Sustaining Sustainability

In this episode, Chris is joined from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania by Liz Vescio, the ESG Advisor at Crown Castle. Crown Castle is a S&P 500 company that owns, operates, and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber, supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market.

Its $10 billion investment in communications infrastructure within low-income communities affirms that Crown Castle is inclusively enabling connectivity between people, communities, and businesses. In her current role, Liz leads Crown Castle’s environmental, social, governance or ESG efforts. Through collaboration with leaders across the company, she identifies opportunities to achieve ESG goals, ensures alignment of ESG efforts to company goals, and is responsible for ESG public disclosure.

In the episode Liz and Chris discuss:

- Embedding your ESG strategy in your business identity

- Being intentional with investing in your value chain

- Collaborating across functions for more sustainability wins, and more...

Referenced Materials in this episode:

Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, “ESG – Are We Experiencing a Reporting Revolution?”: https://www.picpa.org/keep-informed/insights/esg

GreenBiz, “Is sustainability becoming all about accounting?”: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/sustainability-becoming-all-about-accounting?utm_source2=NYSE%20-%20ESG%20Newsletter%20-%202023_03_17

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This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcod

In this episode, Chris is joined from Durham, North Carolina by Katie Kross, the Managing Director of the Center for Energy, Development and Global Environment at Duke University including the ClimateCAP Initiative, a partnership of 20+ business schools advancing education about the business risks of climate change.

Katie has spent more than 15 years in university and nonprofit administration and is the author of Profession and Purpose: A Resource Guide for MBA Careers in Sustainability.

We’ve asked Katie here to reflect on the most recent ClimateCAP Summit, an annual event that brings MBA students and industry leaders together to learn about the business implications of climate change.

In the Episode Katie and Chris discuss:

📚 Educating future business leaders on sustainability

🏙️ Decarbonizing even the most challenging industries

🔦 Shining a light on sustainable business issues, and more...

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This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcod

In this episode, CSB Associate Director Chris Gassman is joined from Portugal by Carlos de Jesus, Operational Director at APCOR, the Portuguese Cork Association.

APCOR was founded in 1956 and establishes cork production and manufacturing standards, promotes Research & Development, and educates both professionals and consumers.

Cork is a sustainable and regenerative material for bottle closures, for example a Life Cycle Analysis by PwC found that a plastic closure emits 10 times more CO2 than a cork stopper and aluminum cap closures emit 24 times more CO2 than a cork stopper.

APCOR has approximately 270 members who represent more than 85% of cork exports from Portugal.

In addition to his work with APCOR, Carlos is the Director Marketing & Communications at Amorim Cork, the largest cork supplier in the world.

In the Episode Carlos and Chris discuss

- 💶 Making material choices that sequester carbon instead of creating it

- 🔧 Multi-solving for labor and climate challenges with the same solution

- 🏘️ Embedding the benefits of the business in communities, and more...

Stay tuned to the end for a short message from Sustaining Sustainability’s Producer and Editor, Kristen P Ahern.

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This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcod

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Chicago, Illinois by Kim Frankovich, Global VP of Sustainability at Griffith Foods.

Griffith Foods has been bringing food science into the food industry for over 100 years to improve safety and nutrition. As of 2020, they held an Ecovadis Silver certification with just over 60% of their suppliers being Ecovadis bronze certified or better. Griffith reduced manufacturing waste to landfill by 41% from 2014 to 2020 with 13 facilities sending zero waste to landfill.

Kim joined Griffith Foods in 2022 and brings over 15 years of experience in sustainability in the food and packaging industry with interests in preserving forests, human rights, and improving farmer incomes.

In the Episode Kim Griffith and and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

🌱 Ensuring access to safe and sustainable food with science

🚜 Meeting a variety of customer sustainability needs

🌾 Listening to and investing in farming communities

and more...

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Submit your "Sustaining Sustainability" feedback and/or questions: bit.ly/csbpodcastfeedback

This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcod

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from San Francisco California by Izabel Loinaz, Associate Client Partner, ESG & Sustainability Solutions of Korn Ferry.

Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm ranked in the top 2% on SustainAlytics’ ESG Risk Rating in 2021 and CDP’s highest Leadership rating in 2022. As of 2021, 70% of their buildings are certified by green building standards, up 19% from 2020. Korn Ferry is also recognized as a leading workplace for parents, women, veterans, and LGBT individuals.

Izabel joined Korn Ferry in 2021 and brings with her more than 20 years of catalyzing innovation and resilience across entrepreneurial, corporate, and public institutions.

Izabel Loinaz and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:

🔊 Understanding the urgency for the need of better industry

🚀 Training future generations for a climate resilient workforce

🖥️ Using tech and sustainability can create a new, intertwined method of business, and more...

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AT OUR NEXT EVENT on Mar. 9, 2023 | Middle America Network Convening: From 3pm to 4pm the Center for Sustainable Business will be convening regional representatives from academia, business, industry, community development groups and many others. Discussion will be guided by our Decarbonize Middle America Program Manager, Lou Tierno. This is your chance to guide sustainable development in Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley!

Register for free today: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6m87852gLlHmNT0

Sign up to receive bi-weekly episodes right to your inbox: bit.ly/csbpodcastemail

Submit your "Sustaining Sustainability" feedback and/or questions: bit.ly/csbpodcastfeedback

This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcod

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined by CSB Senior Associate Director Chris Gassman to put the spotlight on CB and introduce Chris who will be hosting future episodes of Sustaining Sustainability.

CB is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Business here at the University of Pittsburgh and the H.J. Zoffer Chair in Sustainability and Ethics at the Katz Graduate School of Business.

He has published over 100 articles and has over 41,000 citations per Google Scholar. His latest book, Small Actions Big Difference: Leveraging Corporate Sustainability to Drive Business and Societal Value was published in 2019 accompanied by a TEDx talk by the same title. CB has also conducted research and consulted for many organizations such as Allianz, AT&T, Bosch, ENEL, General Mills, Green Mountain Coffee, Unilever, and many others.

In the Episode Chris Gassman and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- Researching market solutions for buying less

- Training the workforce for a just transition

- Embedding social and environmental responsibility into the corporate DNA, and more...

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AT OUR NEXT EVENT

Feb. 21, 2023 | Building A Circular Economy in Manufacturing | Decarbonize Middle America Strategy Primer: Learn how the region’s industrial legacy can lead to a thriving future for Circular Manufacturing in Appalachia. We will discuss accelerating regulatory structure and interoperation agreements. This event will introduce the concept of Circular Manufacturing and kick off many upcoming events focusing on the subject. FREE and open to the public. Register here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/1116736377643/WN_CX8rTPmOTdqM4cSQ-PR0DQ

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from London, England by Adam Woodhall, Chief Executive and Founder of Lawyers for Net Zero.

Adam is an entrepreneur and climate expert with 15 years of experience delivering climate action, both with cleantech start-ups and household names, such as PwC, Network Rail and Allianz Insurance. In 2020 he realized the legal sector, particularly in-house counsel, was a largely untapped driver for achieving Net Zero. The Lawyers for Net Zero initiative now has over 100 in-house lawyers, with many high-profile Champions taking part in their ‘Impact Programme,’ including from organizations such as Standard Chartered Bank, GSK, Nestle, and Rolls Royce.

Adam Woodhall and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:

How in house council are uniquely positioned to influence business change,

"Greenwashing" as a business RISK,

Using ESG metrics to authentically represent your initiatives, not using them to hide negative impacts

and more...

Subscribe here: https://www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu/join-us/email-sign-up

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Old Greenwich, Connecticut by Andrew Winston of Winston Eco-Strategies. It contains conversation highlights recorded in October at an exclusive C-Suite member event. Email us about future opportunities for yourself or a colleague to join us for peer-to-peer learning events like this one.

Andrew is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. Named to Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers in the world, he is the author of the bestsellers Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and most recently, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take (co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman). Net Positive was one of the Financial Times’ Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew received degrees in economics, business, and environmental management from Princeton, Columbia, and Yale.

Andrew Winston and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:  

⚖️ Making the moral case for practical business climate solutions that lead to a thriving world,

📈 Demonstrating how ESG literacy is good for businesses to balance the needs of investors and other stakeholders,

💼 Creating dedicated roles to address the long term challenges climate change will present, the same way you would for other business challenges,

and more...

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from San Diego, California by Dr. Jacqueline Kerr, a behavior-change scientist, writer, mom, entrepreneur, and burnout survivor. 

Jacqueline is in the top 1% of most cited social scientists according to Web of Science’s list of Highly Cited Researchers from 2014-2021. Her work on health interventions was included in the CDC’s Community Prevention Guide. She is the host of the podcast Overcoming Working Mom Burnout and offers many free resources on spotting employee burnout. 

Jacqueline and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:  

🔥 How employers and business leaders can better spot, address, and prevent burnout in the office and in remote work settings, 

⚖️ Why businesses must create a fair and thriving workplace to burnout-proof their teams, reduce bias, and foster greater engagement, 

✅ How companies can employ key performance indicators rooted in wellness, retention, and DEI to address the unique set of challenges faced by mothers in the workplace, and more...

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Please submit any feedback and/or questions you have to bit.ly/csbpodcastfeedback

This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Pittsburgh, PA by Diane Kappas, a University of Pittsburgh alumna & Vice President of Global Sustainability at PPG, a founding member of the CSB.  

Diane has been with PPG for over 35 years and has held leadership roles in a variety of functions with P&L responsibilities. She recently transitioned to the newly created role of VP of Global Sustainability in 2021. Here, she leads a small global team that collaborates across PPG to drive the company’s sustainability efforts.  

Diane and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:

♻️ Working with local, national, and global supply chains to facilitate the adoption of a circular economy,  

📖 Mobilizing workforces to be engaged in reducing the environmental impact of operations through improved ESG literacy,  

🎯 Reducing energy consumption, water intensity, and greenhouse gas emissions with Science Based Target initiatives, and more...

PPG operations reach more than 70 countries, and the company had net sales of more than $16.8 billion in 2021 with 38% of sales from sustainably advantaged products.

In 2022, PPG achieved several sustainability accolades, including:

- Named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion”

- Earned an EcoVadis Gold rating

- Named the Top Producer of Sustainable Paints and Coatings by Corporate Knights’ CLEAN200 list. 

Please submit any feedback and/or questions you have to http://bit.ly/csbpodcastfeedback

This episode was researched, recorded, edited, and produced by Prof. CB Bhattacharya and CSB Team of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sustainable Business: www.sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

Music: "Lively" by Dee Yan-Key From the Free Music Archive CC BY NC SA