Sustainability Manager

HNI Corporation is seeking a Sustainability Manager to join their Corporate Legal Team, focusing on product chemistry, lifecycle assessment, and chemical transparency. The role involves collaborating with marketing, managing chemical inventories, leading sustainability initiatives, and supporting corporate sustainability goals. While periodic travel to Muscatine may be required, the position is eligible for remote work.
About the position

HNI Corporation is a global family of brands for the workplace and home dedicated to enhancing the spaces where we live, work, and gather. We pride ourselves on fostering an environment where we make a positive impact on others; upholding our beliefs in integrity, inclusion and belonging. We are looking for a Sustainability Manager to join our HNI team. The Sustainability Manager sits within the Corporate Legal Team and reports to the Director of Product Compliance and Sustainability. This position serves as a subject matter expert on topics such as product chemistry, chemical transparency, lifecycle assessment and End-of-Life (EOL) Management. This role will partner with our marketing teams to accurately describe HNI's compliance with product certifications. This role will also produce documentation and counsel operations teams regarding product chemistry and life cycle analysis present to clients on HNI's Corporate Sustainability activities and goals. While there is a strong preference for candidates who can travel periodically to Muscatine or for client presentations, this position is eligible to be remote.

Responsibilities
• Support the development and strategy for environmental product declarations and product sustainability improvements to lower embedded carbon to meet corporate and customer goals.
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• Support development of corporate restricted chemical lists, prioritize targeted chemical elimination, and drive corporate-level strategy and effort around chemical transparency.
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• Manage and maintain comprehensive chemical inventories, ensuring adherence to regulations such as REACH, RoHS, and California Prop 65.
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• Lead efforts to enhance chemical transparency across the supply chain, collaborating with suppliers to obtain full disclosure of material compositions.
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• Conduct risk assessments of chemicals and materials, proposing safer and more sustainable alternatives when necessary.
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• Lead sustainability-related responses in customer proposal documents, and specific customer sustainability reporting requests, and drive process improvements in this area to increase productivity, e.g. create a searchable FAQ database.
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• Support HNI brand sales and marketing teams by providing customers, dealers, and influencers with the appropriate information on the HNI sustainability position.
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• Manage sustainability data-related customer portals (e.g. Ecomedes, mindful MATERIALS, etc.).
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• Assist in developing and documenting processes, and drive accountability for sustainability within the HNI brands.
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• Manage product certifications such as BIFMA Level and Indoor Advantage.
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• Work with product and supply chain teams to gather the necessary data and perform analysis required for certifications.
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• Assist brands with setting and executing short-term and long-term strategies, policies, and goals and certifications around chemical transparency, life cycle assessment (LCA), and recyclable packaging, among others.
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• Collaborate with ESG team on scope 3 emissions reductions and alignment with product LCA data and strategy.
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• Partner with R&D, procurement, and manufacturing teams to integrate sustainable practices into material selection and product design.
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• Drive innovation by identifying and integrating eco-friendly materials and processes into the company's operations.
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• Seek opportunities to improve collaboration with the HNI brand management teams.
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• Prepare and present reports on sustainability performance for leadership and external compliance audits.
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• Stay updated on emerging regulations and industry trends in material science and chemical sustainability.

Requirements
• Bachelor's degree (Master's preferred) in Sustainability, Environmental Science/Management, Engineering, or Materials Science.
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• Minimum of 5 years of experience with Sustainability, embodied carbon analysis and reduction, life cycle analysis, and/or chemical transparency initiatives.
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• Technical knowledge of product chemistry and targeted chemical elimination.
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• Familiarity with declare labels and/or chemical transparency sheets.

Nice-to-haves

Benefits