Sustainability Coordinator

Sargento Foods Inc. is a family-owned company comprised of three business divisions: Consumer Products, Food Service and Food Ingredients. The company employs approximately 1,300 people at four Wisconsin facilities: Plymouth, Kiel, Hilbert and Elkhart Lake. 

Position Overview:

Position leads sustainability efforts within Sargento. This is done through 6 key areas:

1. Leadership of sustainability teams,
2. Responsible interpretation of economic impacts and/or returns of sustainability/energy initiatives,
3. Identification of relevant sustainability technologies,
4. Tracking and reporting of sustainability initiatives,
5. Positive representation of Sargento sustainability efforts with customer base, and
6. Project management for assigned sustainability projects.

Responsibilities: 

Leadership of Sustainability Teams:

• Implement and maintain sustainability teams in each Sargento location
• Provide needed education, project base, and technical education to teams
• Provide economic return guidance to teams
• Prioritize team activities to yield highest returns in alignment with corporate goals

Economic analysis of sustainability/energy initiatives:

• Maintain energy usage databases and reports
• Monitor all company waste and energy streams for improvement project identification
• Use sound financial returns analysis to identify highest economic return projects

Identification of relevant sustainability technologies:

• Investigate and stay current with emerging sustainable technologies that might benefit Sargento

Tracking and reporting of sustainability initiatives:

• Develop and provide regular reporting to the company of sustainability results

Identifies and coordinates the implementation of financially beneficial improvement:

• Critically analyzes material and utility streams within all Sargento facilities to identify potential sustainability improvement opportunities.
• Prioritization of projects to maximize financial returns
• Tracks projects and directs activities to keep sustainability initiatives on schedule
• Researches and prepares applications for funding and resources to implement sustainability initiatives including grant opportunities (Focus on Energy, WPPI Energy grants, etc.)

Positive representation of Sargento sustainability efforts with customer base:

• Attends customer required and customer sponsored sustainability events as Sargento representative
• Conducts and presents self with customer base in a positive manner
• Provides tracking and communication of improvements with Corporate Communications that can be utilized in Sargento communication materials.

Provides Project Management services as needed for assigned Sustainability projects:

• Provides project identification, concept development, estimate, design, financial/scope/schedule control, start-up, training, and project closeout.
• Acts as Project Manager per Engineering Department definition "CAR (Capital Appropriation Request) Manager" for assigned projects
• Integrates all engineering disciplines for completion of all aspects of sustainability projects.
• Provides specifications, competitive bids, purchase order requests, invoice control, and other related activities.
• Provides timely estimates for project, controls costs of project, and keeps project within schedule and cost.
• Provides project communications to keep applicable parties informed of project progress.

Provides manufacturing support as needed:

• Provides expertise for identifying and implementing practical sustainability improvements.
• Expertise may be used within any Sargento, customer, or supplier operation as needed.
• Provides manufacturing support to improve COGS
• Coordinates and is responsible for completion of machine and systems training packages for managed projects.

Inventing may occur or be required as part of this position:

• Invents or discovers new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof for the exclusive use by and ownership of Sargento.
• Assigns all ideas and inventions conceived or developed while employed by Sargento or as a result of employment with Sargento.
• Discloses to Sargento any inventions that are conceived or made.
• Fully assists in making patent applications as well as refraining from disclosing inventions or ideas to others unless requested to do so by Sargento, and assigns any and all rights to Sargento.

Responsible use of the Internet for work is required.

Travel is required as needed to complete the functions within this position:

• Daily travel between facilities and local suppliers is to be expected with the use of the person's own vehicle required.
• Overnight travel will be required as needed to support projects or for training purposes.
• Extended periods of overnight travel may be required to support project and manufacturing needs at current and future manufacturing operations not within the immediate Plymouth area.

Supervisory responsibilities are generally limited to indirect supervisory responsibilities as needed on a project basis for assigned technicians or engineers within the Engineering Department as well as outside engineering personnel.

Confidentiality is required for all work.