Principal Consultant, Climate & Sustainability

CEMAsys.com; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligible

401(k) matching

PTO + holidays

Health insurance

Parental leave

Hybrid work

Professional development budget

Oslo trips

Impact and visibility

Job summary

CEMAsys Boston seeks a senior sustainability advisor to own a portfolio of US enterprise clients, lead complex engagements end-to-end, and help shape how our US practice grows. You will work with our Boston team and cross-functional groups across the Nordics, reporting to the US Managing Director.

The role blends advisory leadership with analytics and business development, offering genuine ownership and a path to expanding our US footprint for environmental intelligence solutions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in sustainability, climate or ESG with advisory ownership.
• Bachelor's or Master's in sustainability, environmental science, engineering, business, economics or related field.
• Deep knowledge of GHG accounting (GHG Protocol) and climate disclosure rules.
• Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship; based in Boston or willing to relocate.
• Experience using AI tools and collaborating with product/engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow a portfolio of US enterprise clients, advising on strategy, performance, reporting and assurance-readiness.
• Turn data into decision-grade analysis for executives and integrate into the platform.
• Translate regulatory requirements into practical roadmaps for clients.
• Lead GHG inventories (Scopes 1–3) and climate risk analysis.
• Design executive workshops, steering committees and client meetings.
• Drive business development with scoping, proposals, pricing and renewals.
• Handle complex deliveries with judgment and composure.
• Mentor junior consultants and contribute to internal methodologies.

Skills

Sustainability leadership

Client relationship mgmt

Strategic advisory

Data analysis

Regulatory knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

AI tools usage

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in sustainability or related field

Job description

We are looking for a senior, strategically minded sustainability advisor to join our Boston team. You will own a portfolio of US enterprise clients, lead complex engagements end-to-end, and be the person our clients call when the question is hard and the answer matters.

This is a senior role with genuine ownership. You will help shape how we deliver, which clients we pursue, and how our US practice grows. You will work alongside our Boston team of consultants day to day, report to the US Managing Director and work with our advisory, engineering and product teams across the Nordics, with a direct line into how our platform evolves.

The role is deliberately broad: part trusted advisor, part analyst, part commercial builder. If you are looking for a narrow, well-defined lane inside a large consultancy, this is not that. If you want to build something and have your fingerprints on it, it is.

About Us

CEMAsys was founded in Norway in 2007 as one of the Nordics' first sustainability advisory and climate technology firms, and has spent close to two decades helping complex, multi-facility organizations turn fragmented operational data into emissions accounting, operational efficiency and real environmental intelligence.

In May 2026, CEMAsys was acquired by Energi.AI, an AI-native environmental intelligence company. Together, we are a team of around 45 people, headquartered in Oslo with offices in Boston, Copenhagen and Stockholm. We combine strategic advisory with our own platform, built and maintained by our in-house tech team, with AI agents doing much of the data collection and transformation. That combination is the point - most of our clients buy both: consultants who understand their sector and their operational and regulatory reality, and software that makes the numbers data-driven, auditable and repeatable year after year.

We work with enterprise organizations in textile, chemicals, construction, healthcare, banking and financial services, real estate and utilities and more. Our Boston office is the platform for our growth in North America, and this role is central to building it. We are a small team that takes this work seriously and enjoys it. You will be surrounded by people who are genuinely motivated to make a difference together with our clients.

What You Will Do

• Own and grow a portfolio of US enterprise clients, acting as their senior advisor on strategy, operational performance, reporting and assurance-readiness.
• Turn messy operational data into decision-grade analysis that a CFO or COO will act on - energy and resource cost, efficiency, risk - and work with our product and engineering teams to make that analysis repeatable inside the platform rather than rebuilt in a spreadsheet every year.
• Translate the regulatory landscape - California SB 253 and SB 261, the state-level rules following California, CSRD for US subsidiaries of EU parents, ISSB / IFRS S1 and S2 - into practical roadmaps clients can actually execute.
• Lead GHG inventories across Scope 1, 2 and 3 under the GHG Protocol, science-based target setting (SBTi), climate risk and scenario analysis, and materiality and double materiality assessments.
• Design and facilitate executive workshops, steering committee sessions and client meetings with structure, confidence and a clear point of view.
• Drive business development with our commercial team - scoping, proposals, pricing and pitching to prospective clients - and own retention and expansion revenue within your portfolio.
• Handle complex deliveries and challenging client situations with judgment and composure.
• Mentor consultants earlier in their careers and contribute to our internal methodology, quality standards and knowledge base.

What You Bring

• 10+ years of experience in sustainability, climate or ESG - in consulting, or in an in-house role with significant advisory and program ownership.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in sustainability, environmental science or engineering, business, economics, finance or a related field.
• Deep, hands-on command of GHG accounting under the GHG Protocol (Scope 3 in particular), California climate disclosure rules, CDP, SBTi, and climate risk and scenario analysis.
• Strong quantitative and analytical ability - comfortable inside large and imperfect datasets, and able to defend the methodology behind the numbers to a CFO or an auditor.
• A demonstrated track record of owning client relationships and delivering commercial outcomes, not only technical deliverables.
• You use AI tools in your daily work and are comfortable working alongside engineers and agent-based data pipelines - not only in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship, based in or relocating to the Boston area, and able to travel occasionally to client sites and to our Nordic offices.

Nice To Have

• Experience implementing, evaluating or working inside ESG software rather than only around it.
• Experience preparing sustainability disclosures for limited or reasonable assurance.
• Working knowledge of CSRD / ESRS and ISSB / IFRS S1 and S2, for US subsidiaries of EU parents.
• Experience in one of our core sectors: healthcare, textiles, financial services, real estate, utilities or manufacturing.

Who You Are

We are looking for an engaged, results-oriented advisor with strong client focus, commercial instinct and an appetite to grow. The role suits someone who is at home in an advisory seat, builds long-term client relationships, and contributes actively to both our clients' success and our own.

• Client focus. You build strong relationships through proactive advice, genuine listening and a solutions-oriented approach.
• Commercial mindset. You spot business opportunities and act on them, with client value as the starting point.
• Drive and motivation. You are self-directed, purposeful and visibly committed to getting to a result.
• Perseverance. You keep focus and motivation when things get difficult, and you find a way around obstacles.
• Growth mindset. You actively seek feedback, learning and development to improve your own performance and ours.
• Collaboration. You work well with others, prioritize the team's success and build relationships based on trust.
• Constructive feedback. You give feedback that is honest, respectful and useful - and you take it the same way.
• Time management. You plan and prioritize effectively, and you deliver on time and to a high standard.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary plus performance-based bonus.
• 401(k) with company match.
• 20 days of paid time off per year, plus paid US public holidays.
• Medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Paid parental leave.
• Hybrid working - a minimum of three days per week in our Boston office, with flexibility for the rest.
• A dedicated budget for professional development and certification.
• Two trips a year to our Oslo HQ.
• A real mandate: at our size your work is visible, your judgment counts, and you help decide how the US business grows.

Equal Opportunity

CEMAsys and Energi.AI is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds, and we make hiring decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic. Building a diverse team is a continuous focus for us - and we would rather hear from you than have you rule yourself out. If you meet most of what is above, please apply.