PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
We were the special projects team. Were we in the boardroom? Probably not as much as we should have been. Was it aligned to strategy? Probably not as much as it should have been.
Then we moved to what I call the kitchen sink phase, do everything as best you can in every capacity. And so now we’ re in a third phase that I call the pragmatic phase. This is really about anchoring sustainability in your corporate strategy.
Because the reality is, if you’ re not able to embed sustainability in a sustained manner within your business imperatives, it’ s going to be short-lived. I’ m somewhat appreciative of this moment in time, albeit it’ s a little different. It has fostered a discussion in the boardroom about the crucial nature of sustainability in building a future that allows us to be competitive. It is anchored in our business strategy and it’ s not going anywhere.
It’ s about United leading, and leading on behalf of the industry, because everyone else is watching. And that to me is the most important thing we can do. The executive sponsorship is very real. Our CEO, he is a self-proclaimed climate science nerd. It’ s fantastic. He understands the challenges, he understands the opportunity, and he gives us the space to really go about building this correctly.
But we still have to make money at the end of the day. So my job is to figure out how we advance our agenda in a manner that works with the business, such that this conversation becomes business as usual in the decade to come.
Noel, American Red Cross: I would just add that it is critically important to have our executive leadership and our board engaged, but I don’ t want us to lose sight of having our entire workforce just as engaged, and finding ways to make sure they feel part of this journey and feel ownership in this space.
Sirsij, Pfizer: I’ d also add that procurement and supply chain is a team sport. It’ s critically important that we bring our suppliers along on the journey. Supply partnerships, as well as elevating your own team’ s capability, are key to driving the agenda forward.
94 July 2026