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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for ESG Analyst

💰 $ - $

ESGSustainabilityFinanceAnalyticsCorporate Responsibility

🎯 Role Definition

The ESG Analyst is responsible for gathering, validating and analyzing environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to support corporate sustainability strategy, investor reporting and risk management. This role prepares external disclosures (GRI, SASB/ISSB, TCFD, CDP), supports ESG integration across investment and corporate processes, performs materiality assessments and benchmarking, and liaises with rating agencies and external auditors. The ESG Analyst translates complex sustainability metrics into actionable insights for leadership, investors and operational teams, while improving data quality and automating reporting workflows.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sustainability Coordinator / Assistant
  • Financial Analyst with ESG focus
  • Research Analyst / Data Analyst (with interest in sustainability)

Advancement To:

  • Senior ESG Analyst
  • ESG Manager / Sustainability Manager
  • Responsible Investment Analyst
  • Head of ESG / Director of Sustainability

Lateral Moves:

  • Corporate Reporting / Investor Relations
  • Risk & Compliance (ESG Risk)
  • Supply Chain Sustainability / Procurement
  • Strategy & Corporate Development

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the preparation and delivery of regular ESG and sustainability reports, ensuring alignment with reporting frameworks such as GRI, SASB/ISSB, TCFD, CDP and relevant regulatory reporting (EU CSRD, UK SECR, SEC climate rules).
  • Collect, validate and consolidate ESG data (energy, emissions, waste, water, worker safety, diversity and governance metrics) from global operations, business units and external vendors.
  • Perform corporate carbon accounting and GHG inventory preparation in accordance with the GHG Protocol (Scope 1, 2 and 3), including data collection, emission factor application and uncertainty assessment.
  • Design, run and document materiality assessments and stakeholder engagement processes to define priority ESG topics and inform strategy and disclosure.
  • Develop and maintain ESG KPIs and dashboards (Power BI, Tableau, Excel) to monitor performance, highlight trends and support executive reporting and investor requests.
  • Conduct ESG benchmarking and peer analysis to measure performance against industry peers and identify best practices and improvement opportunities.
  • Prepare and respond to investor and rating-agency questionnaires and due diligence requests including CDP, PRI, Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS, and custom investor RFPs.
  • Support climate-related risk and opportunity assessments, including qualitative risk mapping and quantitative scenario analysis aligned with TCFD recommendations.
  • Integrate ESG considerations into investment analysis and reporting for asset managers, portfolio teams and corporate M&A workflows (ESG due diligence, risk scoring).
  • Build and maintain an auditable evidence base for disclosures and ensure controls and documentation align with internal audit and external assurance requirements.
  • Collaborate with legal, finance and risk teams to interpret emerging ESG regulation and ensure timely compliance and reporting updates.
  • Develop methodologies and models to measure social impact, human capital metrics, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) performance and supplier sustainability.
  • Implement improvements to ESG data collection processes, including system integrations, APIs, master data management and vendor oversight to enhance data quality and reduce manual effort.
  • Provide regular briefings and written insight memos for senior leadership and the board on ESG performance, regulatory developments and investor engagement outcomes.
  • Manage third-party consultants and data providers supporting sustainability accounting, lifecycle assessments and ESG ratings engagement.
  • Design and deliver internal training, guidance and playbooks for business units on ESG data requirements, reporting timetables and policy changes.
  • Translate ESG outcomes into business-relevant metrics (financial impacts, cost savings, risk mitigation) to support strategy and capital allocation decisions.
  • Draft and edit sustainability content for corporate communications, website disclosures, investor presentations and proxy statements.
  • Support the implementation of sustainability programs (energy efficiency, waste reduction, supplier audits) and track project KPIs and ROI.
  • Monitor and analyze emerging ESG trends, standards and investor expectations to recommend enhancements to the organization’s ESG roadmap.
  • Validate third-party supplier and portfolio company sustainability claims, supporting procurement and investment teams in supplier due diligence.
  • Support the preparation for external assurance of ESG disclosures and coordinate with external auditors on data requests and control testing.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc ESG data requests and exploratory data analysis across business units.
  • Contribute to the organization's ESG data strategy and roadmap, including data governance and master data definitions.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering and system requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within cross-functional transformation teams.
  • Maintain documentation and standard operating procedures for ESG data flows, KPIs and reporting templates.
  • Assist in vendor selection and management for sustainability reporting platforms and data subscriptions.
  • Provide subject-matter support to corporate communications during investor roadshows, earnings calls and sustainability-focused events.
  • Help coordinate cross-functional working groups (operations, HR, procurement, finance) to close ESG data gaps and implement corrective action plans.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • ESG Reporting Frameworks: Practical experience preparing disclosures under GRI, SASB/ISSB, TCFD and CDP.
  • Greenhouse Gas Accounting: Proficiency in GHG Protocol methodologies for Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventories and carbon footprint calculations.
  • Data Analysis & Modeling: Advanced Excel, pivot tables, VBA; experience with Python/R for data cleaning and analysis is a plus.
  • Business Intelligence & Visualization: Hands-on with Power BI, Tableau or equivalent for dashboarding and executive reporting.
  • ESG Ratings & Investor Engagement: Familiarity with Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS, CDP and how to respond to investor questionnaires.
  • Regulatory Knowledge: Understanding of relevant ESG regulations (EU CSRD, SFDR, UK/US reporting requirements) and disclosure deadlines.
  • Materiality Assessments: Experience designing and executing stakeholder materiality matrices and impact assessments.
  • Climate Risk Assessment: Skills in scenario analysis, transition/physical risk mapping and qualitative risk scoring.
  • Carbon & Energy Data Systems: Experience with sustainability software (e.g., Enablon, Sphera, Schneider EcoStruxure, Persefoni) or bespoke ERPs for ESG data.
  • Supplier & Supply Chain Due Diligence: Ability to run supplier sustainability assessments and manage supplier data collection.
  • Assurance & Controls: Knowledge of assurance processes for ESG disclosures and ability to support external auditors.
  • Financial Integration: Ability to translate ESG metrics into financial impacts and integrate ESG into valuation or investment models.
  • Project Management: Track record of managing cross-functional programs and delivering reporting deadlines.
  • Report Writing & Communications: Strong drafting skills for sustainability reports, investor memos and public disclosures.
  • Database & ETL Awareness: Familiarity with SQL, APIs, or data integration approaches to automate ESG data flows.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication, tailored for executives and investor audiences.
  • Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and ability to synthesize complex datasets.
  • Stakeholder management and relationship-building across functions and external partners.
  • Problem-solving with a practical, implementation-oriented approach.
  • Project and time management; ability to prioritize competing deadlines.
  • Influencing and negotiation skills to advocate for ESG improvements across the business.
  • Curiosity and continuous-learning attitude on evolving ESG standards and tools.
  • High integrity and ability to handle confidential investor and regulatory information.
  • Collaborative team player who can work across international and culturally diverse teams.
  • Resilience and adaptability in a fast-changing regulatory and market environment.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Sustainability, Finance, Economics, Business, Engineering or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (MSc/MA) in Sustainability, Environmental Management, Climate Science, MBA or related advanced degree.
  • Professional certifications such as CFA ESG Certificate, SASB FSA Credential, GHG Accounting training, or sustainability reporting certifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Environmental Science / Sustainability Management
  • Finance, Economics or Accounting
  • Data Science / Statistics / Information Systems
  • Public Policy / Corporate Governance
  • Engineering (Energy/Environmental)
  • Business Administration / MBA

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years in ESG, sustainability reporting, sustainability consulting, corporate responsibility or responsible investment roles.

Preferred: 3–6 years of demonstrated ESG experience with hands-on reporting experience (GRI/SASB/TCFD), GHG accounting, investor engagement and cross-functional project delivery. Experience in financial services, asset management, consulting or large corporate sustainability teams is highly desirable.

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