UK

United Kingdom · Sustainability · C-Suite (20+ years)

Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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  • Experience bandC-Suite (20+ years)
  • Direct reports100 reports
  • Reports toChief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board of Directors
  • UK framework levelUsually an executive or board-level role

Also advertised as Global Head of Circular Economy · Executive Vice President, Sustainable Business · Chief Sustainability & Circularity Officer

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

No confident skill match yet for Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy. The closest we hold is below.

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Waste and Resource Management Industry Awareness CIWM (WAMITAB) Level 2 Certificate for Waste and Resource Management Operative
Maintain health and safety in the waste resource management industry CIWM (WAMITAB) Level 4 Medium Risk Operator Competence for Storage of Non-Hazardous Wastes
Stakeholder communication and other non-legislative factors affecting the waste and resource management industry CIWM (WAMITAB) Level 4 Certificate in Waste and Resource Management
Understand operational systems and procedures in the waste/recycling industry CIWM (WAMITAB) Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Sustainable Resource Management

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Sustainability Fluency building care for people and planet into the work
Frontier Fluency the next wave, beyond mainstream AI
Foresight Fluency seeing round the corner
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy

4 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Waste and Resource Management Industry Awareness CIWM · covers 1 of 1 standards Level 2
  2. Maintain health and safety in the waste resource management industry CIWM · covers 1 of 1 standards Level 4
  3. Stakeholder communication and other non-legislative factors affecting the waste and resource management industry CIWM · covers 1 of 1 standards Level 4
  4. Understand operational systems and procedures in the waste/recycling industry CIWM · covers 1 of 1 standards Level 2
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • AI for Strategic Foresight & Risk Modelling
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy plan as you set up, starting with the free Automation Fluency module. No card.

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Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

A Chief Circularity Officer leads an organisation's shift to a circular economy, from raw materials to end of life.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

ESG & Sustainability Platforms (e.g., Workiva, Sphera, OneTrust) Strategic/Architect

Defining the enterprise data strategy for sustainability, overseeing platform integration with ERPs, and presenting verified data to the board and investors.

Advanced Data Analysis & Visualization (e.g., Python, Power BI, Tableau) Strategic/Architect

Defining key circularity metrics for executive dashboards, using data storytelling to influence C-suite investment decisions, and overseeing complex data modelling for strategic foresight.

Financial & Scenario Modelling (e.g., Anaplan, Pigment, Advanced Excel) Strategic/Architect

Integrating circular economy forecasts into the company's long-range financial plan, modelling enterprise-level risk from resource scarcity, and justifying multi-million-pound investments.

Board Reporting & Governance Platforms (e.g., Diligent, BoardVantage) Strategic/Architect

Directly building and presenting the sustainability/circularity section of the board report, managing board materials, and ensuring robust governance around ESG disclosures.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Strategic Direction & Vision N/A N/A N/A
C-Suite (Chief Circularity Officer) Defines enterprise-wide circular economy vision and strategy (3-5 year horizon), with Board consultation. Approves all major programme roadmaps and strategic initiatives across the organisation. Accountable for P&L £10M+, M&A decisions related to circularity, and major capital investments (£50M+). Sets the overall risk appetite for circular innovation.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Circular Revenue & Profitability
Revenue generated from new circular business models (e.g., Product-as-a-Service, resale, repair services) and the associated profit margins.
Target · Achieve £50M+ in circular revenue by 2030, with a 20% operating margin.

In Q2, our new 'product-as-a-service' offering contributed £12.5M to revenue, exceeding targets by 10% and showing a 22% margin, demonstrating strong circular growth.

Material Circularity Index (MCI)
A comprehensive measure of how circular our material flows are, considering recycled content, recyclability, reusability, and waste generation across the entire value chain.
Target · Improve overall company MCI score by 15% year-on-year, aiming for 0.8+ by 2028 (on a 0-1 scale).

Our 2024 MCI score hit 0.65, up from 0.58 in 2023, largely due to a major shift to 80% recycled content in our core product packaging and expanded take-back programmes.

ESG Rating Improvement
Our performance in key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, specifically focusing on resource use, waste management, and supply chain sustainability.
Target · Elevate our MSCI ESG rating from 'A' to 'AA' within 3 years, and maintain top quartile performance in Sustainalytics.

After implementing our new global waste reduction programme, MSCI highlighted our 'exceptional progress in waste management', contributing to our upgrade from 'A' to 'AA' in the latest assessment.

Cost Savings from Resource Efficiency
Direct cost reductions achieved through waste prevention, material reuse, energy efficiency in circular processes, and reduced virgin material procurement.
Target · Deliver £10M+ in annualised cost savings through circular economy initiatives by 2027.

Our factory in Manchester saved £2.3M this year by implementing a closed-loop water system and reusing manufacturing by-products, directly contributing to the overall cost savings target.

Board & Investor Confidence
The degree to which the Board and institutional investors view our circular economy strategy as a credible, value-generating, and risk-mitigating part of our core business.
  • Regular positive feedback from Board members on strategic presentations
  • increased investor engagement on sustainability topics
  • inclusion of circularity as a core theme in investor day presentations
  • positive analyst reports highlighting our circular strategy as a competitive advantage.
Regulatory Influence & Foresight
Our ability to anticipate, influence, and proactively respond to emerging global regulations (e.g., EPR, plastic taxes, due diligence laws) related to circularity, turning potential threats into opportunities.
  • Our active participation in key industry policy discussions
  • our proposals being adopted into regulatory frameworks
  • zero instances of non-compliance with new regulations
  • our business units consistently ahead of the curve on new policy requirements.
Organisational Buy-in & Cultural Shift
The extent to which circular economy principles are understood, embraced, and embedded into decision-making across all levels and functions of the organisation.
  • Circular economy KPIs integrated into executive and departmental scorecards
  • high participation rates in internal training programmes
  • unsolicited proposals for circular innovation from business units
  • positive feedback in employee engagement surveys regarding our sustainability efforts.
Thought Leadership & Brand Reputation
Our standing as a recognised leader and innovator in the circular economy space, enhancing brand value and attracting top talent.
  • Keynote speaking invitations at major industry conferences
  • positive media coverage and awards for circular initiatives
  • our CEO regularly referencing circularity in public statements
  • increased inbound interest from top talent specifically seeking to work on circular economy challenges.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Driving Systemic Change & Legacy

You're motivated by the idea of fundamentally altering how a large organisation impacts the planet, leaving a lasting legacy that goes beyond quarterly results. This shows up in your relentless pursuit of ambitious, long-term goals, even when faced with short-term pressures.

Spending months convincing the Board to invest £50M in a new take-back and remanufacturing facility, knowing it will take 5-7 years to break even, but will fundamentally change our resource footprint for decades.

Market Leadership & Innovation

You thrive on being at the forefront of industry transformation, setting new standards and disrupting traditional business models. You'll constantly scan the horizon for new technologies, policies, and business opportunities that can give us a competitive edge.

Leading the charge to launch a groundbreaking Product-as-a-Service model that redefines our relationship with customers and creates a new revenue stream, making us the first in our sector to do so at scale.

Board-Level Influence & Impact

The opportunity to directly influence the highest levels of corporate governance and strategy is a key driver. You enjoy the challenge of communicating complex ideas to a diverse Board and seeing your vision translated into enterprise-wide policy.

Successfully presenting a multi-year circular economy roadmap to the Board, securing their unanimous approval for significant capital expenditure and integrating circularity into the core corporate strategy.

What frustrates people
  • The 'tyranny of quarterly reporting' overriding long-term strategic investments.
  • Resistance from business units to fundamentally change established, profitable linear processes.
  • Difficulty getting robust, auditable data from global supply chains for enterprise-level reporting.
  • The slow pace of regulatory change, or conversely, sudden, unexpected policy shifts that require rapid, costly adaptation.
  • Balancing the needs of diverse, sometimes conflicting, internal and external stakeholders (e.g., investors vs. activists vs. operations).
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable routine with clear, short-term deliverables.
  • Direct operational control over most of the functions you need to influence.
  • An environment where all stakeholders immediately grasp the value of circularity without extensive persuasion.
  • A role focused purely on technical expertise without significant leadership and strategic influence.

8Who you work with

This role directly shapes the company's enterprise strategy, brand reputation, financial performance (P&L £10M+), and long-term market position. You'll be accountable for embedding circular economy principles into every facet of the business, driving innovation, managing systemic risks, and ensuring we meet ambitious sustainability targets that resonate with investors and customers alike.

Inside the business
  • CEO and Executive Leadership Team (ELT)
  • Board of Directors and relevant sub-committees (e.g., ESG, Audit)
  • Heads of Product, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Legal
  • Investor Relations team
Outside the business
  • Institutional Investors and ESG rating agencies
  • Government regulators and policy makers
  • Industry consortia and advocacy groups
  • Key strategic partners and suppliers (Tier 1 & 2)
  • Media and public relations

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • A proven track record of 20+ years in sustainability, circular economy, or related fields, with at least 5-7 years in a Director or VP-level role within a large, complex organisation.
  • Demonstrable experience leading and scaling multi-million-pound programmes that have driven significant P&L impact and cultural change.
  • A history of successfully engaging with Boards of Directors, C-suite executives, and institutional investors on strategic sustainability topics.
  • Deep expertise in at least one core circular economy domain (e.g., LCA, material science, circular business models) applied at an enterprise level.
  • A Master's degree or PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Environmental Science, Sustainable Engineering, Business Administration) or equivalent executive leadership experience.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Bio-Economy & Regenerative Systems

Beyond just recycling, the future of circularity increasingly involves bio-based materials, regenerative agriculture, and closed-loop biological systems. Understanding these complex, living systems will be crucial for developing truly restorative business models.

Biomimicry in Industrial Design · Carbon Sequestration & Biochar · Industrial Biotechnology for Material Production · Water Circularity & Nutrient Recovery

  • This quarter: Read key reports from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and academic papers on the bio-economy.
  • Next 6 months: Attend a high-level conference or executive programme focused on regenerative business models and the bio-economy.
  • Next 12 months: Identify and sponsor a pilot project within our R&D or supply chain teams exploring a bio-based circular solution.
  • Ongoing: Build relationships with leading researchers and innovators in regenerative systems and industrial biotechnology.

Quick win: Challenge your R&D and product teams to integrate bio-based material considerations into their next product development cycle. Ask the tough questions about end-of-life for these materials.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Active participation in global industry consortia and thought leadership platforms (e.g., World Economic Forum, WBCSD, Ellen MacArthur Foundation).
  • Regular engagement with leading academic institutions and research bodies focused on circular economy and sustainable innovation.
  • Mentoring emerging leaders within the sustainability and circular economy space, both internally and externally.
  • Publishing articles or speaking at major international conferences, positioning yourself and the company as a leader in the field.
  • Continuous learning on emerging technologies (AI, biotech) and their application to circularity, as well as evolving global policy landscapes.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI for Strategic Foresight & Risk Modelling

The sheer volume of global data on material prices, policy shifts, climate models, and consumer behaviour is overwhelming. AI will become indispensable for identifying patterns, predicting future scenarios, and modelling enterprise-level risks and opportunities related to circularity. Leaders who can harness this will have a significant strategic advantage.

  • Predictive Analytics for Resource Volatility
  • Generative AI for Policy Impact Assessment
  • Digital Twin for Circular Operations
  • AI-Powered Market Opportunity Scanning

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Enterprise Circular Economy Strategy
  • Sustainable Finance & Investment
  • Global Policy & Regulatory Affairs
  • Advanced Material Flow Analysis (MFA) & LCA
  • Circular Business Model Innovation (at Scale)

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Director/VP of Sustainability or Circular Economy (Large Global Corp)

    5-10 years at this level before CCO

    Skills to master

    • Enterprise-level programme management, P&L responsibility for a significant business unit, board reporting, investor relations, and leading large, multi-functional teams.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led a major, multi-year circular economy transformation programme across a business unit.
    • Directly influenced C-suite decisions and presented to the Board on sustainability topics.
    • Managed a significant budget (£5M+) and a large team (50+ people).
    • Recognised as a thought leader within your industry sector.
  2. 2

    C-Suite Role (e.g., CSO, CTO) in a Smaller, Sustainability-Focused Company

    3-7 years at C-suite level before moving to a larger organisation

    Skills to master

    • Full P&L ownership, enterprise strategy development, investor relations, and building an organisation from the ground up with sustainability at its core.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully scaled a sustainability-focused business or division, demonstrating significant revenue growth and market impact.
    • Directly engaged with investors and secured funding for sustainable ventures.
    • Built and led a high-performing executive team.
    • Navigated complex regulatory landscapes and positioned the company for market leadership.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This role can lead to work shaping sustainability strategy more widely, or to advising and funding other organisations on circular practice.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

The record names a next step, but the catalogue has no page for it yet:

  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President of a Business Unit
  • Non-Executive Director (NED) or Board Advisor

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Waste and Resource Management Industry Awareness, worked against Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy.

Waste and Resource Management Industry Awareness Level 2

Applied to your work in Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy

1. To enable the learner to explain the purpose and core activities of the waste and recycling industry, along with key concepts such as waste minimisation, the waste hierarchy, and zero waste. 2. To enable the learner to identify and differentiate between various categories of waste, including hazardous and non-hazardous materials, and explain how to identify unacceptable wastes. 3. To enable the learner to explain the reasons for recycling from local authority and organisational perspectives, and describe Government recycling targets and aims for both business and domestic waste. 4. To enable the learner to describe different types of waste and other materials handled within the waste/recycling industry and explain how various recyclables are subsequently used. 5. To enable the learner to understand and describe physical, biological, and advanced thermal waste treatment technologies, and explain how wastes can be treated in relation to the waste hierarchy.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy
  • Enterprise Circular Economy Strategy
  • Sustainable Finance & Investment
  • Global Policy & Regulatory Affairs
  • Advanced Material Flow Analysis (MFA) & LCA
  • Circular Business Model Innovation (at Scale)
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President of a Business Unit

    5-10 years post-CCO role

    This is a direct lateral or upward move, depending on the scope of the CEO role.

    • Deep operational expertise across all business functions (sales, marketing, product, finance, HR).
    • Macroeconomic analysis and geopolitical risk management for overall business strategy.
    • Talent management and succession planning for the entire executive team.

  2. Non-Executive Director (NED) or Board Advisor

    3-5 years post-CCO role (often concurrent with other roles)

    This is a shift to an oversight and advisory role, leveraging C-suite experience.

    • Broad industry knowledge across multiple sectors (beyond current company).
    • Expertise in board dynamics and effective committee participation.
    • Independent judgment and critical thinking in an oversight capacity.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, as a C-suite leader, your time is your most valuable asset. The challenge isn't just making decisions, it's making the right decisions with imperfect information and under immense pressure. AI isn't here to replace your strategic mind, but it can certainly amplify it, giving you back precious hours for high-level thinking and critical stakeholder engagement.

Imagine having a personal strategic analyst and communications expert working 24/7. For the Chief Circularity Officer, this means cutting through the noise of global policy, market trends, and internal data to get to the core insights faster. It's about empowering you to be more proactive, more informed, and ultimately, more influential in shaping our company's future.

Strategic Foresight & Scenario Modelling

Use advanced AI models to analyse vast datasets of market trends, geopolitical shifts, and resource availability to predict future circular economy opportunities and risks. Generate multiple strategic scenarios (e.g., 'high regulation, low resource cost' vs. 'low regulation, high resource cost') and their potential impact on our P&L, allowing for proactive strategy adjustments. This means less time trying to connect the dots yourself and more time leading.

Global Policy & Regulatory Impact Analysis

Employ AI-powered tools to continuously monitor, summarise, and cross-reference emerging global regulations (EPR, carbon taxes, material traceability laws) across dozens of jurisdictions. Get concise, actionable briefs on their potential financial and operational impact on our business, complete with suggested strategic responses. No more sifting through hundreds of legal documents; just the critical insights you need to brief the Board.

Board & Investor Report Generation

Automate the drafting of initial sections for board reports, investor presentations, and ESG disclosures. Feed in raw data, strategic objectives, and key messages, and let AI generate structured narratives, executive summaries, and even first-pass Q&A responses. This frees up your Chief of Staff and your own time to focus on refining the strategic narrative and preparing for the tough questions, rather than just compiling information.

Executive Communication & Messaging

Use generative AI to draft compelling speeches, press releases, internal communications, and strategic emails that align with our circular economy vision. Input your key points and target audience, and AI can help craft persuasive, on-brand messaging. This ensures consistent, high-impact communication across all channels, without you having to wordsmith every sentence yourself.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy?

Common routes in include Director/VP of Sustainability or Circular Economy (Large Global Corp) (5-10 years at this level before CCO) and C-Suite Role (e.g., CSO, CTO) in a Smaller, Sustainability-Focused Company (3-7 years at C-suite level before moving to a larger organisation). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy progress to?

This role can lead on to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or President of a Business Unit (5-10 years post-CCO role) and Non-Executive Director (NED) or Board Advisor (3-5 years post-CCO role (often concurrent with other roles)), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Chief Circularity Officer / VP, Sustainability & Circular Economy?

Increasingly, AI for Strategic Foresight & Risk Modelling. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

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17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 8

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in sustainability

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The strategic and financial skills built in this role carry across industries with complex supply chains, including manufacturing, retail, fashion, electronics, food and drink, and automotive.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free Automation Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.