Director Environmental Sustainability

About the job

Why Hershey:

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey’s enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom. Supported by strategic grantmaking, product donations, cross brand collaboration, and strong employee volunteerism, Hershey offers a place to work where making a difference—locally and globally—is part of how we do business every day.

Location: Hershey, PA

Ideal location is Hershey, PA; however, we will consider candidates within a reasonable driving distance who are willing to travel to Hershey twice per month for collaboration weeks.

The Director of Environmental Sustainability will serve as Hershey’s senior leader and go-to expert for its global environmental sustainability strategy, with a focus on climate, water, and nature. This leader will set direction, translate enterprise commitments into actionable plans, and build a high-performing team to deliver measurable results.

Working across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement, Cocoa, and Responsible Sourcing, the Director will integrate sustainability into business planning, investment decisions, operations, sourcing strategies, and supplier engagement. The Director will also represent Hershey with customers, investors, industry organizations, and regulators, positioning the company credibly while advancing environmental priorities in support of the broader business strategy.

What will you do?

Lead environmental strategy and execution

• Evolve and execute Hershey’s enterprise environmental sustainability strategy, refining priorities as science, regulations, and business needs change.

• Translate enterprise commitments into funded, sequenced, and measurable plans that partner functions can own and deliver.

• Develop business cases and investment priorities that balance environmental impact, financial value, risk reduction, and feasibility.

• Lead programs addressing carbon reduction, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, water stewardship, nature protection and restoration, circularity, and waste minimization.

• Track performance against environmental goals and KPIs, identify gaps, and initiate corrective action to keep delivery on plan.

• Monitor emerging environmental science, regulations, and stakeholder expectations, translating them into clear business risks, opportunities, and actions.

Build and lead the team

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing environmental sustainability team with clear priorities and accountability.

• Own budget, resource, workforce, and succession planning for the function.

• Create meaningful growth opportunities and development paths for team members.

• Foster a culture of trust, initiative, collaboration, and results.

Partner across the enterprise

• Serve as a strategic advisor to Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement, Cocoa, and Responsible Sourcing leaders.

• Build shared strategies and roadmaps that align environmental goals, measurement approaches, funding decisions, and accountability.

• Embed sustainability into business planning, capital investment, operational performance, sourcing, and supplier-management processes.

• Co-develop programs with business partners and bring environmental expertise to supplier- and farmer-facing initiatives.

• Translate environmental commitments and regulations into practical plans that operational and sourcing teams can execute and own.

Support reporting, compliance, and external engagement

• Partner with Finance, Legal, Risk, and Communications to support accurate and timely sustainability measurement, reporting, and risk management.

• Provide environmental data and expertise for ESG and regulatory disclosures, including CDP, GRI, SASB, and TCFD-aligned reporting.

• Support assurance activities and internal controls governing environmental data collection and reporting.

• Communicate environmental progress, risks, investment needs, and business impact to executive leadership, investors, and customers.

• Represent Hershey externally with customers, investors, regulators, and industry organizations while bringing emerging practices and opportunities back into the business.

Minimum Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Advanced degree in environmental sustainability, environmental management, public policy, or a related field preferred.

Experience:

• 10+ years of relevant sustainability experience, preferably within a corporate CPG, food, agriculture, manufacturing, or similarly complex value-chain environment.

• 6+ years of people-management experience, including building, leading, and developing teams.

• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing enterprise environmental and value-chain decarbonization strategies.

• Experience integrating sustainability into manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, sourcing, capital-planning, or operational decision-making.

• Strong knowledge of climate change, GHG accounting, the GHG Protocol, Science Based Targets, net zero strategies, renewable energy, power purchase agreements, regenerative agriculture, and related public policy.

• Experience with supplier engagement and agricultural or land-sector interventions.

• Experience advising executive leadership and/or a Board on sustainability strategy, performance, risks, and investment needs.

• Strong analytical and business-case-development skills, including the ability to assess environmental impact, financial value, feasibility, and risk.

• Demonstrated success delivering results through influence in a complex, global, and matrixed organization.

• Strong project-management, facilitation, collaboration, and written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience with climate scenario planning preferred.

Benefits and Perks

At Hershey, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and life outside of work.

• Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health begin on Day 1.

• Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match

• Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable

• Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility

Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $173,600 to $217,000 per year. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of job‑related factors, including, but not limited to, experience, skill set, education, and training. In addition to a market-competitive base salary, our Total Rewards package includes performance‑based incentives and a comprehensive, competitive benefits package designed to support overall physical, mental, and financial well‑being (as applicable). Learn more about Hershey’s benefits and all the resources Hershey provides to support our employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well‑being by visiting the Hershey Digital Employee Experience at www.askHRbenefits.hersheys.com

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans.  You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability. You can request an accommodation via phone or email.To request an accommodation via phone, please call +1 877-804-1794 and leave a voicemail with your contact information.  You may also email a request for accommodation to ApplicationHelp@hersheys.com. Please be sure to include “Accommodation Needed” in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.

#LI-SW1