Sustainable Nation

As Managing Director, Global Environmental Affairs and Sustainability at United Airlines, Lauren is responsible for leading United's efforts in environmental compliance, waste, water and energy management, sustainable aviation fuel, and overall environmental sustainability strategy. These initiatives are designed to support United's goal of achieving a 50% reduction of carbon emissions by 2050. La...

With over 3 decades of experience at Procter & Gamble in Brand Management and Innovation, Virginie has a broad experience across multiple categories and global to local brand management expertise. Virginie has worked across several of P&G's multi-billion dollar brands, including Pantene, Ariel/Tide, and Pampers, and has extensive international experience having been based in France, UK, Switzerlan...

Erin gives voice to Interface's conscience, ensuring that strategy and goals are in sync with its aggressive sustainability vision established more than 20 years ago. Today, Interface has evolved its thinking to go beyond doing less harm to creating positive impacts, not just for Interface and the flooring industry, but for the world at large. Erin led the company to unveil a new mission in 2016 –...

As Senior Director of Brand, Reputation & Impact, Tabitha Upshaw leads NI's global Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy, where purpose and social impact meet brand. A seasoned marketing and nonprofit leader, Tabitha has worked at the intersection of brand and corporate citizenship for more than 10 years, helping organizations use their strengths and innovative spirit to be a powerful...

Ratish Namboothiry is the Director for Innovation for Good and Sustainability at Kohler Co. Innovation for Good (IfG) is Kohler's internal volunteer think tank created to incubate new ideas for social impact products that deliver positive solutions. Namboothiry was appointed as the business leader for this team when it was formed in 2018. Namboothiry is responsible for both strategic and operation...

Danielle Jezienicki is the Director of Sustainability for Grove Collaborative, the leading digital-first brand & ecommerce platform for natural home and personal care products. A certified B Corp, Grove serves hundreds of thousands of households in the U.S. every month. Prior to Danielle's current role at Grove, Danielle was as the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Williams-Sonoma, In...

Tim serves on the executive leadership team guiding long-term social and environmental strategy for a 220+ acre campus that includes the 4M SF convention center, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the former Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the upcoming Hilton Signia hotel. GWCCA also operates the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, GA. In this role, he oversees a team focused on executing day-t...

Ellen Mitchell-Kozack, AIA, LEED BD+C, WELL AP, SEED, has joined LEO A DALY as vice president, chief sustainability officer. She leads strategic initiatives in sustainable design worldwide, including Environmental Social & Governance, alignment with the UN Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals, carbon footprint assessment and social impact. Mitchell-Kozack is a nationally recognized voi...

Ryland Engelhart is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Kiss the Ground, and is the producer of Kiss The Ground the Movie on Netflix. He has spent the last 15 years as an entrepreneur and love-activist, working in hospitality and building a family business of organic plant-based restaurants called Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre in Southern CA. He is also a co-creator of the award-winning, t...

James is responsible for leading P&G's global climate change efforts along with their end to end supply chain sustainability program, helping one of the world's largest CPG companies reduce their environmental footprint within energy, climate, water, waste, forestry, transportation, and raw materials. By integrating circular manufacturing processes across P&G's supply chain including 150+ faciliti...

Christine Riley Miller is Director of Sustainability at Samsonite where she is launching the first-ever global sustainability strategy and program across nine brands. With more than 10 years' experience mitigating risk and improving footprint from cradle to grave across retail, consumer goods, and food sectors, she is an issues expert in packaging, energy, animal welfare, and sustainable supply ch...

Ellen Jackowski drives HP's Sustainable Impact strategy and programs that focus on the planet, people and the communities that HP serves. Ellen also oversees efforts to align and integrate these programs with HP's Personal Systems, Imaging and Printing, and 3D Printing business groups to ensure that sustainability is at the core of HP's business results. Previously, Ellen was a management consulta...

Sheehy brings to clients, 20 years of project and program management experience. She manages a range of advisory projects including sustainability training initiatives, sustainability risk assessments and greener market positioning support. Sheehy's other work experience included updating and growing the Corporate Equality Index for the Human Rights Campaign and served as director of Corporate Ben...

Kevin Wilhelm is the author of "How to Talk to the Other Side" and CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting and is one of the world's pre-eminent business consultants and speakers in the field of sustainability. Kevin brings over 20 years of experience working with 165+ businesses ranging across 37 different industries including clients such as New York Life, Expedia, IAC, Nordstrom, REI, Alaska Air...

Mark Lewis has more than 20 years' experience as a financial analyst covering energy and environmental markets. He joins from Carbon Tracker, an award-winning think tank, where he was Head of Research. Previously, he was MD and Head of European Utilities Research at Barclays, Chief Energy Economist at Kepler Cheuvreux, and MD and Head of Carbon Research at Deutsche Bank. He was also a member of th...

An environmental scientist with over a decade of experience in sustainable manufacturing and design, Saskia is head of sustainability at Rothy's, a global lifestyle brand best known for creating stylish, comfortable shoes from recycled plastic water bottles. At Rothy's, Saskia develops strategies to minimize the environmental impact that Rothy's supply chain has on the environment, advancing Rothy...

With more than 20 years experience, Scott Paul has held senior positions at many of the world's leading environmental organizations including Greenpeace. He is an experienced leader within the global sustainability community. His career has been devoted to forest protection and mitigating the effects of climate change. Paul has successfully impacted policy change on both local and international le...

Shannon Bergstrom is a LEED-accredited, TRUE waste advisor. She currently works at RTS, a tech-driven waste and recycling management company, as a sustainability operations manager. Shannon consults with clients across the hotel industry on sustainable waste practices. Shannon joins Sustainable Nation to discuss: Strategies for implementing zero waste management Engaging with suppliers to reduce w...

Mike Wakeland serves as the CEO of DialogueDirect, a leader of face to face fundraising acquisition in North America. His focus is building strong partnerships with charity clients, while improving quality metrics within the industry. Mike and his team believe quality and quantity can be obtained with the right partnerships and coaching. Mike hopes to create an environment of sharing ideas and str...

Joseph Brinkley, who holds a degree in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University, was working for the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Virginia when he realized he would rather get his hands dirty than work in an office. He went back to school, the second time attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Horticulture in 2003. Following...

Rob Threlkeld is Global Manager of Sustainable Energy, Supply and Reliability for General Motors, leading the company's energy procurement efforts including the commitment to meet the electricity needs of its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2050. Threlkeld is responsible for leading the team that supports GM energy procurement and regulatory efforts including negotiating power purc...

Yalmaz Siddiqui is the Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at MGM Resorts International. He started this role in May 2016 and is responsible for leading a range of environmental sustainability initiatives for the company, including green conventions, food waste reduction, waste management, sustainable sourcing and employee engagement. He is also developing an advanced sustainability strateg...

Bruno Sarda is the President of CDP North America. He works to grow the organization and increase environmental disclosure and action among companies and local governments, as well as manages the North American team and operations. Previously he served as Chief Sustainability Officer for NRG, a leading integrated power company, and has also worked at Dell and Charles Schwab. Bruno is a faculty mem...

The Sustainable Nation Podcast interviews three people involved in the work to bring sustainability to the College Football Playoffs: Roger McClendon – Executive director green sports alliance Brett Blumberg Director of Sustainable Events & Analytics Ryan Hall - Director of Community Relations at College Football Playoff Through its Playoff Green initiative, the College Football Playoff strives to...

Erin works to drive positive change across industries by leading WWF's packaging and material science program. Through her efforts, she works with business and industry to help them make informed, sustainable material choices for their products and packaging. Her work focuses on the major commodities that go into packaging, which come in many different forms and materials, and how to integrate sus...