We’re a big fan of puzzles in my household. It started off with the small ones – the cartoon trains and characters that took my kids a few minutes to put together. We’ve increased our difficulty since then, and are up to the 500+ pieces.
John Schulz is Director of Sustainability Operations at AT&T. In this role, John works across the business, with customers and with credible third parties to identify how AT&T products and services can be important solutions for pressing environmental and social problems. John began his AT&T career in the Corporate Real Estate group and migrated into leadership roles with the Energy and Corporate Sustainability organizations. GlobeScan Director James Morris recently spoke with John about the key challenges we are currently facing in the world and the technology solutions that AT&T can bring to the table from a citizenship and sustainability perspective.
My descent into Las Vegas last month was an important reminder of the imminent – but not inevitable – water crisis facing the United States.
One year ago this month, the United Nations adopted a new group of 17 global goals – the Sustainable Development Goals. To say that the goals are ambitious is an understatement. Goals like “no poverty,” “zero-hunger,” “ensure inclusive and quality education for all,” and “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts,” target some of the most significant challenges of our time.
As a company that promotes technology to overcome obstacles and create solutions, AT&T is always looking for ways to apply our capabilities in addressing challenges associated with environmental sustainability.
That is reflected in our goal to enable carbon savings 10x the footprint of our own operations by 2025. It is also seen in our efforts to use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to enable greater water management and even help with the creation of more environmentally efficient Smart Cities.
Implementing sustainability across one large company is substantial feat on its own. Yet for AT&T, we are not just working on sustainability at our own company but trying to embed sustainable business practices at hundreds of companies all at the same time. That is part of what it means to work on supply chain sustainability, from setting a goal to reduce our customers’ emissions 10x our own footprint, to setting goals to reduce energy intensity at our operations, to working with our suppliers to ensure they are living up to the standards we have set for ourselves.
I recently had the privilege and opportunity to represent AT&T at the Sustainable Brands 2016 conference in gorgeous San Diego. The conference brings together top brands that fill 4 days with extraordinary conversation and insight to inspire and activate business success toward a sustainable future.