improvement and ensuring that all initiatives are both cost-effective and feasible. You will also coordinate messaging to ensure that customers and internal staff clearly understand the company's impact and progress.

Key learning opportunities for this job

In this role, you will gain deep exposure to complex matrix management within one of Asia's largest conglomerates, the CP Group. This provides a unique vantage point on how global sustainability standards like GRI, DJSI, and CDP are localized and implemented at a massive operational scale. Furthermore, you will sharpen your ability to link sustainability outcomes with financial ROI. Navigating the intersection of retail operations and ESG metrics will provide you with a masterclass in large-scale organizational transformation and supply chain transparency.

How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?

The ideal candidate brings over 10 years of direct experience in corporate sustainability or related fields like supply chain management. A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as economics or business is highly preferred, as the role requires a sophisticated understanding of how sustainability impacts the bottom line. Technical proficiency in global frameworks such as GRI, UN SDGs, and Science Based Targets is essential. Because this is a leadership role in a complex organization, we look for individuals with exceptional interpersonal skills and the 'change-agent' mindset required to influence stakeholders across different business units.

Advice to stand out and make a successful application

To stand out, move beyond the 'green' rhetoric and focus on operational feasibility and business integration. Your application should demonstrate specific instances where you successfully navigated a complex, multi-layered organization to implement a sustainability initiative that had a clear ROI. Research the '3 Benefits' value of CP Group and show how your personal leadership style aligns with their commitment to prioritizing the country and its people. Highlighting your experience with specific Thai or regional regulatory landscapes alongside global standards like DJSI will make your profile particularly compelling.

What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?

The role will likely concentrate on decarbonizing the retail footprint, specifically focusing on energy use and building design for over 2,000 stores. Given the nature of the industry, plastic waste reduction, circular economy initiatives for packaging, and supply chain transparency are also top priorities. There is also a significant focus on governance and transparency. You will ensure that the company maintains its reputation through rigorous reporting and alignment with both local Thai expectations and international ESG benchmarks.

What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?

One of the primary challenges will be standardizing sustainability practices across a vast and diverse network of stores and online platforms. Ensuring consistency in execution while maintaining cost-effectiveness in a high-volume, low-margin retail environment requires constant balancing. You may also face the challenge of influencing cross-functional teams who have competing priorities. Successfully integrating sustainability into every facet of the business requires overcoming departmental silos and demonstrating that ESG goals support, rather than hinder, operational efficiency.

How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?

A typical day involves a mix of high-level strategy meetings with executive leadership and hands-on coordination with the CP Group sustainability teams. You might spend the morning analyzing environmental footprint data and the afternoon reviewing a proposal for a new solar energy installation at a distribution center. You will also spend time mentoring your team and collaborating with the marketing and communications departments to frame the company’s sustainability narrative. Your day is often spent translating technical ESG data into actionable business insights for different stakeholders.

What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?

As a senior leader in a massive organization, you have the potential to move into Executive or C-suite roles within the broader CP Group ecosystem. The visibility of this role puts you at the forefront of the company’s strategic evolution, making you a candidate for global sustainability leadership positions. There are also opportunities to shape industry standards in Thailand. By leading sustainability at Lotus's, you are effectively setting the benchmark for the entire Thai retail sector, which can lead to influential roles in national and international sustainability forums.

The main stakeholders you might be interacting with

You will interact closely with the C-level executive team and the overall CPG Sustainability units to ensure strategic alignment. On an operational level, your main partners include store managers, supply chain directors, and facility management teams who implement your strategies on the ground. External stakeholders are equally important, including NGOs, regulatory bodies, and investors who track the company's ESG performance. You also play a key role in communicating the company's mission to the millions of customers who visit Lotus's stores every week.

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