Sustainability Footprint & Climate Data Specialist

The core mission is to make product environmental and climate data reliable and usable. That means running Product Environmental Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment calculations across the portfolio, maintaining the assumptions, emission factors, documentation and calculation tools behind them, and gradually turning one-off studies into repeatable processes. Ownership of methodology and data quality sits with this person, not with an external consultant. A second mission is to link product footprints to corporate climate work: supporting Scope 3 value-chain datasets, greenhouse gas inventories, scenario modelling and monitoring of decarbonization initiatives, including alignment with Science Based Targets initiative commitments. The role also identifies hotspots across ingredients, sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and logistics and translates them into practical improvement actions. Finally, there is a commercial and governance dimension. The specialist partners with Commercial teams to answer customer sustainability requests and tenders, and works with R&D, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance and IT to clarify data ownership, validation and system integration. Over time the goal is more automation and consistency between operational, customer and corporate reporting data.

The most direct learning is deep, applied expertise in Product Environmental Footprint and LCA methodology in a food manufacturing context: how emission factors are chosen, how assumptions are documented and defended, and how product-level results roll up into corporate inventories. Because the role is new and the field is moving, there is room to help shape the method rather than inherit a fixed one. Exposure to Science Based Targets initiative work, Scope 3 accounting and scenario modelling would broaden the candidate's climate reporting skills beyond product level. Working across eight functions and multiple countries also builds a rare understanding of how sustainability data actually flows through a global business, from suppliers to finance systems to customer tenders. Puratos states a minimum of five training days per year, which could support certifications or courses in LCA, carbon accounting or data tools. Knowledge sharing is explicitly part of the role, so teaching others is itself a development opportunity.

The posting asks for a Master's degree in engineering, economics, food science, environmental science or a related field, plus at least five years of relevant experience in carbon accounting, environmental footprinting, LCA or sustainability data. Practical familiarity with footprint methodologies, emission factors, datasets and recognized climate frameworks matters more than a specific sector background, though food or ingredients experience would shorten the ramp-up. On the technical side, the candidate needs strong data and systems affinity: understanding data quality, structure and flows, and being able to translate business needs into workable requests for IT teams and data owners. Hands-on tool skills, likely spreadsheet and LCA software, are implicit in the calculation ownership. On the human side, the profile is autonomous and solution-oriented, able to build processes and make well-founded assumptions in an evolving environment. Customer focus, business acumen and confident cross-functional communication in multicultural teams are named explicitly. Fluent English is required; Dutch, French or Spanish are assets, which fits a Belgian headquarters with global reach.

Tailor the application around evidence of owned calculations, not participation in them. Puratos is hiring someone to build and maintain footprint methodology and processes, so concrete examples of LCA or carbon accounting work you designed, documented and defended, including how you handled missing or poor-quality data, will carry more weight than a list of frameworks you have heard of. Because the role bridges product data and corporate climate commitments, prepare to explain in the cover letter or interview how you would connect a product footprint to Scope 3 and SBTi reporting. Showing that you understand where ingredient, packaging and logistics data come from in a food supply chain signals the cross-functional instinct the posting asks for. Finally, address the customer dimension. Puratos sells to artisans, retailers, industrial and food service customers in over 100 countries, and this role answers their transparency requests. A short example of turning technical sustainability data into a clear commercial answer would differentiate you. If you speak Dutch or French alongside English, say so early, as it helps in a Flemish Brabant headquarters.

The role sits squarely on the environmental side of ESG, with carbon as the entry point. Product environmental footprint and LCA work feeds directly into Puratos' climate commitments: Scope 3 value-chain emissions, corporate greenhouse gas inventories, Science Based Targets initiative alignment, scenario modelling and tracking of decarbonization initiatives. This is the data backbone that makes those commitments auditable. Beyond carbon, the hotspot analysis covers ingredients, sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and logistics, so the focus likely extends to agricultural sourcing impacts and packaging choices, both material for a bakery ingredients group. Customer-facing transparency, including tenders and sustainability requests, is another recurring theme. Governance is a quieter but real part of the sustainability focus: clarifying data ownership, validation and quality requirements across countries and systems, and improving consistency between operational, customer and corporate reporting. That is the unglamorous work that determines whether published figures hold up.

The hardest part is likely data quality and availability. Primary data from suppliers, plants and multiple country systems is rarely complete or consistent, so the specialist will spend significant time making defensible assumptions, documenting them and persuading data owners to improve inputs. The posting itself frames the role as operating in an evolving environment, which signals that processes are still being built. A second challenge is the translation work. Product footprint results need to satisfy technical reviewers, corporate climate reporting and commercial teams responding to customer tenders, and those audiences want different things from the same numbers. Keeping one consistent dataset while serving all three is a balancing act. Third, cross-functional influence without direct authority is demanding. Success depends on R&D, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance and IT each contributing time and data, and competing priorities are inevitable in a company of nearly 7,000 employees across more than 100 countries.

A typical day would mix calculation work with coordination. That could mean updating emission factors or assumptions in the footprint model, reviewing a dataset sent by a supplier or plant, and documenting decisions so the methodology stays traceable. Tool maintenance and preparing inputs for Scope 3 or inventory reporting are regular tasks. Much of the calendar is likely meetings across functions and countries: a session with Procurement on ingredient data, a check-in with IT on system integration or automation, a discussion with R&D about a reformulated product, and time with Commercial colleagues preparing an answer to a customer sustainability request or tender. Time zones matter given the global footprint. Variability comes from the project cycle. When a footprint study, audit or reporting deadline approaches, the balance shifts toward analysis and review; between cycles, more time goes to process design, automation and knowledge sharing with stakeholders learning to use the tools.

This is a new role in a field Puratos describes as evolving, which usually means the scope can grow with the person. Strong performance in building scalable footprint processes and connecting product data to corporate climate reporting could lead toward a broader climate data or sustainability reporting lead position, or deeper specialization in LCA and product sustainability. The cross-functional exposure is itself a growth asset. Working with R&D, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, IT and Commercial teams across more than 100 countries gives visibility that few specialist roles offer, and it builds the stakeholder management profile needed for senior sustainability positions. On the skill side, growth paths include mastering SBTi and Scope 3 accounting, automation and data tooling, and possibly sector-specific expertise in food ingredients. The five training days per year and the stated emphasis on knowledge sharing suggest the company expects continuous development rather than static expertise.

Internally, the closest partners are likely R&D, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance and IT, since the role depends on data these teams own or generate. The relationship with IT and data owners is particularly important: the posting calls for translating business needs into productive collaboration on system integration and automation. Commercial teams are key stakeholders on the demand side, because they bring customer sustainability requests, tenders and transparency needs that the footprint data must answer. Managers and reviewers around audits and reporting form another group, since assumptions and documentation need to withstand scrutiny. Externally, the specialist would interact with suppliers and possibly customers, directly or through Commercial colleagues, as well as auditors and framework bodies connected to climate and sustainability reporting. Country-level contacts across the Puratos network add a multicultural dimension to nearly every exchange.