Analyst – Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

The core of this role is data reliability. You will collect ESG information from entities spread across METRO's 30-plus markets, check and transform it, and turn it into emissions calculations and KPIs that leadership, investors and customers can trust. That means running the pre-closing, closing and wrap-up routines for sustainability data with the same discipline finance applies to its books. Beyond the numbers, you are the connective tissue of the ESG function. You will work with finance, IT, operations and country teams to pull data, spot gaps and improve the systems that capture it. A meaningful share of the job is onboarding new entities and colleagues into the reporting framework, which means building templates, documenting processes and training people who are not sustainability specialists. Longer term, the mandate points towards becoming a recognised ESG subject-matter expert who can answer ad-hoc disclosure requests, prepare board-level presentations and drive process improvements. The role is less about inventing strategy and more about making METRO's sustainability reporting engine accurate, repeatable and audit-ready.

This position is a rare chance to learn large-scale ESG reporting from the inside. You will build hands-on fluency with frameworks such as GRI, CSRD, SASB, TCFD and CDP, and, more importantly, see how they translate into actual data collection across dozens of legal entities and 600-plus stores. Expect to deepen your technical toolkit considerably: SQL, advanced Excel, Power BI or Tableau, plus exposure to ESG databases and reporting platforms. Because METRO's sustainability controlling sits in Germany while the solution centre is in Pune, you will also gain cross-border project and stakeholder-management experience that many ESG analysts never get early in their careers. There is a mentorship angle too. The role is explicitly positioned as the right hand to METRO AG Sustainability Controlling, so you could absorb how a listed European wholesaler prepares for CSRD assurance and regulatory review, knowledge that is currently in very high demand.

The ideal profile holds a bachelor's in environmental science, engineering, sustainability, finance or business, with a master's or MBA viewed favourably, and brings at least three years in ESG analysis, sustainability consulting or CSR. What matters more is demonstrable comfort with messy data: hands-on SQL, advanced Excel and BI tooling, ideally within a reporting or controlling environment. Framework literacy is a real filter here. Candidates who can talk concretely about GRI, CSRD, SASB, TCFD or CDP, and about the practical difference between them, will stand out over those who list acronyms without context. Equally important is the ability to explain complex ESG topics to non-specialists, since much of the work involves chasing data from colleagues who are not sustainability professionals. On the soft-skills side, look for a self-starter who can juggle closing deadlines with ad-hoc investor and customer requests. METRO is a fast-paced, multicultural environment spanning 24-plus languages, so resilience, structure and a genuine commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion are likely to be weighted heavily.

Tailor your CV around data quality and reporting cycles, not general sustainability enthusiasm. Quantify your experience: how many entities or KPIs did you consolidate, which frameworks did you apply, what tools did you use daily? A short section listing frameworks, databases and BI tools by name will help you clear the initial screening faster than a narrative paragraph. In your cover letter, speak directly to METRO's context. Reference the fact that sustainability controlling sits with METRO AG in Düsseldorf while delivery is from Pune, and show you understand the coordination challenge that creates. Mentioning the specific mix of HoReCa and trader customers, or the scale of 623 stores across 21 countries, signals you have done real homework rather than sending a template. For interviews, prepare a concrete example of a data-quality problem you diagnosed and fixed, and be ready to discuss how you would onboard a new country or entity into a reporting framework. Because the role is positioned as a future subject-matter expert, demonstrating curiosity about upcoming regulation, especially CSRD, and how it affects a European wholesaler will likely resonate with both the Pune team and their German counterparts.

The role will centre heavily on environmental data, particularly emissions. Calculating and assuring reliable greenhouse-gas figures across entities is named as the top responsibility, which points to a focus on Scope 1, 2 and increasingly Scope 3 emissions given METRO's sprawling store, depot and food-service distribution network. On the social and governance side, expect involvement in disclosures that touch customers, employees and NGOs, plus reporting aligned with frameworks such as CSRD and GRI. Because METRO supplies HoReCa businesses and small traders, sustainability topics such as food waste, responsible sourcing and packaging could also surface in the data the team collects and reports. Strategically, this is a reporting-and-assurance role rather than a programme-design one. The sustainability angle is about making METRO's commitments verifiable and comparable across markets, which is exactly what investors and regulators increasingly demand from a wholesaler of METRO's size and geographic reach.

The hardest part is likely the data-collection reality. ESG information at METRO originates from many countries, systems and stakeholders, and not all of them treat sustainability reporting as a priority. Chasing accurate numbers under closing deadlines, with limited direct authority over the people who supply them, requires persistence and strong relationship management. Another challenge is the moving target of regulation. CSRD, GRI and other standards are evolving quickly, so the reporting framework you help build may need frequent adjustment. Balancing rigor against pragmatism, getting a usable figure now versus a perfect one later, could be a recurring tension. Finally, there is the cross-cultural and cross-time-zone dimension. Working closely with METRO AG Sustainability Controlling in Germany from a Pune base means early calls, asynchronous coordination and the need to translate between technical ESG language and business language. Handling that while managing multiple ad-hoc requests is probably the defining pressure of the role.

A typical day might begin with reviewing data submissions that arrived overnight from European entities, checking them against templates and flagging anomalies before they feed into emissions calculations. You would then spend time in your analytics tools (SQL queries, Excel models, possibly Power BI dashboards) cleaning and transforming that data into a reporting-ready format. Much of the middle of the day is collaborative. You could be on a call with sustainability controlling colleagues in Düsseldorf or Szczecin, chasing missing information from a country team, or walking a new entity through the onboarding process. During closing periods, these interactions intensify and the rhythm becomes deadline-driven. Later in the day, the work often shifts towards outputs: drafting a section of an ESG report, preparing a presentation for internal or external stakeholders, or responding to an ad-hoc disclosure request. The mix varies with the reporting calendar, so weeks near closing look very different from quieter periods focused on process improvement.

The job description explicitly frames this as a path towards becoming a recognised ESG subject-matter expert, which is a strong signal of intended progression. Within the sustainability reporting team, growing into a lead or controlling role over time looks plausible, especially as CSRD obligations expand the team's remit. Because METRO GSC supports multiple functions (finance, IT, strategy, digital) there is also lateral mobility. An analyst who masters reporting data could move into finance controlling, business intelligence or broader transformation roles, carrying sustainability expertise into a new domain. That kind of hybrid profile is increasingly valuable. Visibility is another form of growth. Preparing materials for investors, customers and NGOs, and acting as the right hand to METRO AG Sustainability Controlling, puts this person in front of senior stakeholders early. For someone aiming to build a reputation in corporate sustainability, that exposure may matter more than any formal promotion.

Internally, the closest relationship is with METRO AG Sustainability Controlling in Germany, for whom this role acts as a support and extension. You would also interact regularly with finance and controlling teams around closing cycles, with IT on systems and data pipelines, and with country-level colleagues who supply ESG data. Within METRO GSC India, expect to work alongside other analysts, project managers and specialists in the Pune and Szczecin hubs. Onboarding new colleagues and entities means acting as a point of contact and trainer, which turns many internal staff into ongoing stakeholders rather than one-off contacts. Externally, the role touches audiences for ESG disclosures: investors, customers, employees and NGOs. Direct interaction may be limited, but the reports and presentations you prepare represent METRO to them, so understanding their expectations, particularly those of investors tracking CSRD compliance, is part of the job.