Tomorrow's earth, today's journey: Exploring pathways to sustainability
Market View
Produced by:
Interview with
Anna Richardson
ESG LEADER
Tomorrow's earth, today's journey: Exploring pathways to sustainability
Market View
Produced by:
Interview with
Anna Richardson
ESG LEADER
About Anna Richardson
Anna Richardson has advanced the ESG agenda at GSK for the last 18 years, notably spearheading the Vaccines Sustainability Programme with a focus on implementing the company's strategy to achieve corporate carbon net zero and net nature positive targets. Now embarking on a new chapter in the finance and banking industry, she will lead a team focused on sustainable and diverse supply chain procurement. This strategic shift allows her to apply her extensive sustainability knowledge and experience to drive positive change in the financial industry.
What challenges do you face when implementing sustainability practices within your organisation?
Leaders in sustainability encounter several key challenges, including the need to change mindsets and behaviours to effectively manage the human side of change. It is crucial that people possess the awareness, desire, knowledge, and ability to perform new tasks. Moreover, the fast-paced and evolving environment complicates the maintenance of necessary expertise and resources. Keeping up with constantly changing policies and prioritising among numerous sustainability goals adds further complexity. Financial constraints also present a significant hurdle.
Investing in sustainability isn't free and requires a long-term commitment, but it delivers significant returns from both an economic and risk management perspective. Moreover, balancing short-term expenses with long-term investments, where the ROI is not easily quantifiable, demands effective stakeholder management and buy-in to secure the necessary support and resources for driving sustainability efforts forward.
How do you integrate sustainability with financial and operational goals in your corporate strategy?
Sustainability is crucial—a precondition for remaining competitive in today's market. It must be seamlessly integrated into the heart of our core strategic plans. Environmental objectives should not be treated as peripheral; they need to be embedded within the core of our business operations. This requires a collaborative effort to intertwine financial, operational, and environmental strategies. By fostering shared accountability, we ensure that sustainable practices are intricately woven into the daily fabric of our entire organisation.
Leaders in sustainability encounter several key challenges, including the need to change mindsets and behaviours to effectively manage the human side of change.
Can you discuss the importance of supply chain visibility in achieving your sustainability goals?
Achieving complete supply chain visibility is essential—it forms the backbone of our operations, enabling effective management of our environmental impact. However, obtaining full transparency is challenging due to factors such as limited data availability and poor information quality. Despite the absence of perfect data, we must prioritise action, leveraging the information, tools, and expertise that is available. Shifting our mindset from disclosure and accounting to actual reduction and action is imperative. Cross-industry collaboration is essential to drive knowledge sharing, improve visibility and transparency. By moving from competition to collaboration, we can accelerate progress, not only monitoring but also actively enhancing our ethical and sustainable practices throughout the entire supply chain.
How do you measure the impact of your sustainability programmes?
We begin by setting clear, science-based goals that everyone within and outside the company can understand and support. It’s crucial to have specific, well-defined targets to guide our actions. We measure our progress using straightforward key performance indicators (KPIs) and establish milestones for both short-term and long-term objectives. Considering that many of us will not be in the same roles by 2030 or 2045, it is important to set mid-term milestones that are relatable. Clear roles and responsibilities are defined to ensure that everyone knows what they need to do. This structured approach allows us to effectively track our progress and adjust our strategies as necessary. Prioritisation is essential—we cannot tackle "everything, everywhere, all at once." It's more effective to select two or three key priorities and truly make a difference.
Achieving complete supply chain visibility is essential—it forms the backbone of our operations, enabling effective management of our environmental impact.
What role do data analysis and visualisation tools play in your sustainability strategies?
Data analysis is fundamental to understanding the magnitude of our sustainability challenges. Visualisation tools are incredibly useful as they simplify complex information, making it easy to grasp. These tools are essential for communicating the importance and impact of our sustainability efforts across the organisation. By presenting data in an accessible and engaging manner, we can foster a deeper understanding and garner widespread support for our sustainability journey among all stakeholders.
What emerging trends or technologies are you excited about in sustainability management?
In terms of trends, I'm excited to see the increased focus on nature and biodiversity alongside carbon. Climate and nature action are inextricably linked and share the same pressing timeline, in my opinion. We must avoid a narrow, carbon-centric approach. Furthermore, the shift in emphasis from reduction and mitigation to resilience and adaptation is a positive step forward. As for technologies, AI holds immense potential for enhancing our sustainability initiatives, as long as it is applied thoughtfully and ethically.
As for technologies, AI holds immense potential for enhancing our sustainability initiatives, as long as it is applied thoughtfully and ethically.
