Sustainable Nation

著者: Josh Prigge: CEO of Sustridge Sustainability Consulting
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  • The Sustainable Nation Podcast delivers interviews with global leaders in sustainability and ESG. Our goal is to provide sustainability and ESG professionals, business leaders, academics, government officials and anyone interested in joining the sustainability revolution, with information and insights from the world's most inspiring change-makers.
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The Sustainable Nation Podcast delivers interviews with global leaders in sustainability and ESG. Our goal is to provide sustainability and ESG professionals, business leaders, academics, government officials and anyone interested in joining the sustainability revolution, with information and insights from the world's most inspiring change-makers.
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  • Erik Distler - VP, Head of Sustainability at AEG
    2024/10/29
    Erik Distler is responsible for overseeing AEG Sustainability, the organization’s corporate sustainability program. In this capacity, he focuses on global strategies and tactics that address operational impacts and capture and measure data across key environmental metrics, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste reduction. He also supports AEG’s global business units in the implementation and execution of sustainability initiatives, manages external partnerships related to sustainability, facilitates the sharing of best practices, and ensures that sustainability is a source of value across the company. Distler has worked at the intersection of environmental and social responsibility in sports and entertainment for more than ten years. Before joining AEG, he built and led the sports-focused sustainability strategy and program at Nike. Prior to Nike, he was with the Green Sports Alliance where he oversaw relationships with corporate partners, live entertainment events, professional sports leagues and clubs, sports governing bodies, and collegiate schools and conferences, as well as working extensively with ESPN. He also spent time as a sustainability consultant with PwC. Distler began his career in accounting and finance, where he worked for Deloitte and The Siegfried Group LLP for the first seven years of his career. He received his Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Iowa State University, graduating with Honors and High Distinction.. Erik Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: How AEG manages sustainability at large events like music festivalsPiloting initiatives at smaller events to apply learnings and replicate at larger eventsIncorporating reusable materials at events in partnership with Our WorldAdvice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Erik’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 have as many conversations as you can. Sustainability departments are often departments and functions that are in service to the business. We tend to operate as internal consultants. So how can we be everywhere at the same time? How can we ensure that every part of the business has the opportunity to build sustainability into their work? How do we consult to provide subject matter expertise to the business? The work we do within the department is measurement and data and setting sustainability targets and all that kind of exists within our function. But it all starts with having conversations. I wouldn't be afraid to sit down with someone and ask them more questions than provide statements on how they feel, how they perceive sustainability, where they feel as though it's working, where it's not working, what can we do more of that really helped build out our sustainability strategy. Do a little bit of a needs assessment on what stakeholders and partners value. The only other thing I'd say too secondary is, don't be afraid to start somewhere. I think we often feel as though the challenges we're up against are audacious and global and all encompassing, and they are. It can sometimes feel like we're out at sea against a massive challenge on our own when we think of climate issues. That can freeze one up. It can stifle movement. You can feel like, "well, what can I do? I can't possibly make a difference." It’s amazing what just taking one small step can lead to. There's been this kind of backlash against incrementalism in the space, like we need big changes, not incremental changes, but I don't know that I agree with that. I think an incremental quick change that you can grow on and iterate from can turn into something very big. So don't be afraid to start somewhere. Start with something that you can measure, for sure. But have those conversations and turn those small steps into big steps. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? There's a lot to be excited about. When realizing the gravity of the issue that we're facing, I think it's important to find sources of encouragement and hopefulness. There's really no other way. There’s a line by Walt Kelly from his pogo comic strip many years ago that says, “we are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” I use that and refer to that a lot. Try to figure out what is the opportunity in front of us and be optimistic about it. I think there's an excitement around the external forces. They're becoming louder and more influential, and that's encouraging. Our fans, our partners, our sponsors, our artists and entertainers. There’s more of a voice and more influence that is being laid upon us and expected from us. I think collaboration is increasing cross-sector research companies that are competitive coming together in a pre-competitive way. Higher ...
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    38 分
  • Ellen Jackowski - Chief  Sustainability Officer and EVP at Mastercard
    2024/10/10

    Ellen is spearheading the integration of Mastercard's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy into the organization. As part of this work, she is driving climate leadership for Mastercard-wide programs and commitments, such as reaching net-zero emissions by 2040, and helping accelerate the company’s impact in climate action initiatives like Priceless Planet Coalition. Mastercard’s ESG efforts, established more than a decade ago, are rooted in a belief of doing well by doing good in order to have true impact and enable both people and the planet to thrive.

    Previously, Ellen served as Chief Impact Officer and Head of Sustainable Impact at HP. Her global team developed and delivered a wide range of programs focused on climate action, human rights and digital equity. Earlier in her career, she served in several management and consulting roles.

    Ellen is part of the advisory board of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, is a deputy advisor on the World Economic Forum’s Champions for Nature community and has served as a faculty member of The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge.

    Ellen Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:

    • Mastercard's net zero goals, sustainable consumption strategy, and inclusive climate action
    • Decoupling emissions from growth through strategies like tying compensation to progress on ESG targets/supplier engagement
    • MasterCard’s Priceless Planet Coalition
    • Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals

    Ellen’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 way I think about sustainability jobs now, every job is a sustainability job. Some people may have heard that before, but I truly believe that, especially as we're working across all the different areas of MasterCard to innovate in this space. I need marketing professionals to help us inspire more sustainable consumption in the messaging that they're creating and in the partnerships and the sponsorships that they're funding. I need engineering to be thinking about how energy efficient is the code they're creating, they need to be on board with this as well. I need our technology team to ensure that when we're expanding our data centers, they're choosing the most sustainable servers and partners who can help us innovate and achieve net zero. So no matter what role you're in, there really is a sustainability impact and an angle to that job. I just encourage people to think about what they can do to raise the bar to make more aggressive progress in this space.

    What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?

    We're just seeing such a shift. There's never been so much positive energy in terms of tackling the climate crisis and it's coming from all different areas. The next generation is certainly being more vocal than ever before. I'm seeing innovation and inspiration come from different colleagues where maybe you didn't hear it so much in the past, but now, everybody wants to be on the sustainability team and they're bringing real ideas and solutions and innovation. I just feel like the energy that is focused on this issue right now is stronger than ever before, and I think that's really exciting.

    What is one book you'd recommend sustainability leaders read?

    I tend to be more of a podcaster or a newspaper reader, so I'm going to choose a book that's based on my favorite podcast, Outrage and Optimism. The book is The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac.

    What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?

    I mentioned Outrage and Optimism, that podcast, if you haven't listened to it, I think it's a fantastic resource. Project Drawdown continues to bring incredible tools as well to this space. In terms of staying on top of the latest news, the climate forward section of the New York Times I find is very valuable. The Guardian also reports quite a bit in this space. So lots of different resources, but I'll always go back to Outrage and Optimism.

    Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at MasterCard?

    You can follow me on LinkedIn, Ellen Jackowski. If you want more information about what MasterCard is doing or to skim our EHG report, you can go to the MasterCard website, mastercard.com and search sustainability and you'll find lots of resources and information there.

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    29 分
  • Jonah Smith - Vice President, Environmental Social Governance Strategy and Programs at IBM
    2024/09/03
    Jonah Smith joined IBM in 2023 as Vice President, Environmental Social Governance Strategy and Programs. In addition to leading global ESG strategy, goals, stakeholder engagement, reporting and governance, Jonah’s responsibilities also entail the development and implementation of environmental social innovation programs such as the IBM Sustainability Accelerator. Prior to IBM, Jonah led ESG at Kraft Heinz as its Global Head of Environmental Social Governance & President of the Kraft Heinz Foundation. Prior to Kraft Heinz Jonah held similar roles at Grainger and MillerCoors, has done stints in socially responsible investing, teaching sustainability at the university level, and served as the Sustainable Business Director at a non-profit, the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Jonah’s career spans about two decades in sustainability, CSR/ESG. Jonah holds an MBA in Sustainable Business from Pinchot University (formerly Bainbridge Graduate Institute). In addition, Jonah holds a MS in Conservation Biology & Ecosystem Management, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and finally a BA in English Literature, all from the University of Michigan. While in graduate school at what is now SEAS (formerly SNRE), Jonah’s 1.5 years Master’s opus researched and prescribed proper valuation of water resources and sustainability in Brazil. Jonah Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: IBM’s study: Beyond Checking the BoxKey characteristics of companies that effectively embed sustainability across the organization Data useability as a key challenge to sustainable business valueIBM’s Sustainability Accelerator ProgramAdvice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Jonah’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 what your sweet spot is in terms of what's meaningful to you. What are your passions? What are you most passionate about? Really be honest with yourself about that. Don’t just look at what’s the biggest paycheck or whatever else it may be, but look at what you're most passionate about and what your day-to-day life will be like doing that work. We're all the most effective when we're doing things that are really meaningful to us, right? I love, love, love the work that I do. We're all gonna have challenges every day in our work, but if you really love and feel passionate about that work, it's easier to get over those challenges. Have an honest self-reflection with yourself on that. And then envision yourself how you're going to retire and build a pathway backwards from that retirement space. Talk to people who are in a similar role at a similar company that you'd like to be at, or a nonprofit, if it's a nonprofit or if it's with the government, whatever it may be. Do that networking. Then walk yourself all the way back and then take a stair step ladder in order to achieve what you just walked out of. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm really excited about the potential of AI to really help accelerate our ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change, both in terms of tracking, reporting it, as well as actually helping through initiatives like I just mentioned with our Sustainability Accelerator Program, for example. We're past the tipping point. The time is yesterday in terms of how we need to act on this stuff. We all need to do our part. So it really excites me. That's why I'm at IBM. It really excites me when I think about IBM's ability to really help the world achieve this. If everyone can get as excited as I am about that, and we start acting on that excitement, I think we will be in a much better space. What is one book you'd recommend Sustainability Leaders Read? If I had to just pick out one, I might go back to my roots a little bit on this one. The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawkin was a book when I was in grad school that was often referred to. There's so many different books we're always learning new things and it's always good to keep your finger on the pulse of whatever's going on and present time. But also sometimes it's good to look back at where we were. That book does a great job of making connections in a way that I think takes us back to the roots of our planet's ecosystem services, the connection between biodiversity and nature and ecosystem. I think it really would help build a foundation for folks to then really be able to apply with better intention in today's modern world, what's going on and all the impacts and where we need to get back to or where we need to go to. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? Our IBM Envizi tool. It’s super powerful, super comprehensive. I wish I had it throughout my career at other companies that I've worked at as we struggled with data and on all sorts of different ...
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    42 分

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