Sustaining Sustainability

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in the final days of COP27 by Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, the Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer at Schneider Electric.

There she leads the development of strategic, sustainability, and quality initiatives while steering all the Merger, Acquisitions, and Divestment activities.  

Schneider Electric is recognized as a Global 100 Most Sustainable company with 180 years of innovation experience. In 2021 they were named the #1 Most Sustainable Corporation by Corporate Knights and, as of last year, they had provided over 4 Million people with access to green electricity. 

Gwen and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:  

🌍 How COP27 has focused on implementation over mere negotiations 

🚛 Schneider Electric’s approach to partnering with companies to help decarbonize their own supply chains 

📉 How the private sector can use ESG measurement & reporting to achieve their climate commitments and more...

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Cardiff Wales by Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. 

Sophie and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss:

🚇 How using a public health lens to imagine solutions for transportation challenge can spur decarbonization.

📓 How a holistic approach to education and a public safety net can can provide for ethical, fulfilled, global citizens while saving money.

💬 Why businesses benefit from long term government goals to operate across boundaries to create public/private partnerships, and more… 

This week we are joined from Cardiff by Sophie Howe, the Future Generations Commissioner of Wales, the first person to hold this globally unique position.  

During her term, Sophie successfully got the Government to redirect funds toward public transportation solutions, away from roadway development, including a 10-fold investment in cycling and walking routes, targeted at neighborhoods with the highest air pollution and lowest life expectancy. Her office has championed the voice of young people with a new future fit school curriculum in Wales and extended voting rights to those as young as 16.

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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 San Jose, California by Steve Lohr, president and CEO at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines.

With a portfolio of 36 wines totaling 1.8 million cases, California’s J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is one of the larger operations in California and a major player in the US wine market. Their strides in the sustainability arena include reducing the amount of water needed to make a gallon of wine by half, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across their 3-acre array, and investing in a solar power system at its Monterey estate vineyard that powers nearly 100% of its energy needs.

With approximately 250 employees around the country, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is one of the Top 25 wineries in the country by case volume. An important part of their success over the decades has been the team’s conscientious “farming for the future programs.” In fact, J. Lohr was one of the very first vineyards in California to earn the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing distinction.

In the Episode Steve Lohr and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- How J. Lohr decreased dependence on oil-based fertilizers, using a common winemaking byproduct instead.

- What innovative conservation efforts to help “drought-proof” the wine industry.

- Why long-term thinking in the industry includes planning for the next generation of both vines and people through soil health, 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 Director CB Bhattacharya is from our hometown Pittsburgh, PA by Will Pickering, Chief Executive Officer at Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA). Prior to transitioning to CEO in 2021, he served as the Deputy Executive Director and Director of Public Affairs at PWSA. 

In the Episode Will Pickering and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss...  

- Why finding a deeper sense of purpose can help rally the workforce during the Great Reshuffle, 

- What an equitable water future looks like for the citizens of Pittsburgh, 

- How PWSA is protecting public health and the environment through the delivery of safe and reliable water services, and more...

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While Pittsburgh is rich in water resources from the surrounding rivers, complex and interlocking water inequities abound.

Water-related challenges disproportionately affect low-income people and communities of color. The economic and health ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have hit communities of color at much higher rates than white communities, have also exasperated these issues. 

As a public utility, PWSA is responsible for serving as a mindful steward of our water system and continuing to provide essential and dependable water services now and for generations to come. Right now, they’re making decisions that will impact Pittsburgh for the next 100 years.  

With over 350 employees across all of its locations, PWSA produces an average of 66 million gallons of water per day and serves approximately 300,000 customers with an annual operating budget of $3 million.

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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

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is from San Francisco, California by Danielle Jezienicki, Senior Director of Sustainability at Grove Collaborative.

A certified B Corporation, Grove Collaborative creates and curates 150+ sustainable, high-performing brands. Their products are plastic neutral and carbon neutral, and the company has committed to being 100% plastic-free by 2025.

Please note this episode was pre-recorded in July, prior to the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. Danielle’s final call to action still stands after the passing of this and other climate-related legislation. We encourage you to continue finding ways to move forward by engaging in conversations with your Elected Officials.

With net revenue of over $300 million and nearly 500 employees, Grove Collaborative is devoted to more than just profits, and has made public commitments to support a deforestation-free supply chain, remove harmful chemicals from the home, and encourage justice and equity in the workplace and beyond.

In fact, they recently exceeded their goal to source an additional $250,000 of products and goods from Black-owned businesses through 2021 by over $100,000.

In this episode, Danielle and CB discuss...

Grove’s commitment to going completely plastic-free by 2025,

How companies can achieve their targets for scopes 1-3 to be net-zero with science-based approaches,

Ways to lighten your footprint at home, 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 Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Pittsburgh, PA by Christine Waller, Vice President of Communications, ESG, and Corporate Giving at Duquesne Light Company.

With a peak revenue of $942.1M in 2021 and over 1,700 employees, Duquesne Light Company is dedicated to delivering safe, resilient, reliable, and affordable energy to more than 600,000 customers in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Since joining DLC in December 2021, Christine has been responsible for leading the company’s sustainability and community-focused communication and outreach strategy. Prior to this, she was the head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Viatris, a multi-billion-dollar, Pittsburgh-area pharmaceutical company. In this role, she launched the company’s CSR strategy and oversaw ESG, corporate giving and community and stakeholder outreach.

In the Episode Christine Waller and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- The challenges around advocating for electric mobility and supporting the transition to clean energy,

- How DLC is harnessing carbon-free solar energy to support employees who drive electric vehicles,

- How to create a more inclusive, safe, and equitable workforce for all, 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 Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York by Seth Godin, writer, 5-time TED talk speaker, founder of Akimbo, and coordinator of The Carbon Almanac: It’s Not Too Late.

A collection of more than 300 pages of tables, charts, illustrations, insights, quotes, and ways to understand what’s going on with climate change, The Carbon Almanac is a collaboration between more than 300 writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that provide credible and authoritative information on carbon and its impact on climate.

Seth has written over 20 bestselling books and his work has been translated into nearly 40 languages. He is also a pioneer of ethical online direct marketing, now a $30bn a year industry.

In the Episode Seth Godin and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- What is carbon, why it matters, and why we should care,

- Advice on how companies can avoid unethical marketing and greenwashing,

- How to rethink consumption and production systems, 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

An inclusive event for C-Suite executives from CSB member companies, the CSB Solution Saloon was an opportunity to hear from Strategic Advisory Council member Paul Polman, who was described by the Financial Times as the "a standout CEO of the past decade."

Paul shared insights from his experiences as CEO of #Unilever from 2009 - 2019 and as a member of several high-level UN and civil society initiatives, in addition to key takeaways from his new book "Net Positive."

Paul's presentation was followed by a Q&A session and a peer discussion among attendees led by CSB Director Professor CB Bhattacharya.

#netpositive #PaulPolman #Pitt #SustainableBusiness

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About our Strategic Advisory Council:

The Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) helps companies transition to more sustainable business models by leveraging the role of corporate purpose and the integration of sustainability throughout the organization.

To assist in this mission, the CSB is guided by the substantive expertise, intellectual vision, critical depth, and professional connections of a high-level group of industry and civil society leaders who serve on the CSB’s Strategic Advisory Council (SAC).

The SAC advises the Center for Sustainable Business on current #sustainability trends in corporate settings, provides direction for innovative teaching and research agendas, increases the visibility of the CSB’s activities, and acts as a sounding board for CSB outputs to ensure that the CSB is delivering on its mission across all three programmatic areas of thought leadership, research, and education.

In this latter role, the SAC will help to assess and evaluate whether the CSB is delivering on its value proposition to corporate sponsors and community partners by reviewing semi-annual progress reports and offering feedback to CSB senior leadership.

Contact us today to learn more about joining our Strategic Advisory Council!

412-383-0795

sustainablebusiness.pitt.edu

In this episode, CSB Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from Pittsburgh, PA by Martin Jarzebowski, Director of ESG & Responsible Investing at Federated Hermes, a global investment leader with $630 billion dollars in assets under management and nearly 2,000 employees in Pittsburgh, London, New York, Boston, and offices worldwide.

Martin leads the integration of ESG, active engagement, and analytics across all asset classes and responsible investment solutions. He is a former portfolio manager and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Finance at the University of Rochester Simon Business School, CFA Institute ESG Technical Committee, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, Harvard Law School Institutional Investor Forum, and is a regular Forbes ESG Thought Leader.

Federated Hermes has over 60 ESG subject-matter experts and is one of the world’s largest stewardship and engagement databases with 18 years of proprietary data.

In the Episode Martin Jarzebowski and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- Trends in sustainable investing and stewardship engagement that have emerged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,

- The various financial materiality matrixes used across a plethora of industries, or in short, the notion that ESG is not a one-size-fits-all approach,

- The impact of the SEC’s recent climate-risk disclosure proposal discussion on carbon transparency in the United States, 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 Director CB Bhattacharya is joined from San Jose, California by Sharon Mandell, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Juniper Networks, a $4.5 billion company that develops and markets networking products including routers, switches, network management software, and more. Sharon leads the ongoing enhancement of the company’s IT infrastructure and applications architectures to support the growth objectives of the company. She and her team are also responsible for showcasing Juniper’s use of its technologies to the world.

Juniper’s ongoing commitment to reducing materials use and converting ocean-bound plastics into useful packaging is saving nearly 50,000 pounds of virgin paper and 24,000 pounds of virgin plastic each year. They continue to focus on climate change and are investing in onsite energy generation and energy purchases from renewable and lower-carbon sources.

In the Episode Sharon Mandell and Prof. Bhattacharya discuss

- How companies can find synergy between their own environmental impact and that of their customers,

- Supporting women as they pursue careers in STEM and advocating for them once they obtain those positions,

- How employers can address the issue of women’s participation in the workforce declining due to the pandemic, 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