Sustainability Expert (NL-ENG)

Group Corporate Sustainability operates at KBC Group level, is located within the Corporate Staff entity and reports directly to the CEO of KBC Group.
For KBC Group, Sustainability or Corporate Social Responsibility means that we, as a bancassurance company, want -not only today but also tomorrow- to meet the expectations of all stakeholders involved.

As a sustainable company, KBC is committed to doing business with respect for the environment, people and society, and anchors that commitment in its policy. Innovating, greening, connecting: this is what KBC has been doing internally for years. But KBC is committed to more: we also want to inspire and encourage our customers to become more sustainable. We are therefore a professional partner in the sustainable transition of our customers.

KBC's sustainability policy is science-based but can be simply summarised as follows:

• encourage responsible behaviour from every employee;
• limit the negative impact on society through strict choices and policies;
• increase the positive impact, especially by focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where we can make the biggest difference as a bank-insurer.

KBC is thus on the road to greater sustainability. Together with various colleagues in the core countries and in all group entities, we work every day to further develop our sustainability approach. If only because needs are constantly changing and requirements (from Europe and elsewhere) are becoming stricter and more comprehensive. And because sustainability can simply always be improved.
Until recently, the area with the most focus was climate change: on the one hand, we want to limit the impact of our own activities and of our loans, insurances and investments on global warming; on the other hand, we also need to keep an eye on the risks and opportunities that climate change entails. Besides climate, meanwhile, attention to other environmental domains such as bio-diversity, water, waste and circular economy has grown significantly. The social aspects of our policies are also becoming increasingly important.

• Within the Group Corporate Sustainability team, you will very quickly become one of the sustainability experts, preparing certain aspects of KBC's sustainability policy and submitting them for decision to the relevant steering committees, as well as to the Internal Sustainability Board.
• You develop, in close consultation with the central risk departments and with the business managers in the home countries, the policy for the sustainability of the buildings in our credit and insurance portfolios. The realisation of our climate objectives and the further expansion of data collection and reporting are central to this. You will also be given other responsibilities and assignments, which are determined as a team and according to needs.
• This includes monitoring and analysing the various regulations and technological trends relating to energy performance, climate and the other environmental domains in the real estate sector (and possibly other sectors). You (pro-)actively manage the various entities within the group with a view to identifying new opportunities and addressing the associated risks. Your background ensures that you can properly translate the legislative and financial implications of environmental challenges and mitigating factors into potential impact for our various business domains. In doing so, you support colleagues from the core countries and relevant central departments in setting up the necessary actions. This happens, from our role as a group entity, in an international and challenging context. You also bring the proposed policy options and associated actions in a transparent and clear manner for decision to the relevant steering committee or committee.
• Our sustainability approach is becoming increasingly data-driven. Working out correct descriptions of the data needs and defining clear definitions of the corresponding metrics is therefore also part of your responsibilities for the assigned sector and sustainability domains.
• The Group Corporate Sustainability team also works together as 1 team to realise larger assignments. For example, all colleagues contribute to answer queries from various Rating Agencies or to write the sustainability reports. Ad hoc assignments are also assigned among themselves. So you too will contribute to these.
  

• You’re assured of an excellent onboarding and a pleasant, collegial work atmosphere.
• Throughout your entire career at KBC, we encourage you to grow as a person and as a professional. You can follow training courses in which you further sharpen your hard and soft skills.
• Our offices are easily accessible by public transport. You’re also welcome to partly work from home.
• Flexible work hours help you to balance your work and your private life.
• We offer you a permanent contract and a competitive salary, supplemented by extralegal benefits. Sounds familiar? Of course. It’s what you read in every job description. At KBC, we make a difference with our extended flex package. It’s too extensive to go into details here. However, we will happily discuss the various benefits—large and small—at your interview.