The top 25 multinational companies reported a combined revenue of 3.18 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020, approximately 10% of the total revenue from the world’s largest companies. Their total self-reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint in 2019, including upstream and downstream emissions, amounted to about 2.7 GtCO2e, which is equivalent to roughly 5% of global GHG emissions. Source: https://newclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/CorporateClimateResponsibilityMonitor2022.pdf.
This means industry needs to change, and, as that has not happened yet for many, especially fossil fuel companies, it’s obvious that we regular folks need to change industry. There are multiple ways to do so, but one of the first, most direct ways is to get sustainability managers at corporations like described below to ensure their stakeholders and employees are all on board to fight climate change.
Sustainability Managers:
A sustainability manager, also referred to as a corporate sustainability manager or CSR (corporate social responsibility) manager, bridges the gap between the corporate world and environmental science and communities. They mainly
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help their company comply with environmental regulations at the federal, state, and local level and introduce, but also oversee sustainable practices within their organization. To do so, they not only examine the profitability of the organization, they especially watch the environmental impact of their business, so that they can make decisions or at least suggestions in regards to changes needed for the well-being of the environment and development of the company.
Most of the top corporate sustainability executives are only two degrees removed from their CEO (Chief Executive Officer) in the corporate ranking, which means their boss reports to the CEO, so they create an impact in their organization. As they are in charge of carrying out and tracking the environmental strategies, they have an influence on environmental ideas. And they work on communicating these plans, creating budgets, and marketing green strategies to vendors, customers and colleagues.
Sustainability managers generally sit in and work at a company’s corporate headquarters, although now, as it doesn’t require a lot of onsite or site visits, this job is often remote. Depending on the size of the company and the number of offices nationally and/or internationally, there can be a lot more than one sustainability manager. If they work at a consulting firm, they may work at a local company office, with multiple advisors situated in each office’s city.
Sources:
- https://unity.edu/careers/sustainability-manager/
- https://www.endsreport.com/article/1528868
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_sustainability_officer#:~:text=A%202011%20study%20found%20that,boss%20reports%20to%20the%20CEO.
Who are Sustainability Managers?
Most, 56.5%, are male and 36.5% are female and 7% unknown.
Photo courtesy of Anamul Rezwan, via Pexels.com.
Fortune 500 companies employ 23% of Sustainability Managers, followed by Manufacturing at 13%, and Retail at 12%.
Source:
https://www.zippia.com/sustainability-manager-jobs/demographics/#employment-statistics-section
How to get hold of Sustainability Managers
LinkedIn is the easiest way to find and even get in contact with individuals in charge of sustainability; (however, see our contact list below.) You can message or sometimes even email them (usually via private email) by clicking the “contact info” button in the header information of their linkedin profile, although our ability to message them may be limited based on yours or their level of the app.
One of the best ways to get started in talking to a Sustainability Manager is to just ask via email or message for an informal, informational chat – learn first about what they do, their goals, and their ability to create change. It can be in person or via phone. If they aren’t the right person to talk to, they may give you another contact to reach out to.
If you want to make a specific point, recommendation, or complaint, then it’s better to send a letter/email, so it is in the record; we have more on that below.
For instance, sustainability managers within the following companies in Washington DC could be good to work with:
- Fannie Mae
- WMATA
- FTI Consulting
- Lockheed Martin
- National Geographic Society
- JP Morgan Chase
- They had a Corporate Sustainability position open in DC recently and a few other sustainable related positions, so they seem like they are becoming more active!
- https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/our-people/marisa-buchanan/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-buchanan-2b10206/
- Marriott International.
- Hilton
- Children’s National Hospital
What should we ask them to do?
Each letter/email/discussion should focus efforts on one specific issue regarding how these companies can lower their CO2 emissions, as well as noting to get individual employees involved in doing so as well.
Here is an example letter/template for writing a company manager: Person writing Industry v1.
____________________________________________________________________
Top Businesses in the US that Cause Global Warming
1. Chevron
Top level: Veronica Blackwell – General Manager, Environment & Sustainability at Chevron https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-blackwell-3a0115/
Chevron Headquarters
6001 Bollinger Canyon Road
San Ramon, CA 94583, USA
Telephone: +1 925-842-1000
2. Exxon Mobile
Paul Krishna – Sustainability Manager at ExxonMobil https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-krishna-28132911/, Daniel Trujillo – Public & Government Affairs CSR & Impact Leader https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltrujillo/
Exxon Mobile Headquarters
5959 Las Colinas Boulevard
Irving, Texas 75039-2298
Telephone: +1 972- 940-6000
3. Conoco Phillips
Dominic Macklon – EVP Strategy, Sustainability & Technology at ConocoPhillip, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-macklon-79a1ab48/
Conoco Phillips Headquarters
P.O. Box 2197
Houston, Texas 77079
Telephone: +1 281-293-1000
4. Peabody Energy
No known person found on linkedin with a sustainability title. The closest we could find: Matthew Nugen – VP Government Relations at Peabody Energy https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-nugen-a5374873/
Peabody Corporate Headquarters
701 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63101-1826
Telephone: +1 314-342-3400
5. Consol Energy
Jacqueline Fidler – Vice President, Environmental & Sustainability at Consol Energy https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-fidler-16321863/
Consol Energy
1000 Consol Energy Drive
Canonburg, PA 15317
Telephone: + 1 724-485-4000
6. Arch Coal Inc.
Erwin Sass – President, GM at Arch Coal https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwin-sass-2216bb41/
Arch Coal Inc.
1 CityPlace Drive, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63141
Telephone: +1 314-994-2700
7. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Contact unknown.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
1201 Lake Robbins Dr.
The Woodlands, TX, 77380-1124
Telephone: +1 832-636-1000
8. Occidental
Anthony Cottone – Sr. Director – Strategy & Sustainability at Occidental
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-cottone-5939734/
5 Greenway Plaza, Suite 110
Houston, Texas 77046-0521
Telephone: +1 713-215-7000
9. Alpha Natural Resources
Michael Vance – Environmental Manager at Alpha Natural Resources
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-vance-323254114/
Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., Julian Office
300 Running Right Way
Julian, WV 25529
Telephone: +1 304-369-8500
10. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co.
A Sustainability Manager for this company could not be located.
11. Westmoreland Mining
A Sustainability Manager for this company could not be located.
Amelia Chucholowski by day is a Conference and Event planner, but she dives into the green world after hours. She is a Green Neighbors DC volunteer and a current Corporate Sustainability and Innovation certificate student. She loves riding bikes around the DC area for both pleasure and necessity and is a supporter of planned bike infrastructure.
I do a lot of something much like this, but on their website comments, personal ceo emails via the Climate Action Now app, or corporate sustainability twitter accounts whether run by a manager or by an unknown twitter person. I don’t have much of a linkedin presence. I thought of moving my cold contacting climate activism presence there. What are the advantages of contacting them on the
linkedin platform? I wouldn’t be risking anything as I am an artist and poet and supported by my husband. But someone I know who uses primarily LinkedIn says it would be strange and considered odd to be reaching out like that. Any advice on cold contacting on LinkedIn? How to not come off strange? Should we just start there arms normalize such things?
Although their LinkedIn addresses are given, I actually recommend first contacting them via their mailing address, also given. I get a lot of cold contacts on Linked In, but most are with very specific goals/collaborations in mind. If you do a cold contact on LinkedIn, I would first do a lot of research on what projects they have, and come up with a specific (maybe artistic-minded) solution/request for them. Maybe start off saying, I am researching how potential carbon emission reductions, or I have come across a climate artist’s platform that I think you might like to support, or something that makes it a person-person contact, instead of an just a general activist-corporation contact. Does that make sense?
Yes, thank you, Annette. If I were to use LinkedIn I would really only do it for partnership ideas, of which I’ve had several and a few that came to be. This makes sense. For now, however, I’ll wallow in the twitter universe as it feels more comfortable.
🙂