Niklas W. - Freelance Sustainability Consultant and Manager

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Schneverdingen, Germany

Experience

Jun 2025 - Present

5 months

Verden, Germany

Hybrid

Sustainability Management and Reporting (VSME)

Medium-sized Animal Feed Manufacturer

Sustainability reporting under VSME, sustainability management

Conducted a double materiality assessment
Established a risk management and internal control system for sustainability information
Collected, aggregated, and analyzed data and sustainability information
Developed an ESG strategy and sustainability targets
Prepared the Corporate Carbon Footprint / GHG balance (Scope 1, 2 and 3) for 2025
Drafted the first sustainability report for 2025.

Jan 2025 - Mar 2025

3 months

Hamburg, Germany

Hybrid

Sustainability Consulting for Sustainable Procurement

Tchibo GmbH

Establishing sustainable procurement practices

Developed procurement guidelines for sustainable sourcing of current and future energy carriers for company sites (offices, roasting plants, warehouses, stores) and logistics
Trained procurement staff in tendering and evaluating the sourcing of sustainable energy carriers.

Nov 2024 - Jun 2025

8 months

Munich, Germany

Remote

Sustainability Consulting and Reporting (CSRD / ESRS)

Zooplus SE

Risk management, strategy development, CSRD / ESRS sustainability reporting.

Developed an environmental policy
Set climate targets and developed a climate transition plan
Conducted a climate risk scenario analysis
Built a data management system to track and report climate-related indicators under CSRD
Optimized and automated the Corporate Carbon Footprint (greenhouse gas balance)
Advised on and prepared a CSRD-compliant report

Jun 2024 - Mar 2025

10 months

Ahrensburg, Germany

Hybrid

Sustainability Reporting CSRD / ESRS

Basler Vision (Basler Aktiengesellschaft)

CSRD / ESRS sustainability reporting; training staff and management

Developed and published sustainability reporting under CSRD / ESRS covering climate, pollution, circular economy, own workforce, workers in the value chain, consumers and governance
Supported the external audit of the sustainability report by the auditing firm
Prepared the Corporate Carbon Footprint (greenhouse gas balance)
Managed data collection of ESG data for a total of 10 subsidiaries
Conducted employee training and knowledge transfer
Handled internal corporate communications.

Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

1 year

Germany

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Automotive Supplier (Public Company)

Supply chain decarbonization, greenhouse gas accounting (Scope 3)

Developed and implemented a 3-year strategy to decarbonize sea and air freight, road and rail transport, and warehousing in Europe, North America and India
Calculated, analyzed and optimized Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions for sea and air freight.

Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

1 year

Germany

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Lions Club International

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Educational seminar for young adults on the topic: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Workshops on the topic: ‚The role of resilient industry and infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being’

(Volunteer consulting engagement)

Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

1 year

Hamburg, Germany

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Tchibo GmbH

Decarbonization strategy, roadmap and recommendations

Formulating targets for Scope 3 GHG reduction
Identifying Scope 3 decarbonization options
Evaluating and prioritizing options based on GHG reduction potential, CO2e avoidance costs and availability
Establishing an internal CO2 price for the procurement strategy
Developing short- and medium-term recommendations

Dec 2023 - Present

1 year 11 months

Hamburg, Germany

Hybrid

Sustainability Management and Reporting (CSRD / ESRS

Schryver Logistic (H.J. Schryver GmbH & Co KG)

CSRD / ESRS sustainability reporting; ESG strategy, goals & measures; benchmarking; training of employees and managers

Materiality analysis & stakeholder consultation
Developing an ESG vision, strategy and goals with KPIs
Developing relevant ESG measures
Creating a process for ESG data collection
Sustainability reporting under CSRD / ESRS and GRI
Improving benchmarking (e.g. Ecovadis)
Internal and external corporate communication on ESG
Training on selling sustainable products / services.

May 2023 - Aug 2024

1 year 4 months

Copenhagen, Denmark

Hybrid

Senior Sustainability Partner

Maersk (A.P. Moller-Maersk)

Developing sustainable logistics solutions, sales strategy and scaling of sustainable products, training employees and management, advising end customers on legal requirements

Developing sustainable logistics solutions focused on decarbonization, social standards and circular economy
Scaling sustainable logistics products through collaboration projects (with suppliers/producers, academia, associations, end customers), developing sales strategies and direct customer consulting
Training employees on various sustainability topics (e.g. climate change, renewable energy and fuels, sustainability reporting, regulatory requirements)
Advising end customers on legal requirements, especially developing strategies to implement sustainability measures based on EU directives (e.g. LKSG, CSRD, EU ETS)

Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

1 year

Berlin, Germany

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Deutsches Verkehrsforum e.V.

Production of ‚green‘ fuels, position papers on legislation

Advising on the scalability of alternative fuels for shipping (e.g. biofuels, methanol, ammonia)
Drafting position papers for various consultation processes on EU directives under ‚EU Fit for 55‘ (e.g. EU Emission Trading Scheme, FuelEU Maritime, Carbon Intensity Indicator)

Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

1 year

Auckland, New Zealand

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Food Manufacturer

Scaling 'green' fuel production, investments in sustainable infrastructure

Advisory role in scaling sustainable biofuels from process waste in collaboration with political and civil society stakeholders as well as fuel producers
Advisory role in developing a business concept for joint investments in sustainable transport infrastructure in New Zealand.

Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

1 year

Gothenburg, Sweden

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Volvo Trucks (AB Volvo)

Data collection for greenhouse gas accounting and reporting, supply chain decarbonization, external corporate communication / marketing

Development of data capture processes and methodologies for calculating and analyzing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions
Development and implementation of a 5-year strategy to decarbonize ocean and air freight, road and rail transport, and warehousing in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and India
Support in designing and executing external marketing campaigns (B2B) including social media advertising, trade show and event communication, as well as at major events such as COP 28 (United Nations Climate Change Conference)

Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

1 year

Germany

Sustainability Consulting and Management

Automobile Manufacturer (Public Company)

Methodologies / frameworks for greenhouse gas accounting and reporting

Training employees on relevant methodologies and frameworks for accounting greenhouse gas emissions for Scope 3 reporting
Analysis of logistics emissions and evaluation of optimization options for logistics processes.

Aug 2021 - Apr 2023

1 year 9 months

Hamburg, Germany

Hybrid

Sustainability Manager

Hamburg Süd

DNK / GRI sustainability reporting; ESG strategy, greenhouse gas accounting, training employees and managers, sales strategy for sustainable products and services, external representation

Sustainability reporting according to DNK and GRI
Improvement and implementation of existing sustainability strategy
Greenhouse gas accounting for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
Training and coaching employees and managers to raise sustainability awareness
Development and scaling of sales strategies for sustainable logistics products
End-customer consulting on designing sustainable logistics
External representation with customers, industry and interest groups, at trade shows and company events.

Summary

Over a decade of experience in sustainability and sales for medium size and large international companies. Combining sustainability and sales expertise to provide customer centric sustainability advisory services. Trained in sustainability assurance (Professional School), Economics and Resource Management (M.Sc) and International Business (B.Sc).