Episoder
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Derek Young is an ESG, CSR, sustainability, and communications professional with over 25 years of experience. He is recognized as a thought leader capable of working across industries, analyzing and determining needs and opportunities for risk reduction, value creation, and building and delivering strategic ESG, CSR, Sustainability programs, messaging and branding campaigns, and community and stakeholder engagement efforts.
Derek has led ESG consulting for Summit Strategy Group as well as served as the in-house CSR/Sustainability leader for a number of companies, including TGI Fridays, FedEx Office and Invista Performance Surfaces & Materials.
He currently leads ESG for CBL Properties, a real estate investment trust in the retail sector. CBL owns malls, lifestyle centers and outlets in 22 states with more than 59,000,000 sq feet under management.
Derek lives in Chattanooga, TN with his wife and his dog Hank.
Derek Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Engagement with tenants in sustainability initiatives Best practices for sharing data and fostering communication between landlord and tenant Whether the politicalization of ESG has impacted the approach to ESG at CBL or in the industry at large Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsDerek’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability or ESG professionals that might help them in their careers?
Learn how to speak in the language of the businesses that you operate in. In this space, it can be very easy to get sucked into the bubble of acronyms and terminology and to lose track that it has to connect to something of substance and value, and it has to be relevant to the business in which it's being delivered. If you do that efficiently and if you do that effectively, it's much easier to secure the support of the broader business and to get integrated and embedded faster and more effectively. As anybody coming into a role, particularly an in-house role, spend the time, learn how that company talks about things, learn how that business operates independent of your ESG or sustainability role, and then look for ways to merge those two things together.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I'm really enjoying the work on climate risk. I really think that this is a window to much more robust climate action. I think that we're seeing where risk and opportunity intersect because of it, and I think it's producing more knowledgeable businesses who are able to take more substantive action. As we continue to break that risk down, whether it's physical risk or transitional risk, and look for mitigation opportunities, it's going to produce more effective companies who have better carbon management planning and decarbonization initiatives as a result.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read?
I just finished a book by Solitaire Townsend called The Solutionists that is absolutely outstanding. It’s a really great book that really looks at and focuses on how businesses can fix the future and how the business world can be a driver of change.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I love listening to podcasts like this one. I find that hearing it from people directly is a really efficient and effective way to pick up ideas and understand what's happening out in the world. I spend a little bit of every morning going through several of the key news sites. So whether that be GreenBiz or ESG today or the Sustainable Brands website or some of the others that are out there, just to make sure that I have a fairly well-rounded point of view on what's happening in the space. Then I look very strongly towards one-on-one interactions with colleagues and friends who I trust to make sure that we have opportunities to converse and share ideas and learn from each other on a regular basis. I have a core cohort of colleagues that I turn to on a regular basis for that as well.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at CBL properties?
Our website is cblproperties.com and there is plenty of information on our website to find out about the work that's being done at a corporate level. You can look me up on LinkedIn and I've got plenty of information on that site as well. I’m happy to connect with anybody who's interested in connecting with me.
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Norman Vossschulte is originally from Berlin, Germany. His culturally rich background included ten years living abroad in Africa, Iraq and Spain before moving back to Germany to finish High School and College. He studied Biology and Physical Science before deciding to move to New York City in 1996 to attend the Herbert Berghof Institute for Fine Theatre Arts and Drama.
Norman’s work experience is as eclectic as his upbringing. He has worked in the hotel industry, the non-profit industry, as well as both sports and entertainment industries. 25 years of practicing customer and client relations, has given him an overview of which techniques consistently enhance guest experiences. Norman has over 16 years of staff training and team leadership experience working with The Walt Disney Company and currently the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2014, Norman became the official GO GREEN spokesperson and began leading the green team for the Philadelphia Eagles. During his tenure the Eagles obtained LEED Gold certification and were the first sports team in the world to obtain ISO20121 certification. He organized and re-branded the initiative as the GO GREEN ECO Committee (Engagement, Communication, Operations) to involve the entire organization. One of the main missions of the ECO Committee is to Innovate & Sustain. The Eagles are now the first sports team to actively invest in the ocean by offsetting carbon emissions from player travel by planting sea grass.
Norman Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How the strong sustainability program for the Eagles began and evolved Material issues and initiatives of the Eagles’ sustainability program How the Eagles have achieved 99.9% of waste diversion The approach to engaging fans in sustainability Ideas for making sustainability more mainstream across sports Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsNorman’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I love this question. Sustainability professionals are at heart, a lot of the ones I meet at least, scientists. They're folks that have either studied this or are really in tune with some of the data and some of the science behind sustainability. A lot of those folks that really live and breathe sustainability every day, their language doesn't necessarily easily translate into sports because we speak the language of fans and teams. So in the sustainability sector, you have to find people that can bridge that gap and literally put into very simple terms some of these sustainability practices that you are trying to bring to a sports team. Every one of us has to figure out how we can translate a lot of this incredible sustainability language into an everyday language so that everyone will understand it and actions. Because actions have to be taken.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I'm excited that finally it seems like everyone is talking about it. We have some of our mainstream partners that come to us now and say, “Hey, we want to work with you on sustainability.” That's exciting to me because before that, if you had a sustainability partner that was already working in the sustainability space, of course they would talk about sustainability with you, but mainstream partners necessarily didn't. My biggest excitement is Gen Z, the new generation who are now the majority in the workplace and are the ones that are really pushing this agenda. I don't want them to stop because it's important, and because it's their kids who are going to inherit this planet when a lot of these predictions about climate change are going to come true. Gen Z is really pushing this agenda because they're the consumers, they're the clients now, they're the fans. It's important to us and it's important to them and their generation. They're the information generation that loves to post on social media, and it excites me. I think there's a real movement happening, and I don't want it to stop.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability leaders read?
The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Sustainable Development. It basically dives into the United Nations climate pledge document that was written a few years ago that we actually were part of and that a lot of sports leagues and sports teams in the world have signed onto now. It addresses pretty much every area of sustainability, like waste and climate. We wrote one of those chapters in that book. Anthony Bonagura, one of our directors, actually wrote it and I helped a little bit. It was used in college education, but it’s now available for purchase. It dives into a lot of the science and the data, the United Nations force for climate change pledge program that's out there, and that a lot of leagues in the world, including FIFA and the NFL have signed on to.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
Our sustainability consultant! We have an amazing sustainability consultant, Lindsay Arell. She was the CEO of Honeycomb Strategies that was recently sold to SMG,, a huge global venue operator. She now helps us with FIFA 26. The World Cup is coming to Philadelphia, and there's quite a few sustainability initiatives that we're working on with FIFA, and she's helping us work through that. She helped us with our LEED certification and she's in the middle of helping us to be recertified. I'm not an expert, we're no expert, she is. We always go to her for all the advice. I think it's really important to find someone who lives and breathes this stuff, but who can translate like I said that earlier, that language to us so we can understand it. What should we, what shouldn't we invest in? What should we spend time on, what should we bring to our partners? We really run everything by her. It's really important to have partners and to have folks in your corner who know what they're talking about and who you trust, because again, we don't know what we should and shouldn't be doing. It's really important to ask professionals in this space.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at the Philadelphia Eagles?
Philadelphiaeagles.com. If you go there and you click on community, there is a page called Go Green, pun intended. We call our sustainability program Go Green. We are all about innovating and sustaining and the website is a really good source of information.
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Mangler du episoder?
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Thomas Stanchak is a seasoned Commercial Real Estate professional with over 20 years of diverse experience. He began his career with his current employer, Stoneweg US in 2017 as an Asset Manager, where he was responsible for overseeing operations, maximizing occupancy, and maintaining budgets for 17 assets in the Midwest region. In 2019, he was promoted to Senior Asset Manager assuming operational responsibility for more than 50% of total AUMs; where his operational leadership was hugely impactful in Stoneweg US’ ability to deliver healthy returns to its investors that year. In 2020, Tom began focusing his efforts on implementing various energy-efficient and innovative practices to his portfolio by introducing water conservation, LED lighting retrofits, and effective recycling methods that would not only incorporate sustainability, but also provide key value-add for residents.
Thomas Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Key material ESG issues Stoneweg focuses on Stoneweg’s approach to collecting quality data Evaluation of climate risks and opportunities including climate transition modeling How Stoneweg is preparing for electrification in the industryThomas’ Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Not everybody is going to agree with you, and not everybody is going to like you, but over time, I've found that if you really work hard and you really do the math around the data and reporting and linking it to finding opportunity, that's the wedge to do things at scale.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
Real time energy monitoring and being able to get responsive feedback from these sorts of technologies as we make improvements. The simple example is, as I change HVAC systems, I can actually see the difference in how the property is functioning.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read?
I'm thinking more about multifamily and ESG and that place because I'm sort of responsible for encompassing all of those, as many people in my place are. I bought a book called Safe and Sound, it's by a trans woman named Mercury Stardust. The reason I bought this book is that I read in an article that she is a maintenance professional at an apartment community. She wrote this book because people like her or LBGT people often have to overcome an anxiety or a fear of having people come into their homes to even do minor repairs or do services and that sort of thing. It’s a great book because it opened my mind. I have hundreds of people working in our communities. We have tens of thousands of residents. It kind of opened my mind to a perspective that some people, just to ask for their dripping faucet to be fixed, have to overcome an anxiety; will they be accepted? Will they be treated with dignity? I really found a great affinity with this. I felt like I learned something from the article when I bought the book. I think that more people should be more in tune and more focused on the people that they're trying to serve, the people that lease from you and occupy your real estate.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
If everyone is not using Energy Star Portfolio Manager is nuts, because they should be using it. It's something that the DOE and the EPA are really investing in bringing to the next level. We use several softwares for physical climate risk. We use separate softwares for modeling transition risk and finding opportunities to model how our investments are going to change our carbon intensity over time. We use different software for warehousing the enormous amount of data when it comes to having a large real estate portfolio with separate funds and strategies and that sort of thing. In putting all this data together for measuring the success or the shortfall of how we're investing, how it impacts the stated goals in terms of decarbonization or energy efficiency, it’s a number of technologies that we're employing.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at Stoneweg US?
I'm really proud that we've relaunched our website, https://www.stoneweg.us, and there's an ESG optimization section. This is something that I really worked really hard to provide a deep dive into how we're approaching all the material subjects around ESG and how we're making it tactical, going beyond good intentions. It's something that I'll maintain and share our progress and what we learn over time. Part of that is there's no point in me having a Net Zero portfolio, we all need to do it. That's part of the collaboration and that's why our company makes it front facing on our website.
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Camille Richard is Head of Sustainability at Back Market, the leading marketplace dedicated to refurbished devices and reducing electronics’ negative impact on the environment. She has led the company to become a Mission-Driven Company in 2022 and a B Corp-certified company in 2023. Working in the environmental sector for 10 years, prior to Back Market Camille was Sustainable Performance Manager for Suez, a waste and water recycling company, in Brazil, Mexico, and France. She received in 2021 the Hub35 Sustainable Award from the Hub Institute.
Camille Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How Back Market ensures quality of refurbishers How Back Market communicates and advocates for the Right to Repair movement Efforts to engage suppliers in advancing their sustainability efforts Advice and recommendations for sustainability leadersCamille’s Final Five Question Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Be pragmatic and patient. When you work in the sustainability department of a company, you may understand that not everybody in the company is as mature as you wish on this topic. Sometimes you need to be ready to take one step backward today to be able to take two steps forward in a year. So it's something that you have to have in mind all the time, and it's not because you have to compromise at some point or that your project is not going to come out at some point. I would say as well to push sustainability strategy as an efficiency factor in the company. As a sustainability professional, working corporate, you are the defender of a long-term vision and it's not always the easy way, but nine times out of ten adopting sustainable practices leads to reduced cost and risks in the company. So you have to be patient and pragmatic and keep pushing it like it's actually what it is, a way to be more efficient and to last longer as a company.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
It's almost like a rising movement around the recognition of the contributions of certain companies like us to the fight against climate change. The recognition of scope four to avoid emissions like we mentioned a bit earlier today. There is more and more investor interest in it, saying that the value of the company is not only about money, but it's also about the impact it's actually generating. So I am very excited to see what is going to happen in the next month and years about that.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read?
I would say Grow the Pie from Alex Edmond. The idea of the book is to say that creating value is not only about choosing between financial value and the planet and the people, and that a successful company is the one that actually manages to grow the pie for all its stakeholders. A responsible business is actually one that innovates to last longer. I really liked this idea about this book.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
A tool that has helped me a lot and I wish I had known about it when I started at Back Market it's a B Corp self-assessment. It's not a resource per se, but it's a really good tool to run a diagnosis of where you are at in terms of sustainability in your company. What are your strengths? What are your actual weaknesses and what are your progress margins? I would recommend to anyone that wants to start a sustainability approach in their company to run a self-assessment on B Corp. I would say as well, I read a lot of the strategy from the French Agency for Environment that I was mentioning before, because recently they had made a really good one about carbon neutrality that was super interesting. And I look very closely as well as a UN report on waste because of course it's very close to our topic, but I would say mostly the better source of information and good practices for me is to talk with my peers in other companies. Sustainability teams are never huge teams. So it's always very interesting to talk about what you are doing, what are the best practices with people doing your job, but in other companies. So you can actually grab a lot of information and it's super interesting.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Back Market?
We are about to launch our corporate website which we are going to feed with a lot of information, but it's not online yet. So I would recommend to follow me on LinkedIn. I'm trying to post regularly. And you can go on our website backmarket.com where we have some information about the company as well.
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Rachel Kaufman is the Senior Director, Global Sustainability at Avantor, a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and technology industries. In this role, Rachel is responsible for establishing the company's environmental sustainability strategies and targets related to operations and products. She also oversees Avantor's broader Science for Goodness Sustainability Program and leads ESG reporting and customer and investor ESG engagement.
Rachel's sustainability industry experience spans over 20 years. Before joining Avantor, she served as the Global Director of Environmental Sustainability for Johnson & Johnson's Consumer Health and Vision Care segments and managed communications and environmental policy for non-profit and government agencies in Washington, DC. Rachel holds a B.S. in NaturalResources from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Rachel Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Avantor’s internal sustainability program: Science for Goodness Achieving consistent GHG reductions year over year How Avantor is addressing product use Avantor’s responsible supplier program Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsRachel’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Hopefully this doesn't come across as something that is obvious, but I would say, I view corporate sustainability quite differently than I view nonprofit work, environmental, conservation work. There is a business side of it. I decided to go back and get my MBA. I'm not saying that's what you need to do, but somehow really beef up that understanding of: what are the challenges that your functional and cross-functional partners are facing. What is it like to be the CFO? What might be their barriers to being able to approve the investment that you need to achieve your sustainability goals? Getting an understanding of the Head of Sales and HR and where their challenges are I think is really key to being able to have those conversations and progress quickly on sustainability goals.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
It's the spotlight, the debate and the day-to-day. The fact that in mass media right now, when you hear about these severe weather events, there's a mention of climate. When there's talk of the economy, there's a discussion of equity. It's really encouraging to see these topics get into the mainstream conversations on the related topics because they are so integral and so interrelated.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I actually am not a huge reader of books. I get a lot of my information from reading articles, current events and podcasts. I would recommend folks follow some of the newsletters such as GreenBiz, Corporate Eco Forum, Sustainable Brands, and a top one I really like is actually the New York Stock Exchange. They do a top five ESG weekly roundup. I find that that's just a really great quick summary of what's happening in this space, particularly from that investor perspective. So I'm going to actually do a surprising plug for some of those email newsletters
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
One answer is the newsletters and the distributors that I just mentioned, but actually the sustainability network. We all have it, but I've joined a couple of sustainability groups of peers where we've been able to have these honest conversations of the challenges in a safe space. It is so helpful to hear that you are not alone in these challenges, and to be able to share learnings you have and be able to share confidentially and hear from others on how they have overcome some of the challenges. Find that network. Some are more structured than others where you can ask for those honest conversations. There's a few that I'm a part of that other folks you’ve had on the phone are a part of and we have spoken to about achieving these targets together.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Avantor?
Our corporate website, which is avantorsciences.com. It's actually getting an overhaul soon, but it has a bunch of sustainability information under the “About Us.” Then of course you can follow myself or Avantor on LinkedIn. We do post quite a bit about our sustainability, DEI, and the work that we're doing in this space on LinkedIn.
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Jamie joined Traditional Medicinals in 2019 as the Chief Purpose Officer. She manages Traditional Medicinals sustainability efforts including risk assessment, Zero Waste Project, regenerative and carbon strategy, and supply chain data management. Jamie is a recognized leader with expertise in corporate responsibility, sustainability, shared value creation and employee and community engagement.
In January 2022, Jamie’s role officially expanded to include the Human Resources team. Previously, Jamie was the Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility at McKesson, a Fortune 6 healthcare company. Prior to that she was the Senior Director, Employee Engagement and Corporate Responsibility at Visa and served as the Director of Community Engagement at the Alcoa Foundation for 10 years.
Jamie earned a MS, Leadership for Sustainability, from University of Vermont, an Executive Certificate in Strategic Reputation Management from Dartmouth College, and MBA, Strategic Management, Organization Behavior from The University of British Columbia and a BS in Business Administration, IT, Finance and Accounting from Duquesne University.
Jamie Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How the B Corp community has helped Traditional Medicinals advance its sustainability efforts The FairWild Certification Transitioning to biodegradable packaging Challenges and processes for quantifying scope 3 emissions Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsJamie’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Understanding communication skills and influence skills really matter. What I found, especially working in large companies, is that most leaders are not ill-intentioned, but they may be preoccupied and they may be out of their depth on some of these sustainability topics. So the more you can meet them where they are, think about the scope of responsibility they have as well as their personal values and the company values, and then help move them in the direction of the change that you want to see, the easier it will be for everyone.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
This might be specific to me, but I think we're probably seeing it across the board as hiring managers, is that environmental courses and topics are much more prevalent today than they were when we were in school. What I find now is that many people have degrees or minors in environmental sustainability. They may be working in marketing or R&D or procurement, but they have a real passion for environmental sustainability. We used to have to convince people, we had to do a lot of selling internally to get our initiatives bumped to the top of the priority list. Now we have ready allies across the organization who are really agitating for change. I think that's great, but it does require us as sustainability leaders to change our skills from leading from the front to coordinating and collaborating across departments. But I'm excited to see how many people have skill and passion.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability leaders read?
I love The Shareholder Value Myth by Lynn Stout. We can't talk about the future health of the planet without talking about the way that our capital markets work. There's a real case to be made for long-term thinking, and I think she does a really good job discussing that.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
The Fair Wild Foundation. If you care about conservation or plants, it's a great one to learn from. They produce really great, thought leadership pieces. For those in the food industry, we use a tool called HowGood that allows us to understand the environmental footprint and impact of our products. That helps us when we're innovating as well. We want to deliver specific impact to our consumers, but if we can do that in a lower environmentally impactful way, that's great. So HowGood is another great tool.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Traditional Medicinals?
Our website is https://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/. If you go to the impact section, you can find our impact report. You can find lots of stories about what we're doing in the world and our approach to business, and I hope you enjoy it. I think it's a beautiful site. It also teaches a lot about plants.
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Amelia DeLuca serves as Chief Sustainability Officer at Delta Air Lines, leading the airline on its journey to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and deliver a more sustainable and elevated travel experience along the way. Prior to her appointment as Chief Sustainability Officer, DeLuca served as Vice President, International Customer Experience and Partner Sustainability. In that role, DeLuca led cross-divisional efforts to deliver a consistent premium customer experience across Delta’s partners. She also supported the development of Delta's partner sustainability strategy across Delta’s global partner network to enhance and accelerate the alliance’s leading sustainability position and provide greater collective impact across the Delta network.
During her 17-year career with Delta, DeLuca has held varied leadership positions within the Sustainability, Global Sales, Revenue Management and Network Planning teams and has been based in Mexico City, Minneapolis, Amsterdam, New York City and Atlanta. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and has her M.B.A. from the University of Amsterdam. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters.
Amelia Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Delta’s decarbonization efforts and strategies What sustainable aviation fuel is and challenges to scale it How corporations can purchase sustainable aviation fueled flights from Delta Delta’s social and environmental sustainability strategies Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsAmelia’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give to other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I have two for this. I think first and foremost, take care of yourselves. I think that goes for anyone who is alive today, but especially those that are working. Obviously we've all been through a lot. I love that the world has shifted into talking about mental wellbeing more frequently. I think sustainability professionals need to really double down and think about that, because while optimism and passion takes us forward in what we do every single day, this is one of the most daunting things that I've ever been a part of. You open the news, or you go outside and you see a climate catastrophe. Some days it just feels really sad and depressing. So first off, take care of yourself. Make sure you have all the tools you need to feel good, and then secondly, lean into your peers and your sustainability friends. The incredible partners that I've made from my airline counterparts, extending beyond just the airlines, all sustainability counterparts that I've met, there's not a greater group of people than those in the sustainability profession. I've never reached out to someone and asked for advice or asked for their time and they’ve said no. Find a couple of people that you just really enjoy in this space, whether in your industry or something else, and build a relationship with them and it will stand the test of time.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
One of the things I struggle with the most in sustainability is when I feel like we make it really difficult for consumers to know what is right, what is up, what is correct. The news provides different viewpoints, which I think is super helpful, there shouldn't just be a “yes, this is the answer,” and no one disputes it. I love that there are people out there that challenge every part of sustainability from “what's the best product in terms of what to put on board? Is it a plastic water bottle because it's lighter weight or is it aluminum?” There's a fierce debate and I love debate, but the theme I like the most right now in sustainability is transparency. I don't mean transparency in the way that we think about it through the SEC climate rules, for example. I think about it as, not only are we taking time, and this podcast is such a great example, to educate consumers on how to think about sustainability trends. We're all walking towards a world where consumers are essentially empowered to make choices because brands and products and activities, you name it, offer information and transparency about the impact that consumers can make and the choice that feels most right to them personally. I'm personally really excited about the transparency that we're building as a community.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability Leaders read?
I have two. The more common one, which is one of the first books I read when I moved into sustainability, was Drawdown. My guess is, if you're listening to this, you probably already read that by Paul Hawken, but I liked Drawdown because it really helped me take what felt like a really daunting subject that I was starting in and it broke it down into concepts, and it had a lot of numbers. It really was focused not on what the problems were, but what the climate solutions were. I’m a big fan of drawdown. Separately though, I'm a big fiction reader, and I do always encourage people, including our sustainability professionals, to make sure you continue to read fiction. Not only can it be uplifting if you've had a daunting day, but I think it also challenges our brain to think about things just more broadly, in different terms or from different angles. So another book that I am in the midst of reading right now, which is one of the top books from last year, is called The Candy House. It's a really trippy book. It's essentially this concept of social media that could allow us to upload and share our memories with each other. That just seems really weird. But the reason I say that is I like to read books that make me think about the world and where society is going from a different lens. Candy House is a really great example, it seems like the craziest idea ever. But then you're also like, well, with AI and where we're going, we could be there before we know it. I like to read books that just challenge me to think about the world a little differently.
What are your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
Podcasts, and that's not just a plug for this one, but I typically listen to a sustainability or climate podcast coming into work and leaving work. I'm a big fan of just kind of diving in topically on things that are interesting to me. Or if I've had something I've come across from a work perspective that I'm like, “Hey, I don't know that much about X,” I'll just listen to a podcast about it. It's such a great way to get a little bit deeper. My second thing of course is my team. I have an amazing team who all know so much more about this space than probably I ever will because many of them have come through college focusing on the environment or sustainability, or they have masters in the topics, or they've worked in the oil and gas industry. We have a woman who's come from Nike and stood up a big portion of their sustainability work a number of years ago. I rely upon them a lot on all things. I think that's what any good leader should do, build a team that knows more than they do and make sure that you’re tapping into them as they go.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at Delta?
I hope that you will learn more about Delta's sustainable journey and also look out for some of these sustainability enhancements that you're going to see on board going forward. You can also learn more about our path to sustainability and the progress we're making by going to https://news.delta.com/path-to-sustainability. You can also follow me on LinkedIn. I would love it if you follow me on LinkedIn and engage with me there. I always want to hear your thoughts and opinions on what Delta is doing.
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Scott Tew is the leader of the Center for Energy Efficiency & Sustainability at Trane Technologies (CEES) and is responsible for forward-looking sustainability initiatives aimed at transitioning to more efficient and climate-friendly solutions and minimizing resource use within company facilities. He serves as a thought leader in linking public policy, economic impacts and a value-stream approach to sustainability. His efforts have led to the development of world-class initiatives, including introduction of the company’s comprehensive 2030 Sustainability Commitments with the largest customer-facing corporate commitment to combat climate change with the Gigaton Challenge; and as a pioneer in integrated reporting.
Scott holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in environmental science and ecology from Livingston University. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Corporate Eco Forum; as the board chair of the World Environment Center; and as the chair of the US Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD).
Scott Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
The scope of work at Trane Technologies Untapped opportunities to reduce emissions though the built environment and food systems Smart buildings and using technology to improve efficiencies Trane Technologies value stream-focused 2030 commitments Working with external advisors on science-based targets Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsScott’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
The power of commitments and the power of public goals; I can never underestimate the power of that. Helping leadership get behind a public commitment is a huge game changer. If you're with a company where that hasn't happened yet, that needs to be the front and center of your focus.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I believe we're about to move into a new era of regenerative thinking. I think attaching sustainability to a company's purpose like we did at Trane Technologies was what was needed to get us to where we are today. There are some great companies out there thinking “how do we actually have a regenerative mantra so that we actually can redo anything bad from the past and think very differently about solutions in the future?” That means that we are more open to innovation and partnerships than ever before, so that has me very excited.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability professionals read?
I have to be selfish on this one; After Cooling is one by Eric Dean Wilson. That is a really interesting one because it talks about the cost of comfort to the world, which is exactly the problem that my company is trying to solve. In a world where we have an increasing number of heat waves and heat domes, it might be time for us all to step back and think about how cooling is delivered and what we should do differently in the future.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
There are a few outside organizations that I get a lot of value out of hearing from other practitioners. For your listeners out there, I think you really should explore groups where you can be amongst your peers to find out how they're accomplishing whatever they're accomplishing. I get a lot of value from chatting either one-on-one or hearing a presentation of practitioners of how something worked in their company. Those are the things that I bring back to apply within my company, and I can point to lots of examples of that through the years.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Trane Technologies?
You can go to tranetechnologies.com and the opening page will have a link to our sustainability progress. My group is featured with its own section of the website including my email address. I’m always happy to engage with anyone who might have questions or want to follow up.
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Tara is Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility at Jack Henry. She leads the strategy and execution of the organization's corporate sustainability efforts, including corporate ethics, the transition to a low carbon future, philanthropy and sustainability related reporting. Prior to focusing on advancing Jack Henry's sustainability efforts, Tara launched Jack Henry's diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy, created an internal mobility program, led the learning and development team, revamped the performance management program, and developed Jack Henry's talent analytics approach.
Tara Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
The transition from a role in HR to a role in sustainability What it means for Jack Henry to be a purpose-driven company Preparing sustainbility reports and for SEC climate disclosures Getting support to pursue science-based targets Business Innovation groups at Jack Henry Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsTara’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers
Figure out how to make complex ideas simple. If you don't take the time to do it, your communications can fall flat. The world of sustainability is so complicated. You're spanning so many different topics from cybersecurity and information security to greenhouse gas emissions to philanthropy and so on. Really being able to distill all that complexity into simple statements, into communications that people can understand without needing to be experts in the field, and not only understand, but know what to do with that information- if you can figure that out, then you'll easily create impactful reporting and momentum internally within your organization.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
Particularly as a sustainability professional, I think we are so privileged to have a role in which we have the opportunity to impact every single person on this planet through our work. That may seem a little bit Pollyanna, but it's true. I think the work that we're doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to do work around philanthropy, to do work around corporate ethics, all of that really matters. I think that it’s incredibly exciting to be in a field that can have that sort of large scale impact. That and the talent that is coming up. Two members of my team, they are new graduates and they are so passionate, so knowledgeable, and I know they're two of many that are coming out in the field. It's incredible to see what these folks are going to do and how they're going to take us to the next level. So I'm excited about that.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability professionals read?
It's a classic, and it's not really a sustainability book, it's a book about leadership: Good to Great by Jim Collins. If you can't speak the language of business, and you will hear the concepts in these books spoken about constantly at the C-suite level and with executive leadership, you're not going to be taken seriously. You've got to be able to speak the language of business. In particular, I like Good to Great because of that concept of the flywheel; the idea that consistent action over time really can create momentum and that it's easily sustained and energizes people over time. I think that's so applicable to the world of sustainability. It's a slow roll in the beginning, but once you get things going, if you're thoughtful and consistent, it takes off, and your job is just to tap the rut or make sure you’re on the right course over time.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I'm a big reader of ESG Today. They have a weekly summary email that gives you the highlights. I think it's important to know what's going on in the field. But the most helpful resource is networking. It's finding other people in this field that you can talk with and share ideas with. I've done that through conferences or through webinars. I'll reach out and say, “I like what you said about this. Could we have a quick conversation?” Just building those relationships so that you have thought partners to bring ideas to and help you make your work more impactful.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Jack Henry?
You can find me on LinkedIn, Tara Brown at Jack Henry. If you go to jackhenry.com on our investor relations site, you'll find a link to our corporate sustainability reports and previous reports and highlights of our most recent initiatives.
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Liliana joined Wendy’s in June 2014 and has served as Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer since February 2021 to reflect her range of responsibilities across Communications, Quality Assurance, Customer Care, Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility. She previously served as our Chief Communications Officer from June 2014 to February 2021.
Liliana sets the vision and strategy for all communications with franchisees and employees, public relations, government relations and corporate responsibility. Her work with the Quality Assurance function involves developing quality and safety procedures throughout our supply chain and restaurants to provide a safe and quality dining experience for all Wendy’s customers.
Liliana prides herself on building diverse teams and empowering them to find solutions – a leadership style that has produced notable results. Her team recently restructured Wendy’s corporate responsibility efforts under one united banner, Good Done Right, and created our Supplier Code of Conduct. Under her direction, Wendy’s also launched The Square Deal, Wendy’s blog to provide a point of view on issues that are important to our Company and our customers.
Prior to Wendy’s, Liliana served as Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Dean Foods in Dallas, TX. Her previous experience includes tenure as Public Affairs Manager with Mars, Incorporated in New Jersey, and as a public relations consultant for eight years in New York City.
Liliana Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Defining responsible sourcing and identifying criteria for responsibly sourcing food What consumers are looking for in the industry in regards to sustainability The process of starting GHG inventories, CDP reporting, and setting science-based targets Wendy’s “Good done right” goals for food, people and footprint Tying sustainability performance to incentives Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsLiliana’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
The advice that I would give is just to be a sponge for learning and for relationships and networking with others in the field. I would not have considered myself a sustainability professional even 10 years ago. There is so much to learn. There is so much to absorb. I don't think anyone can be an expert in all of it. I think really broadening your aperture so that you have the benefit of expertise from others that are in different aspects of your field is something that I really value. Probably the most important resource that I see in the field is people. Hopefully you can provide some value to them in terms of the expertise and the knowledge that you have, but also continuing to build those relationships and reach out and network to increase your effectiveness.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
The biggest is just the awareness and the general knowledge and interest in this area. That takes a lot of different forms and different parts of the industry, different stakeholders are coming at it with different points of view. But I think that there's never been a better time to really be demonstrating the value and the importance of sustainability work within the business community. I feel like the conversation I'm not having anymore is around “why should we care about this?” Does this actually add to our business value? Is there a strong rationale for being focused on ESG or sustainability? Now the conversation is much more around, “where should we be putting our precious resources?” Where can our efforts be most successful and most effective?
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I'll go to the classics. There's certainly lots of more contemporary examples, but I think Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. I was in college when I read it. That really started to open my eyes around not just the importance of a focus on the environment and on sustainability, but a factual, well researched, analysis of what was happening and what we as a society could do to make a more positive impact. I know that's a classic, but I think it's still relevant today.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
To repeat myself, people. I really do collect and curate a great network of people that come from all different backgrounds and perspectives and areas of expertise. The more that I can connect and engage with people that do things that are very different than what I do professionally, I just grow and learn from that. And then a plug for you Josh and your colleagues for podcasts like this one. I usually go for a run every day and I've got a collection of podcasts and other things that, that that's the soundtrack to my daily runs because I feel like there's always something new coming out to help us just learn and get better.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at Wendy's?
We would love for you to hop over to wendys.com and click on the what we value segment of our website. You can find our corporate responsibility reports for 2022 and the years in the past, and then certainly a wealth of information about the company and our commitments overall.
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Pamela Klyn was named Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations and Sustainability, on January 1, 2022. Klyn was most recently a Vice President in Whirlpool Corporation’s Global Product Organization. During her time with the company, Klyn has held advancing roles in engineering, product development, global innovation, and marketing. From 2013 to 2015, she lived in Italy and served as the Vice President of Products & Brands for Whirlpool EMEA.
Klyn was hired into the company’s Technical Excellence Program in 1993 after graduating from Michigan Technological University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995 and has an Executive MBA from Bowling Green State University.
Klyn is currently a Board member for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor and a Trustee for the Whirlpool Foundation. She serves on the Michigan Technological University External Advisory Board for the Dean of Engineering and on the Board of Directors for Patrick Industries.
Pam Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How Whirpool established themselves as a leader in sustainability The importance of consumer education for best product usage practices Whirlpool’s 2022 sustainability report Whirlpool’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity including Build Better with Whirlpool Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsPam’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give to other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I think it's always important to look at all the data and information you have. Don't get analysis paralysis, but create a roadmap. Understand what kind of traditional problem solving you can apply. Where do you need innovation? Where do you need partnerships? Where do you need a different way to solve it? Think about who else has this problem or this accountability and how you could jointly solve it together. Anytime there's an inflection point, like the focus on sustainability, that breeds opportunity, in my opinion. Use the skills you have, the problem solving skills, the experience you have, but be open to how this can be a completely new opportunity for you and your organization.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
Opportunity for partnerships. If you look at our 111 year history as a company, it's been about key partnerships at the right time in a continued evolution of doing the right thing, keeping the consumer at the center of it, and finding ways to reinvent for the future. What's outstanding is we have such a strong base to start from, but we know we can do better and we can make a huge impact and really lead the way here. I’m really excited to see what comes out of it, especially as you start to look at recycling and partnering with consumers in their homes. How do we get the message across that if you run this dishwasher at night, if that is workable for you and your lifestyle, you save 30% energy? How do we enable consumers to use appliances in the smartest way possible that doesn't compromise their lifestyle?
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I don’t know if it only applies to sustainability professionals, but I recently read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, which is about the Nike journey. I'm very proud of Whirlpool's 111 year history and the reinvention that it's taken, as I mentioned. But a company like Nike, which is such a powerhouse, came so close so many times to not making it, despite amazing orders and all the business they could handle. It really points to: sustainability means so many different things, but it really centers all around ensuring the longevity of a company. It points to the tenacity that it takes and the belief in doing the right thing for the customer, and keeping the customer and quality at the center of it all.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
It's the team, the cross-functional effort. It's our people here and the fact that people want to do the right thing. It's my team's job, the sustainability team's job to guide them and say, overall, here's our targets as a company. Manufacturing, we need this from you, procurement, we need your help here partnering with suppliers. What are our suppliers doing to think about the next level? Are there new suppliers to partner with? For example, information technology, we need systems to measure our emissions in a reportable way. Legal, how do we make sure we're managing the governance aspect? Product, our engineering organization, how do we continue to evolve our product in new and different innovative ways? It really is that aspect that we get to partner with every part of the organization, and our people come through time and time again.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work and check out your new 2022 sustainability report?
You can find our sustainability report on whirlpoolcorp.com, and we have a lot of great tips and tricks on how to use your appliances more efficiently. We have a consumer facing website called [email protected] and that talks about making sure you don't open your refrigerator too often, run certain appliances at night, don't hand wash, use your dishwasher, etc. It really gives a lot of those things that people haven't been told and so they're not doing routinely, but that can really make a difference in your water and energy bill.
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Emilio Tenuta is senior vice president of Corporate Sustainability and chief sustainability officer for Ecolab. For the past 11 years, he has led Ecolab’s strategic sustainability journey and is actively involved in advancing global sustainability practices, with a significant focus on water stewardship and climate action. In recent years, he’s become a leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and reporting. Partnering with investor relations and Ecolab’s Chief Executive Officer, Tenuta has advanced Ecolab’s reputation as an ESG leading company. He is chair of the board of directors of the World Environment Center, a global non-profit, non-advocacy organization. Emilio is also on the leadership council of the Corporate Eco Forum.
Emilio Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Prioritizing sustainability work between customers and internal operations Ecolab establishing themselves as a corporate leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, CDP, and in other rankings Water and climate; the Ecolab Water for Climate strategy and The Water Resilience Coalition Closing the ‘say-do’ sustainability gap Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsEmilio’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
If you really want to make a difference from a sustainability impact, work in the private sector. I believe there is this myth that the only place people can make a difference is by working for an environmental nonprofit. I think today in our discussion we've proven that Ecolab is living proof that more and more companies can deliver a positive impact in the world while driving profitable growth and helping communities thrive.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
The rise of ESG over the last five years. I'm most excited about the tremendous investment in sustainability, climate and water by the capital markets and investors to help the world decarbonize. I think mobilizing finance is a huge catalyst to driving the change we need to see in the world.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I'm a big fan of Thomas Friedman, the author of The World is Flat. His latest book is really good called Thank You For Being Late. It's an interesting perspective on the convergence of technology, climate, and geopolitical challenges facing the world; something that is obviously very relevant today.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I'm a big fan of The World Resources Institute, which is a think tank out of Washington DC. I'm also a big fan of CDP, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Water Resilience Coalition. After two and a half/three years now, there are a plethora of resources available if you go to the Water Resilience Coalition website that support not only the actions we need to take for a water constrained world, but also driving climate resilience.
Where can people go to learn more about you and the work being done at Ecolab?
Ecolab.com. It's a tremendous resource and I really commend our global communications team and our digital enablement team. They've done a great job of providing some tremendous resources there. I would encourage folks to follow me on LinkedIn. I'm very passionate about sharing the incredible things going on in the world not only with Ecolab, but with all of our partners, and then Twitter as well. Then I'll shout out to a publicly available tool called the Smartwater Navigator, which is available on smartwaternavigator.com, which is another great place to really learn more about the work that we're doing.
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Josh Raglin has dedicated over 25 years in the fields of conservation, forestry, and environmental stewardship. As chief sustainability officer at Norfolk Southern, he leads efforts to transform the company’s sustainability strategy. He champions initiatives that integrate sustainability practices into daily operations to achieve efficiencies, control costs, generate revenue, and reduce environmental impacts. These efforts include close collaboration with department leaders company-wide, along with external stakeholders such as customers, investors, regulators, and communities.
Josh Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Advancing efficiency of rails including the Locomotive Modernization program The economic and environmental benefits of shipping by rail, and the feasibility of making the switch to rail Benefits to customers from Norfolk Southern’s carbon calculator Norfolk Southern's five pillars of sustainability, specifically nature-based solutions Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsJosh’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I would say network. You can't know too many people. The more you network, the more connections you make. Not only internally within your company but externally as well. That's going to increase your knowledge base. Many of our customers have just started their sustainability programs in the last three or four years, and so I can be a resource for them in helping them start their journey, and I really enjoy doing that.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I think it's the excitement, the corporate commitment that you're seeing, and where we've gone in such a short period of time. And it's voluntary. We're getting the support of all of our stakeholders. It's important to our customers, our investors, our regulators, and it's important to our employees as well.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability professionals read?
It's actually one I just completed. It's called How the World Really Works, and it's by an energy scientist Vaclav Smil. He's written a number of books over the years, and he's not a pessimist, he's not an optimist, he's a scientist. He really does a great way of explaining the science, particularly when it comes to energy. I really highly recommend that to anyone.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I would say probably my engagement with outside groups. I really enjoy engaging with conservation related groups or environmental groups and understanding our natural environment more and how Norfolk Southern can be a part of that. Whether it's employee engagement, whether it's financial support, or volunteering. A number of our employees, we volunteer on boards, we attend events, and it's not just about doing railroading, but it's also about how we can engage with the community to really make a difference.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at Norfolk Southern?
I'm on LinkedIn, so if you look up Josh Raglin Norfolk Southern, you'll find me pretty easily. And our website is http://www.nscorp.com/betterplanet.
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Yogesh Chauhan is director of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) at HubSpot. His brief is to develop a new and impactful ESG strategy covering all HubSpot’s operations. He oversees a range of environmental, community engagement, reporting, innovation and thought leadership initiatives designed to embed sustainability and responsible business across the company. Prior to HubSpot, Yogesh Chauhan was director of corporate sustainability at Tata Consultancy Services for nine years. He was also the BBC’s chief adviser on corporate responsibility and environment and worked for the corporation for 12 years.
Yogesh Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Upstream and downstream supply chain challenges to reducing emissions as a SAS company Getting buy-in from leadership for SBTI or sustainability goals Activating the workforce around sustainability strategy Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsYogesh’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Authenticity. My advice to all sustainability professionals is don't get tempted to say and do things that really are not authentic and genuine in terms of how you are driving the sustainability agenda, because you will get caught in the greenwashing mill. Authenticity would be my key advice. Be authentic as much as you possibly can.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I would say sustainable innovation is something that I'm really getting excited about. Whether that's things like green aviation fuel, more sustainable building materials that are coming on stream, scaling renewable energy and the dramatic reduction in costs for renewable infrastructure, and what we see visibly now amongst most populations is the change in lifestyles that people are beginning to adopt and consumers making individual choices. Those are the things that really excite me. As part of that innovation, there's obviously a whole leap of technology that is being built to drive a more sustainable future, whether that's digital technology or engineering technology, and those are the bits that really do excite me.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
Just looking at my bookshelf at the moment, what caught my eye is the Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom. It's just a tiny little book with a few quotes on each page, and it isn't about sustainability. It's rather about the broader concepts that drive sustainability, the essence of being. What does contentment mean? What does joy mean? What does the art of giving and receiving mean? I think once you get that into your system and start to live and breathe those core beliefs that are ingrained in us as human beings, from that flows a sustainability mindset. I would recommend people have that by their side and consult that now just to get a sense of realism about what life is all about.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
Well, actually HubSpot has a number of publications that are part of independent publications but are owned by HubSpot. There's something called The Daily Hustle and the Weekly Trends, again not directly about sustainability, but actually very much about innovation, new ideas, and really capturing the essence of the energy behind startups and small and medium-sized businesses, and all the creative ideas and innovations that are coming out from that. That always gives me a huge amount of inspiration, because nearly always there are things that are going on that people are inventing, developing new business models, new business ideas that have a sustainability focus. At the professional end for the sustainability practitioners, I would say McKinsey's website and podcasts tend to be my go-to on a regular basis. Finally, friends and colleagues that I've kind of nurtured and developed over the years and the opportunity to bounce ideas off and have conversations all things sustainability with.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the sustainability work being done at HubSpot?
HubSpot has a website which is engaging, lively, and has lots and lots of information. I would encourage everyone who's interested to go there. We have a sustainability section that's got lots of information about what we are doing, including the current report as well. If anyone wants to connect with me directly, then LinkedIn would be the place I would recommend.
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Bridgette McAdoo leads the Global Sustainability practice at Genesys. She is responsible for sustainability as a management approach that holistically optimizes our economic, social, and environmental impact. In her role leading sustainability at Genesys, Bridgette drives our stakeholder engagement, education, and the evolution of the sustainable strategy and programs across Genesys. She also leverages sustainability metrics to track our non-financial performance and deliver integrated reports to our stakeholders
Bridgette has over 20 years of experience in sustainability leadership roles across multiple sectors, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where she most recently led corporate strategy and engagement for WWF’s Freshwater and Food goals, Global Director of Sustainability for KFC, where she headed all sustainability issues for the brand, internally within Yum! Brands and externally with various sustainability stakeholders, and operations roles that were part of NASA’s Space Shuttle and Mars Rover programs.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and an MBA in Strategy from the Drucker School of Management.
Bridgette Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Creating the foundation of sustainability at Genesys
Advice for finding and hiring good sustainability talent
Quantifying product use emissions
Strategies to align sustainability with work from home
Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals
Bridgette's Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Don't underestimate the power of two words: value and differentiation. Value, because one, it's usually not a group that has P&L responsibility, but you need to show that you can drive pipeline, help with attrition and retention. You have to show all the value that sustainability brings to the business so that it's a value proposition, not just a buzzword. Differentiation is how do you use it to set you apart from your competitors? Use it as a way to help put the company in a different lens than it usually would, and show that value. Show all the intangible values of sustainability, not just the tangible ones, all the qualifiable values, not just the quantifiable ones. That will help you to really get it elevated versus it sitting in the middle of the organizations as some people struggle with.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I'm excited that I'm starting to see a lot of emphasis on intersectionality. For so long I felt that people felt like they could only talk about one pillar at a time. It's either an environmental conversation or a diversity conversation or a governance conversation. But those should be integrated. There should be an integrated, holistic approach to how we look at sustainability, because when those things are looked at in tandem, when we integrate it, we get the real wins. I'm glad to see that even organizations are starting to restructure to be that way and not silo out the work. When that happens I just feel like the work is really not as impactful as it should be.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
Because of all the time reading all these white papers and case studies, I like to read things that are way more inspiring and motivating and so far away from sustainability. However, I just started reading Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston. I'm enjoying that book. It highlights the way we look at traditional CSR or philanthropy or impact, however your organization refers to it, is just not adequate for where we are today. That we, as leaders in this space, really need to rethink about how we drive the business differently and how we can be the change that we want to see. Another book that has been extremely impactful is Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi. It talks about and it details how racist ideas were created, spread and deeply rooted in society. It's thought-provoking and intense, but it's a fantastic read.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I have a few different distribution lists that I'm on like GreebBiz Weekly. I get a lot of things where I can see a lot of articles. Our marketing team also does a fantastic job of scouring the industry or all the latest sustainability news to make sure that we can have a pulse on what's happening. So that's been extremely useful for me as having that inside outlook and then getting it from different shareholders or key stakeholders across sustainability when I get to see different articles. The climate pledge also being a part of that; you get to see what's happening across different signatories. It's always good to be able to benchmark and look how you're trending against all the different other companies that have the same commitments.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Genesys?
You can always go to our website and you can visit genesys.com/sustainability to learn more about our sustainability initiatives, read our latest report, and stay up to date on our progress.
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Michael Cooke has held senior EHS positions in various industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and chemicals to inks and coatings and engineering. In these roles he has led businesses to world-class performance against industry peers and the top centile when benchmarked against all industries.
Michael has also held senior positions outside of EHS – as business director for a pharma division and Strategy, Mergers and Acquisition director for EMEA/Asia regions.
Currently, Michael is the Vice President of Social and Environmental Responsibility for Jabil, based in Zurich, heading EHS and Sustainability globally. In this role, he balances various functional activities, from site and people, social responsibility and human rights, HSE, health and wellbeing — linking this to a clear and effective sustainability strategy creating business value.
Michael earned his BSc (Joint Hons) in Chemistry and MSc in Environmental and Pollution Control from the University of Manchester and his MBA from Henley Management College.
Michael Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
The history of sustainability at Jabil How to engage employees with sustainability goals across a large number of sites and employees Jabil’s strategy to achieving reduction in emissions without purchasing carbon credits: reduce, produce, procure The challenges to achieving scope 3 emissions reductions a large number of suppliers The importance and incorporation of health and wellness into Jabil’s strategy Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsMichael’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give to sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Make it real. If it's window dressing or something like that, you will very soon lose traction within the employees or your other stakeholders. So make it real. Understand what your stakeholders want. Not that you can always do things for all of the stakeholders, but you can prioritize the ones where you can do that. By doing that, look to create some real value, both in terms of the companies that you work for, but also in the communities and the people in and outside of the business which will also be impacted by what you do.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
You might find this actually a bit strange; greenwashing, or the fact that greenwashing is now being looked at more closely. Right now, as I said earlier, we really are doing things in a way that is having a positive impact. We want to continue doing that. It is also important that people who make big announcements about things but aren't really delivering anything are called out. You see in the SEC in the USA that's already happened. There has been some falling out in terms of greenwashing. I also think that the way that legislation is changing in the EU, the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Director, for instance, and link to the taxonomy, means that you can't make claims as easily as you could do before without actually backing them up better. For me that's a really good thing.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read?
This is something actually when I was doing my master's degree I was referred to and read and that is Small is Beautiful. It's a book by E. F. Schumacher. He entitled it Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. I love that part because if people matter in what we do, then we generally respect the social dimension of things and the environmental and the financial aspects of what we do. Within that book, he talks about the use of natural resources and how we actually value those things, along with how people contribute negatively or positively to those things. What reminded me a bit of it was, I was actually at a conference on putting people into sustainability in London last week. What I thought was quite an interesting point: on the balance sheet, a robot is seen as an asset, but on the balance sheet, a person or people are seen as costs. That seems a bit strange that people are seen as a negative and a robot is seen as a positive. Looking at how we put people into sustainability discussion is a very important thing. And hence, I like that book.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
There's lots on the internet that you can use, but I get most of my inspiration from other companies and other people and listening to what they're doing. I think networking and that respect is probably the most beneficial way of actually being challenged and seeing how we can do things better.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Jabil?
The best thing is to go to our sustainability pages on our website. You'll see we have some great resources there. We've got some blocks from my team and other members on circular economy, on how to create a strategy for carbon reduction. We really would like some feedback on that and to see if other people are finding the same challenges, and also, I think our solutions may be helpful.
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Fawn Bergen leads Intel Corporation’s Global Water Stewardship program. Using her 21 years of experience as an environmental engineer, she manages Intel’s global water strategy and their commitment to achieve net positive water use by conserving water in operations and restoring more than 100% of their global water use by 2030. Under her leadership Intel has been honored with the 2018 US Water Prize by the US Water Alliance, 2019 Sustainability Champion by Arizona Forward, and 2019 Innovative Partnerships in Philanthropic Giving by the Portland Business Journal, for their achievements in water stewardship. Fawn is a graduate of the University of Florida.
Fawn Leads Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How Intel set their RISE 2030 Goals on climate, water and waste Carbon neutral computing The critical importance of water in manufacturing semiconductors and Intel’s water goals Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsFawn’s Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I would say: keep an open mind. I've known so many people that I went to school with; they had their career path set and of course, things changed. A lot of people would have no idea who they would be working for. That's been a fun part of my journey, the unexpected changes. The sustainability field itself is changing and growing so rapidly as the world realizes that sustainability is not a nice to-do, it's critical. Keeping yourself agile and learning new things is really important in this field. Just keep fighting the good fight. Sometimes it feels like you're only moving the needle a tiny bit, but then when you look back at what you've done, you realize that it really was a big impact. It can be daunting when you're just making that incremental change because sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back, but you have to keep trying to make just that little step forward and you will make progress over time.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
Other than our net positive water goal, our net zero greenhouse gas bill. That is going to be an immense challenge, not just for Intel, but our whole industry. What excites me is thinking about the huge impact it's going to have by getting Intel there and working with other companies as well to get everyone there. It's a huge hill to climb, but I think once we get there, it's going to have a profound impact. That potential has me very excited to work through all of these challenges.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read?
I think my favorite sustainability book is called Let There Be Water by Seth Siegel. It was a fantastic book, very well written, and I just kind of flew through it. The book is all about how Israel built one of the best (probably along with Singapore) role models of what a country can do to value water. It's a really fascinating story about how Israel did that and how they're in a desert now, but they're a very water secure country. They can even at times share water with neighboring countries. Really fascinating; it just opens your eyes to what countries can do.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
Our resources that I love are our partners; our external partners, our nonprofit environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy, the National Forest Foundation. Why I consider them a resource is because they're experts in building and supporting natural resilience of our watersheds, reforestation after wildfires. We really look to them as the experts and they shape a lot of the projects that we fund. I take back what I learned from them as far as water challenges and what companies like Intel can do from a broader sustainability standpoint. Water is so connected to climate, so a lot of our investments in water projects also have a climate benefit, they have biodiversity benefits. I learn so much from all of them. They're just a tremendous resource.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at intel.
Intel.com/responsibility is where you can get our corporate responsibility report and a lot of other details, and intel.com/water where you can read all about the projects that we funded.
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Amanda Cimaglia is currently serving as our Vice President, ESG and Corporate Affairs. Prior to joining us in January 2021, Ms. Cimaglia served as the Managing Director of Solebury Trout’s ESG 360 platform, where she advised private and public companies on the development and communication of ESG strategies, including investor relations and corporate communications initiatives. Prior to that, Amanda served as the head of investor relations and ESG at Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI), the first U.S. public company solely dedicated to investments in climate solutions, providing capital to leading companies in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable infrastructure markets. During her seven-year tenure at Hannon Armstrong, Amanda built an award-winning investor relations program, garnering the Best Overall Investor Relations (Small Cap) Award by IR Magazine, as well as being named a finalist for both Best ESG Reporting and Rising Star of investor relations. She has served as a member of the ESG working groups for both the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Amanda Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How a background in investor relations helps with managing ESG The history of sustainability as AZEK Creating recycled material and sourcing at AZEK Advice on zero waste events including the TimberTech Championship AZEK’s process of widening emission accounting The importance of leadership in integrating ESG into the business strategy at AZEKAmanda's Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I would again say ESG is a journey and not a destination. Focus on what's impactful and prioritize your ESG initiatives accordingly. We will always have the opportunity to evolve. Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
Having been in this space for the last decade of my career, the momentum that we've experienced over the last two years alone is remarkable. ESG and ESG stewardship is no longer optional. It's table stakes for everyone. I would add to that, that I am constantly encouraged and inspired by what innovations are being brought to the market, what partnerships are being created to drive circularity, drive sustainability, and the conversations that are being had across companies from the senior level of the organization to the manager level, to other employees and even hourly employees across the organization. It is a point of empowerment and a point of conversation and a point of inspiration for all of us.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I just finished a brand new book written by the Harvard Business School professor and ESG rockstar I like to call him, George Serafeim, who I had the opportunity to host for a fireside chat a couple of years ago. The book is called Purpose and Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World, and it offers a roadmap really for people at any stage of their career who seek to align their professional aspirations with their personal values. It's relatable no matter where you are in the organization, and no matter what level you are in the organization, it's relevant to both corporates and investors alike. George really discusses how the purpose of business has changed over time, how we can implement more purpose-driven strategies, and how companies can capture value. I think my favorite part of the book is how he highlights that we all have choices on what we buy, how we invest, and where we work.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I like to keep up to date on ESG issues by reading the many newsletters that are published in the ESG space such as Bloomberg Green and Harvard Law School's Forum on Corporate Governance and ESG. I would also say, being an NYSE listed company, the ESG team at the New York Stock Exchange, they do a great job on ESG programming and best practices. And finally, LinkedIn. I find a lot of inspiration from LinkedIn and I seem to wake up every day to find out something new and exciting that is happening in the field of sustainability.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work?
I'm on LinkedIn, so your listeners are welcome to find me and follow me there. Then, of course, our website, azekco.com. We have our full circle ESG report on there and a lot of additional resources to learn more about the AZEK company and how we are revolutionizing outdoor living to create a more sustainable future.
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Clarke Murphy is a leadership expert who advises the world's top companies on leadership strategies that fuel profitable growth and value for all stakeholders. He has particular expertise helping boards include sustainable competencies and track record into multi-year CEO succession processes. As the former CEO of Russell Reynolds from 2011-2021, he spearheaded a purpose-driven approach to business and led the firm through its greatest period of growth. In his new book, "Sustainable Leadership: Lessons of vision, Courage, and Grit from the CEOs Who Dared to Build a Better World," Clarke tells the stories of dynamic business executives who are using their position to solve the most complex social and economic challenges of our time. Since 2021, Clarke has co-hosted the Redefiners podcast, interviewing courageous leaders who are redefining their organizations—and themselves—to deliver extraordinary results.
Clarke Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
Commercial Leadership vs. Sustainable Leadership The mindset and four competencies of sustainable pioneers Insight on companies using sustainability to recruit/retain top talent How companies are preparing for potential SEC regulations Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsClarke's Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
Start the action. Don't be a hundred percenter. Hundred percenters want all the answers. They wanna manage all the risk. They want to know all the answers. That doesn't work. Perfection slows down progress and sustainability. Just take the first step.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I think the energy around several younger generations, not just the Gen Zs and millennials, but thousands and tens of thousands of young executives who want to be involved or are getting involved. That will accelerate the pace of change.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
Well, I hope they read mine! Sustainable Leadership by Clark Murphy. But there's another one that Henry Timms wrote called New Power. It talks about the dynamics of these generations and kind of the way companies are run. Henry Timm's New Power is a great book.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I read a lot of the research by BCG, McKinsey and the World Economic Forum, which I think are really at the moment around processes, marketing and data that's real information, not anecdotes or popularity. I like having real time data as it happens.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work and maybe find your book?
They could go to the website russellreynolds.com or they also could listen to our podcast Redefiners on wherever you get your podcasts.
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Stacy joined Shopify in January 2020 where she is the Head of Sustainability and oversees and leads the company's sustainability initiatives. She also serves on the advisory board of the Carbon Management Research Initiative (CaMRI) at Columbia University. Prior to joining Shopify, Stacy was Head of the Ozone Layer Protection Program at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Stacy has worked on several chemicals management regulatory initiatives and represented Canada as a member of delegations for the Stockholm Convention and Montreal Protocol.
Stacy Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
How Shopify began and continues to evaluate quality carbon offsets for investment Shopify acting as a customer and a demand signal for high quality investments; especially for startups How is shopify engaging customers in the fight against climate change Shopify’s carbon removal playbook Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionalsStacy's Final Five Questions Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I started this off by talking about how I came to the job that I'm at and I'm not a typical sustainability professional. What I have done is prioritized impact over everything else. That's clear in how we're trying to set up our sustainability fund and the companies that we choose, but it's also in how I've made my career choices. I've always wanted to make sure I'm in the best position at the right time to use my specific skill sets to have the most positive impact possible. I think everyone knows in the pit of their stomach when they're not playing for the right team. I think it's really important to act on that and to be strong in the skills that you do have, and to find ways to apply those to a career in sustainability or climate. There's a lot of people who are transitioning from accounting or marketing or communications and want to use their skills in sustainability or in climate. I think that it's really important to find your spot and use those skills for good. I think that's the most impactful way to drive change.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
This isn't something to be excited about, but I'll get to why I'm bringing it up. This past year we've seen a lot more of the negative effects of climate change, and they're not just being felt by populations around the equator or populations that live on the coastline. We're starting to see mainland Europe experiencing very intense heat waves, we're seeing these things become more and more commonplace in a larger swath of the planet. I'm not excited about that, but what that brings me to is the fact that a larger component of the world's population is now experiencing the negative effects of climate change that other countries and other populations have been experiencing for decades. I'm hopeful that this is going to bring this topic to the forefront and we're no longer going to be seeing the effects of climate change as somebody else's problem and we don't need to change our day to day existence or how we're operating our businesses. I think we're seeing early signs of people taking notice, because we're getting a lot of momentum in terms of funding commitments from government and the private sector to really start addressing climate change in a meaningful way. I'm hopeful that these unfortunate events are going to catalyze an acceleration in action.
What is one book you'd recommend sustainability professionals read?
I thought a little bit about this one because you've had a lot of guests and I don't want to pick the same book. I really loved The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson. He's an American biologist known for speaking a lot about how behavior in the natural world combined with natural selection can alter biology through evolution. The book describes the the breadth and depth of the planet's biodiversity, but then also talks about the effects that we're seeing on biodiversity worldwide and how this is going to be detrimental to the planet. It also offers some solutions. What I get most from this book is that our natural systems are very complex and the interconnectedness of an ecosystem is super complex. That complex system to me is almost analogous to how complex the system is that we need to drive change in to solve climate change. When we're thinking about biodiversity, the effects of one small action can have an immense impact on an ecosystem, but it's only because of its second, third and fourth order effects. It's not that one action that causes the problem. It's everything that happens after it. I think about that when I think about how to solve climate change, because it's not one action that's going to solve climate change. It's the knock-on effects of that single effort that drives more change and gets momentum. Then that complex system starts to shift and adapt. I like to hold both together. That's a great book I'd recommend it if you're wanting to think about systems and also learn more about biodiversity.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
I love reading research papers and reviews specifically related to carbon removal technology; I'm a bit of a tech nerd when it comes to things like that, being an engineer. I get a lot of my information from the AirMiners community and that's a little play on words about mining the atmosphere for carbon dioxide. They have a great community that they've set up where everybody working on carbon removal can come together and they put on all sorts of excellent webinar programming and there's publications and things like that. One of the things that works really well for me that's really basic is a list serve mailing list, almost like a Google group. It's run by professor Greg Roe who is one of the leading experts worldwide in ocean alkalinity enhancement. Again it's that connectivity that's provided. Everybody shares new journal articles or new findings from different research projects, so it's a great way to stay up to date.
Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at Shopify.
We mentioned this earlier, but I'd recommend hitting up Shopify's website www.shopify.com/climate. You'll see what we offer in terms of services for our merchants and how we're building sustainable commerce. You'll also be able to click through and see our playbook and read up on the 22 companies in our fund. If you want to get the play by play and stay up to date, I'd recommend following myself on Twitter and you can get up to date news and announcements there as well.
- Se mer
