Emerson Sustainability and Decarbonization: Turning Corporate Goals Into Climate Action
Why it Matters: Championing the planet starts with being the change you want to see, and Ana Gonzalez Hernandez’s goal is to be that force of change. As senior director of sustainability at Emerson, Ana helps drive sustainable technologies and practices across the company and the industries it serves.
A Ph.D. graduate from the University of Cambridge with a background in resource efficiency, Ana helps develop and implement successful environmental sustainability business strategies. She works with innovators and policymakers to help connect common trends, identify areas of improvement and uncover opportunities where Emerson can contribute to sustainability.
Bridging Business and Sustainability
Emerson’s sustainable portfolio and technologies enables transformation across all areas of the energy system, from production to consumption.
Companies across Emerson’s customer base can rely on a combination of solutions and technologies to reach their ambitious climate goals on time. Ana understands the need to work across borders and frequently connects different parts of the organization to generate opportunities to partner and collaborate.
“As a company, our impact is huge,” she said. “If we’re able to move the needle with the customer base we have, that will be significant. And we know many of our customers are looking toward how they can make a difference on the planet.”
Mobilizing Internal Momentum
Expanding our influence starts with raising awareness of the environmental impact we have. Today, Ana notes, we have access to more information than ever. Yet our supply chains have become more complex. This makes it harder to determine where to start and what is truly meaningful.
“A lot of my time is spent helping people learn and learning from people,” Ana said. “We need to support our Emerson colleagues in more broadly channeling their passion through the networks, processes and platforms we’re creating as well as through our educational training programs, to empower everyone to see how they can contribute.”
This internal momentum has been critical, she said, noting the creation of local sustainability champions across the globe. These champions lead sustainability efforts in their regions and focus on growth and hitting targets in their operations. She keeps up a drumbeat of content with these champions and all employees worldwide. Ana is the head of her own environmental sustainability newsletter, where she shares trends, insights and technical topics to keep her community up to date on everything sustainability that might affect their business efforts. She also runs an internal webinar, blog and podcast series.
From Personal Choices to Global Impact
Considering our own contribution starts by continuously asking ourselves simple questions that have difficult answers, like:
- Where do my carbon emissions come from?
- What activity causes significant impact?
- Where are my clothes produced?
- How can I decrease my use of plastic?
- What options do I have to influence change?
After all, Ana said, “If we don’t live differently – that is eat, move, buy and work differently – we won’t see the change required to put the world on a sustainable path.” She reminds us that it’s always important to keep scale in mind, to ensure that we focus our efforts on reducing our impact where it matters.
