Director, Climate Strategy

Department/Group Description:

The Enterprise Environmental Sustainability Team at The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) oversee the Company’s progress towards its 2030 Environmental Goals focused on emissions, water, waste, materials, and sustainable design.

The team partners with key corporate functions and business segments (including Environmental Policy, Parks & Resorts, Cruise Lines, Movie & TV Production, Consumer Products, etc.) to help set environmental sustainability goals and guide and oversee their implementation. As aggregators of Enterprise-wide environmental performance data and initiative inventories, the team has a big-picture oversight role to help reduce Disney’s environmental impacts, manage environmental risks, and pursue environmental opportunities.

Beyond stewarding the goals, the team strives to influence a culture of environmental responsibility across the company.    

Responsibilities of the Role:

As a member of the management team within the Global Public Policy organization, participate as a subject matter expert and thought partner in the ongoing development of The Walt Disney Company’s (TWDC) climate strategy and environmental goals.

Oversee the implementation of the company’s climate strategy globally, across all regions, segments and business units with efforts related to decarbonization, disclosure and climate risk & opportunity assessment.

Decarbonization-related roles

Lead a group of technical experts working in the central team and across the company to drive decarbonization and progress on the Company’s five emissions-related goals:

• Reduce absolute emissions from direct operations (scope 1 & 2) by 46.2% by 2030, against a 2019 baseline
• Achieve net zero emissions for direct operations by 2030
• Purchase or produce 100% zero carbon electricity by 2030
• Invest in natural climate solutions
• Reduce scope 3 emissions in line with a ‘well below 2°C’ scenario by 2030

• Manage the team developing the Company’s Integrated Emissions Reduction Plan for scope 1 and 2 emissions, ensuring the Plan drives optimization at the “system level”, focuses on the most cost-effective strategies, and aims to drive the most carbon reduction per unit of energy reduced.

• Oversee and help accelerate the work of the expert team working to help the Company reach 100% Zero Carbon Electricity by 2030, including partnering with segments and external advisors to accelerate implementation of onsite renewables, offsite renewable Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs) and Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs)

• Oversee the work by an expert central team and site level teams working to accelerate energy & fuel efficiency, use of lower carbon fuels, electrification of transportation fleets and buildings, and partner with sustainable productions teams to help reduce use of diesel-generators in movie and TV productions.

• Oversee the company’s internal carbon tax and develop budget mechanisms in support of investment in emissions reductions to help achieve the 2030 emissions Goals. 

• Lead the expert team partnering with segments to refine and implement scope 3 emissions reduction plans focused on absolute scope 3 reduction as well as efforts to engage suppliers to set science-based targets.

• Govern the process to develop and maintain our forward-looking scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions forecasts, including business- as-usual scenarios, lower emissions pathways, site-determined contributions, and interim targets.  

• Lead the team responsible for the company’s use of Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) and Carbon Removals to ensure the company makes high quality NCS investments which lead to co-benefits including for nature and local communities.

• Lead the team implementing the company’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program and drive innovative approaches to help lower employee commuting emissions.

Disclosure-related roles

• Partner with the internal Environmental Metrics & Reporting team to maintain Inventory Management Plans and complete detailed annual emissions inventories and reduction accounting methods for scope 3 emissions.

• Serve as lead technical expert on all climate-related accounting matters including having in-depth understanding of key external guidance documents such as GHG Protocol, Science-based Targets Initiative and relevant sector-supplements.

• Partner with internal teams from ESG Reporting, Financial Reporting, Controllership, Legal and site-specific teams to ensure timely completion of climate-related disclosures such as CDP Climate, UK CFD, CA SB253, CASB261, CA AB1305, EU CSRD Climate topics, and others.

Climate Risk & Opportunity related roles

• Partner with relevant teams to conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments of the company’s climate risk, opportunities, resilience and adaptation.

Hiring Requirements:

Minimum Required:

• Bachelors degree in related academic field (environmental science / environmental policy, business, accounting, engineering)
• 10 years experience in corporate climate strategy development and implementation
• 5 years experience in scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions accounting aligned to GHG Protocol
• 2 years experience in climate risk and opportunity assessment
• Software: Excel/Tableau/Power BI
• Science-based Targets methodologies

Preferred:

• Masters in Environmental Sustainability / Masters in Environmental Policy / MBA
• GHG Accounting Certification
• Lifecycle analysis experience
• Experience in a complex matrixed organization

Additional Information This position is a legal entity of The Walt Disney Company, an equal opportunity employer The hiring range for this position is $163,500.00-$219,200.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.