Chief Sustainability Officer — Fleet-Operations Network

The mandate

Two fleet businesses have merged with different transition targets, vehicle classifications, energy evidence and supplier standards. One owns a significant fleet and reports operational emissions; the other coordinates partner vehicles and relies on contractual data. Customers now expect one emissions and transition proposition, while European reporting requires controlled boundaries and value-chain evidence. Current teams cannot reconcile the bases without executive choices.

The Chief Sustainability Officer will influence approximately 825 employees and material partners across fleet, energy, procurement, finance, data, commercial and country functions. The role owns transition strategy, method, disclosure control, responsible supply and sustainability governance. Finance retains statutory reporting authority and operations owns delivery; the CSO must make performance comparable and ensure capital and customer claims use the same facts.

The combined transition cannot assume every route electrifies on the same timetable. Vehicle availability, payload, charging, grid mix, contract duration and partner economics differ. The executive will set cohort pathways and explain where alternative fuels, efficiency or delayed replacement are more credible than premature electric procurement.

Circularity and end-of-life require full lifecycle ownership. Batteries, tyres, parts and vehicles pass through repair, second use, sale and recycling partners. Traceability must continue after operational control ends, especially where recovery or recycled-content claims are made.

European reporting requires double-materiality and value-chain judgement alongside fleet carbon. The merged group must identify how climate, pollution, resource use and workforce conditions affect enterprise value and how its operations affect people and environment. The CSO will lead a documented assessment with finance, risk, employees and affected stakeholders, then connect material topics to controls and investment rather than treat the exercise as a reporting annex.

Integration also affects transition capability. Sustainability specialists sit in different countries and use incompatible tools, while operating teams may perceive new evidence requests as central overhead. The CSO will define embedded and central roles, preserve local regulatory knowledge and eliminate duplicate collection only after the common process works. The target model must have accountable country owners and a practical route for field evidence to challenge group claims.

Why this seat is open

The merger revealed an unplanned need for one sustainability executive before consolidated targets and reports are approved. Neither legacy leader holds authority across both operating models. The role is urgent because procurement and customer commitments are proceeding, though the board expects method and control diligence before public restatement.

What you will own

• Reconcile organisational, fleet and product boundaries, factors, base years and targets across both businesses.
• Develop cohort transition pathways tied to route, asset, energy, customer and partner evidence.
• Integrate sustainability into fleet capital, procurement and commercial approval.
• Establish value-chain and supplier evidence, including battery, tyre and vehicle end-of-life.
• Govern customer emissions, renewable-energy and low-carbon service claims.
• Build disclosure ownership, controls, version history and assurance readiness with finance and data.
• Design fair partner transition standards that do not transfer unaffordable asset risk to smaller operators.
• Develop sustainability leaders embedded in countries and operating decisions.

The first 12 months

Within 90 days, inventory commitments and methods, reconstruct both baselines and identify claims requiring pause or qualification. Sample fleet, energy and supplier data and map reporting ownership. Present the board with consolidated boundaries, transition scenarios and any target restatement required.

By month six, implement common fleet cohorts, capital-paper measures, customer claim review and critical supplier due diligence. Establish circularity evidence for priority assets and engage assurance before final reporting. Commercial teams should understand which service claims can be made by route and contract.

At twelve months, complete consolidated disclosure without material assurance exception, achieve 95% traceability for operated fleet energy and risk-screen all critical transition suppliers. Every material fleet investment should show lifecycle and partner consequences under the common method. Unsupported sampled customer claims should fall to zero, and revised targets should have financed operating pathways rather than aspirational dates.

What the board will measure

• Comparable, assured transition evidence across owned and partner fleets.
• Capital and procurement decisions changed by lifecycle outcomes.
• Credible targets with transparent restatement where necessary.
• Responsible supplier, battery and vehicle end-of-life performance.
• Customer claims consistent with route and energy data.
• Partner fairness and leadership ownership across the integrated group.

The person

You have 18–22 years in sustainability, fleet transition, climate reporting or responsible supply within mobility, logistics, automotive, energy or infrastructure. You have integrated methods after merger and can distinguish operational control, contractual influence and unsupported attribution.

Your remit should include at least €500 million of assets, procurement or contracts and a perimeter of 600 employees and partners. You can demonstrate a target you changed, a supplier or end-of-life issue you remedied and a customer claim you stopped. European reporting, assurance and value-chain experience is required.

This onsite Amsterdam role includes regional travel and reports to the Group Chief Executive or designated executive sponsor.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is €240,000–320,000 plus annual incentive linked to transition delivery, evidence, disclosure, responsible supply, claims and leadership. This permanent onsite Amsterdam role reports to the Group Chief Executive or designated sponsor and entails European travel. Notice up to six months may be considered against reporting deadlines.

Confidentiality

The merged businesses, methods, targets, customers and suppliers remain restricted. Further information requires reciprocal relevance, conflicts and signed confidentiality. Scale and events are intentionally blended; applicants must not canvass auditors, fleet operators, customers or employees to identify the organisation.