Why Signet, the world’s biggest diamond retailer, wants your old jewelry

Signet, parent company of jewelry retailers Kay and Zales, streamlined its environmental, social and governance strategy in 2023 to focus on 11 goals rather than 44. 

Some commitments set just two years earlier, including a pledge to hit net zero by 2050 and a series of diversity, equity and inclusion goals, were dropped during the paring. The driving vision for the overhaul: set near-term targets for 2030 that were prudent and achievable, according to Signet’s sustainability team. 

“One of the benefits of this refinement is it helps the entire company be really focused on our roadmap for sustainability and be really clear,” said Anna Bryan, senior director of ESG reporting and communications at the $6.7 billion company’s planetary impact.

The shift is showing up in Signet’s employee retention rates, which are 20 points higher than the industry average for jewelry retailers, said Colleen Rooney, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer for Signet. “We feel like it adds value to the organization in many forms,” she said. “It definitely attracts talent.”

Recycling and reuse

A dominant theme of Signet’s refined focus is responsible mining and sourcing practices, a longstanding priority for the co-founder of the Responsible Jewelry Council.  

The world’s largest diamond retailer is also prioritizing the use of recycled materials and incorporating more repurposed gems and precious metals into its new designs, a strategy also embraced by rivals Tiffany and Pandora, which has switched entirely to recycled silver and gold. 

The two-decade-old Responsible Jewelry Council is advocating more circular sources across the jewelry supply chain to reduce the environmental and human rights impacts of mining, including new standards introduced in February that apply to lab-grown diamonds. Signet is well on track with commitments requiring all suppliers to ado pits code of conduct (100 percent) and to be certified by the council (91 percent).

“With jewelry, ‘recycling’ is different than it is with other products since diamonds and gold don’t otherwise get thrown away,” said Paul Zimnisky, principal with research and consulting firm Diamond Analytics. “But as natural gemstones and precious metals get rarer, I think we will see more repurposing in this way. I think it will become more common.”

Signet hasn’t set specific goals for growing the number of jewelry collections that use repurposed materials, but so far it features six — more than 200 separate pieces — under the Zales, Rocksbox, Kay and Ernest Jones retail brands. It also resold 65,000 pieces collected from customers during its most recent fiscal year: Signet’s Zales, Kay, Jared and Diamonds Direct brands offer a store credit to those who trade in jewelry while upgrading to a new piece. 

The company has recovered 22,589 troy ounces of gold, 18,089 troy ounces of silver and 52,031 carats of diamonds, according to its 2025 sustainability report. The value of the recovered metals is at least $35 million.

“We are so very fortunate to work in an industry where the raw materials have value and can be resmelted, repurposed,” said Bryan. “It’s such an advantage when it comes to retailers that have products that don’t have a clear path or avenue for recycling.”

New emissions goals

Signet’s commitments for reducing greenhouse gases are nascent. Its emissions goals for the 2031 fiscal year were only set in March: a pledge to cut emissions from operations (Scope 1) and electricity use (Scope 2) by 11 percent, and a commitment to reduce the carbon footprint from suppliers (Scope 3) by 17.5 percent.

Signet uses an open-source target-setting and reporting methodology published by the Center for Sustainable Organizations, which executives said allow for quicker adjustments as market conditions or resource availability changes. 

“We got really acquainted with the methodology, and we have this ongoing communication with the operations team and with the real estate team about levers we can pull or actions we can take,” Bryan said. If the team wants to adjust its scenarios, it can do so more easily. “We can get quicker results than if we were working with an outside consultant and had to rebase or remodel.”

Scope 1 and 2 account for 78 percent of Signet’s reported emissions inventory for FY25; the data it includes for Scope 3 is narrow and includes waste from operations and fuel/energy-related activities. 

To reduce its electricity consumption, Signet is prioritizing energy efficiency conversions such as the installation of LED lighting in stores. It’s also seeking ways to build clauses related to the adoption of renewable energy into leases. That’s simpler to do for some brands such as Jared and Diamonds Direct, which typically operate in independent buildings. Signet is exploring ways to collaborate with other tenants in shopping malls, where Kay and Zales typically are located.

To cut its Scope 3 impact, Signet expects 85 suppliers doing at least $5 million in business with the retailer to start disclosing emissions and set annual reduction targets, practices required under updates by the Responsible Jewelry Council. The company said more than 40 percent of its supply chain uses at least some renewable energy in the manufacturing process. 

“Footprint details are difficult to ascertain for industries with deep and complex supply chains,” said Zimnisky. “However, the diamond and jewelry industry has made significant progress in the area in recent years. It is encouraging to see such a global supply chain work together in this way.”

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Net Zero Banking Alliance folds, marking a new phase for climate finance

After four years, the banking industry’s signature joint effort to advance Paris Agreement-aligned climate targets is no more. The roughly 120 members of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) said on Oct. 3 they will stop work immediately.

Their decision was no shock to many watching the group contract over the past 11 months. The alliance had been on hold since Aug. 27 pending a collective decision about its fate.

But the permanent end sparked both outrage and resignation from activists, with some calling financial institutions cowards for folding to anti-ESG pressure by President Donald Trump and legal threats by Republican lawmakers. Other experts, however, insisted that the alliance’s closure reflects climate finance moving into a new, action-oriented stage.

Whatever the case, the blush of excitement had long worn off since the banking alliance launched in 2021 under the United Nations-backed Global Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). At its peak, the NZBA included more than 140 members in more than 40 countries. In December, JPMorgan Chase triggered an exodus that resulted in departures by the biggest U.S. and Canadian banks, as well as HSBC, Barclays and UBS of Europe.

By January, the GFANZ umbrella group had restructured, weakening itself. Many of its eight sub-organizations lowered their original ambitions. (The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance disbanded completely in 2024.)

‘Doomed to fail’

“We won’t mourn the NZBA,” said Lucie Pinson of Reclaim Finance, a Paris nonprofit that lambasted banks for financing fossil fuels twice as much as it backs cleaner alternatives. “Like other financial alliances of its kind, it brought little — if anything — to the climate, and was doomed to fail. Its purpose was never to take real action, but to create the illusion of measures in order to ward off the risk of regulation.”

The group urged policymakers and regulators to force the issue — that is, to stymie the oil and gas industry while boosting sustainable alternatives. Over the past nine years, the biggest banks in the world have forked out $7.9 trillion to Big Oil, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report that Reclaim Finance produced with the Sierra Club, Bank Track and other nonprofits.

“Senior bankers need to be far more courageous in this decisive moment for all our futures and must use their influence to push up standards for accountability on climate if we are to stand any chance of making the clean energy transition happen,” stated Jeanne Martin, co-director of corporate engagement at ShareAction, who called the banking alliance’s cessation “bitterly disappointing.”

‘Good news overall’

The NZBA’s contraction reflected an evolution from “collective action to collective learning,” according to Brian O’Hanlon, managing director of climate-aligned finance at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Washington, D.C.

For example, bank financing is beginning to tilt in favor of low-carbon energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in January. For every dollar in 2023 that fueled high-carbon fuels, 89 cents supported cleaner wind and solar or grid technologies, it noted.

The Environmental Defense Fund supports that view. “There has been a pivot away from aspirational target setting towards a focus on concrete projects and the complex financial mechanics needed to make them happen and scale them,” said Andrew Howell, head of research in sustainable finance at EDF, based in New York. “This is good news overall.

Falling by the wayside, per Howell: the idea that commercial banks might sacrifice returns for net zero.

“Climate finance, like other types of finance, needs to be delivered in a way that produces competitive risk-adjusted financial returns,” he said. “And the good news is that this is in fact happening across the economy.”

What’s left

“At least [the alliance’s] demise brings clarity: the institutions genuinely committed to containing global warming will continue to act,” added Pinson of Reclaim Finance.

Meanwhile, the guidelines and responsibility for banks to support the low-carbon transition remain the same, according to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. It advocates for divesting from fossil fuels and financing renewable energy.

“It has always been the primary responsibility of banks to chart their own course in terms of impact and transparency,” said a spokesperson at the Amsterdam nonprofit, which represents more than 70 values-led banks. Those include Amalgamated Bank and Climate First Bank, which were two of the three remaining U.S. members of the NZBA. Areti Bank bank was the other.

Beneficial State Bank of Oakland, California, had aspired to join the NZBA. “With the alliance folding, we’ll lose critical opportunities for accountability and shared learning,” said Terra Nielson, the bank’s executive vice president and chief impact officer. With less guidance and coordination, major banks are focusing on the short-term headwinds rather than the long-term risks of propping up high-emissions industries, she added.

The Net Zero Banking Alliance will keep available its latest guidance framework public for financial institutions. The 20-page document advocates for banks to set Paris-aligned, near- and long-term net zero goals; to annually report on emissions related to their investments and other activities over a baseline year; to back up targets with science-based decarbonization scenarios; and to regularly align goals with the latest science.

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Ralph Lauren ditches 2040 net zero for ‘rolling’ 5-year targets

Ralph Lauren is no longer committing to a 2040 horizon for net zero. Instead, it’s focusing on “rolling” targets every five years that leadership believes it can execute with confidence. The strategy comes as the iconic fashion brand has beat its science-based emissions deadline of 2030 for the past two years.

On the surface, the company is swimming against the corporate tide by getting rid of its long-term target, one that had not been validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Seventy percent of companies on the Global Forbes 2000, of which Ralph Lauren is one, have a net zero target, according to the New Climate Institute.

At the same time, however, Ralph Lauren shows progress rare in the apparel industry, overshooting its 2030 target of 30 percent emissions cuts, which is SBTi-validated: It made cuts of 34 percent since 2020 across Scopes 1, 2 and 3. In 2024, it was already at a 33 percent emissions reduction.

An ‘exemplar’ (but)

The company said it seeks to maintain progress by focusing on what it can directly control, rather than counting on new technologies, like textile recycling, that haven’t scaled yet. In the next few years, it plans to set new sustainability targets that will come due in 2035.

Ralph Lauren’s annual emissions fell in its latest count to 1,230,541 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to its FY 2025 sustainability report, released Oct. 2. That’s about as much as 151,000 U.S. homes emit each year.

“We will continue to follow a science-based methodology aligned with the Paris Agreement to advance our work,” the report said, “further scaling proven approaches across raw materials sourcing; direct supplier engagement to phase out on-site coal; and advancing collective financing mechanisms to fund relevant supplier initiatives.”

“Ralph Lauren’s decarbonization progress is impressive and can serve as an exemplar of what is possible,” said Ken Pucker, an apparel industry veteran who teaches at Dartmouth and Tufts universities. But, he continued, “with the elimination of the company’s net zero goal, and the focus on shorter-term goals, it is surprising to not yet see revised targets.”

Emissions origins

Scope 3 is responsible for 99 percent of Ralph Lauren’s greenhouse gas footprint. The top three sources are raw materials, at 26 percent, followed by processes such as mills and dyeing shops (18 percent) and consumer product use (17 percent).

Three key areas helped the emissions progress reported in 2025, according to the company:

  • A selective strategy of producing fewer units for sale: However, Ralph Lauren does not share production totals — a common blind spot in fashion that activists would like to see revealed.
  • Sourcing lower-impact materials: In 2025, Ralph Lauren reached “sustainable” materials in 98 percent of goods, a 6 percent rise from a year earlier. While many other brands are embracing polyester and other fossil-fuel fabrics, Ralph Lauren uses only 6 percent polyester. Cotton makes up 80 percent of its fabric, almost all of it organic, recycled or grown using regenerative practices.
  • Helping suppliers to eliminate coal: Toward this effort, only one of the 80 plants that Ralph Lauren has worked with internally still uses coal. Ralph Lauren engages 170 supplier facilities through the Apparel Impact Institute’s Carbon Leadership Program. In 2025, it joined the institute’s Future Supplier Initiative, which helps finance suppliers’ energy transitions.

Varied reactions

Ralph Lauren’s 2025 report attracted a mix of admiration and concern. The nonprofit Ceres, for one, advocates for companies to blend both distant and near-term climate deadlines. “A net-zero target sets a clear North Star for a company to align internal teams, engage its suppliers and respond to stakeholder expectations and current and emerging regulations, including those outside of the United States,” said Ceres Company Network Senior Director Mary Ann Ormond.

In June, the activist group Stand.earth rated Ralph Lauren a D+ on its 2025 fossil-free fashion scorecard. The company is one of only six major labels markedly phasing out synthetics, which the nonprofit noted while dinging it on climate commitments and transparency.

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Inside Levi’s and Schneider’s bid to clean up garment supply chains

Levi Strauss is teaming up with Schneider Electric to help garment suppliers in India adopt renewable energy. The partnership seeks to engage, educate and assist about 70 suppliers in inking deals over the next three years. 

The hope is that those suppliers will later roll out the learnings to their own suppliers, driving emissions reductions deep into the Levi’s supply chain.

That need gnaws at the fashion industry. Upstream activities — from producing raw materials to producing yarns, fabrics and garments — make up 70 percent of its climate emissions, according to the advocacy group Fashion Revolution.

The Schneider-Levi’s LEAP collaboration, announced on Sept. 23, addresses complaints suppliers have expressed about the difficulties of doing away with the dirty coal and gas that is ubiquitous to apparel factories and mills. LEAP, which stands for LS&Co. Energy Accelerator Program, also draws on Levi’s learnings over the past three years from participating in Walmart’s Project Gigaton power purchasing agreement.

The San Francisco brand projects that shifting to renewable energy can deliver as much as 20 percent of the supply-chain emissions cuts needed to meet its 2030 target: a 42 percent reduction over 2022 levels. The new project in India would make up about 3 percent of the near-term Scope 3 emissions, according to Levi’s Senior Director of Global Sustainability Jennifer DuBuisson.

The proof-of-concept LEAP initiative will help companies either broker power purchase agreements or install solar or other sources onsite. The company plans to “meet suppliers where they are,” she said. “We’re a little bit renewable-energy-mechanism agnostic.”

Levi’s and Schneider want to expand LEAP to the European Union or Asia-Pacific nations as soon as 2026.

The Schneider factor

It’s the first time Schneider has formed such a partnership in fashion. Based outside of Paris, the energy management firm’s other collaborations have touched retail (Walmart’s Project Gigaton), real estate (Blackstone portfolio upgrades), food and beverage (PepsiCo supply chain energy cuts), technology (Microsoft’s 100-percent renewable energy goal) and healthcare (Pfizer efficiency and renewables).

Levi’s has already engaged since 2022 with Schneider in Project Gigaton PPA. Through the project, an Orsted wind farm in Kansas is meant to provide most of the electricity needed through 2036 by the U.S. and Canadian plants Levi’s owns and runs.

“By extending that experience to their own suppliers through LEAP, Levi’s is building confidence in what’s possible and creating a practical, partnership-driven model that others across the fashion sector, and beyond, can replicate to accelerate decarbonization,” said John Powers, vice president of global cleantech and renewables at Schneider Electric.

Sampling Levi’s suppliers

A glimpse of more than 90 Levi’s supplier facilities in India. Credit: Levi’s map, Open Supply Hub

Ceres Company Network Senior Director Mary Ann Ormond praised the denim maker’s transparency in both its climate transition plan and the co-launch of LEAP.

Levi’s was an outlier in its industry for creating a Climate Transition Action Plan in 2024 that details near-term steps toward net zero. That process helped to prioritize emissions-slashing priorities, according to DuBuisson.

“This transition plan highlights that it is not about a silver shiny bullet that does not exist,” DuBuisson said. “These are solutions in the market today that we need to be accelerating, and that’s what we’re trying to do with LEAP.”

Schneider’s experience appealed to Levi’s, she added. “There’s a whole team with years of expertise sitting on the ground ready to answer suppliers’ questions and help them develop the business cases they need.”

In Levi’s other supply chain decarbonization work, it is involved with both the Apparel Impact Institute’s (AII) Carbon Leadership Program and AII’s efforts to advance thermal energy including heat pumps. AII works in India to help textile manufacturers electrify and ditch fossil fuels.

India made an ideal launch pad for LEAP in part because it allows for pooled PPAs, according to DuBuisson. “I was just there and continue to be inspired by the amount of innovation and amazing work that’s happening among these suppliers,” she said. Other favorable conditions include incentives for renewable energy purchasing.

Fashion emissions

With LEAP, Levi’s is taking a stand on the fashion industry’s hidden emissions gorilla within Scope 3. It may have ripple effects across the industry, or at least among the suppliers that serve many other brands, too. 

“As measures of success, we hope to see a measurable increase in suppliers’ renewable electricity procurement in India and eventual expansion of the program throughout Levi’s supply chain to reduce Scope 3 emissions, increase supply chain resilience and inspire peer companies to take similar actions,” said Ormond of Ceres.

However, some critics want multi-billion-dollar brands like Levi’s to back suppliers financially, too.

“Fashion brands helping their suppliers overcome barriers to access high-quality, additional renewable energy through mechanisms like onsite solar and PPAs is a sure sign of progress in turning climate targets into tangible action,” said Ruth MacGilp, fashion campaign manager of Action Speaks Louder. “However, technical support without financial investment and fair purchasing practices to fill the gap of upfront costs is unlikely to reduce risk for suppliers at a sufficient scale for deep decarbonization.”

DuBuisson pointed out that Levi’s is continuing two programs that help to lower climate-transition financing costs for suppliers — the International Finance Corporation’s Global Trade Supplier Finance and HSBC’s Sustainable Supply Chain Finance Program. “But ultimately we really see LEAP as a play in resiliency for suppliers and the ability to make them more competitive for the many brands they are likely sourcing for,” she said. 

“All boats rise. A supplier is producing garments for multiple brands and whether it’s a Levi’s program or another program, this is about decarbonization. That’s what we’re after.”

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Study: Volatile company carbon footprints skew Scope 3 estimates

For companies seeking to improve the accuracy of Scope 3 inventories, corporate carbon footprints can offer an upgrade to more commonly used methods. But a new study from European researchers suggests that “unpredictable variation” in company-level data severely limits the usefulness of the approach.

To total up Scope 3 numbers — emissions from suppliers, use of products by customers and other indirect sources — companies most often base estimates on activity levels or spending. For a purchase of steel, for instance, a company might multiply the quantity purchased by an estimate of the emissions associated with the production of a typical ton of the material. Use of these emissions factors makes the process relatively easy to implement, but such broad estimates disadvantage suppliers selling lower-carbon versions of a product.

As an alternative, a supplier can estimate its total emissions — its corporate carbon footprint — and allocate a fraction of that total to its customers, depending on how much of its output each purchases. The process, which is used by CDP and other standard-setters, ensures the benefits of any emissions reductions implemented by the supplier will be passed on to customers — but it also means many less relevant factors influence the estimate.

Unstable estimates

Company footprints can fluctuate due to acquisition or divestments, for example. Product lines can be eliminated or expanded, and accounting methodologies change. All would impact a supplier’s footprint — and hence the emissions allocated to customers — but might not change the actual emissions associated with the customer’s purchases.

To examine the problem, crtl+s, a Berlin-based sustainability consultancy, teamed up with researchers at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. They looked at corporate carbon footprint data disclosed to CDP by 62 European companies, all of which had committed to emissions goals with the Science Based Targets initiative.

“All 62 companies exhibited strong volatility in specific emissions over the five-year period,” the team concluded in a white paper released this week. “Even among climate leaders, emissions data proved unstable.”

Using footprints from 2018 as a starting point, the group plotted percentages changes over the following five years. In the case of tech company Philips, total emissions came close to doubling one year before dropping back below baseline 12 months later.

Tracking emissions

The team will next search for the cause of such sudden changes. “But I know for sure it’s not specific emission reduction activities,” said ctrl+s CEO Moritz Nill. Changes from such causes are more likely to be in the 2 percent-per-year range, he added.

Product footprints are coming

The long-term solution, Nill and others say, is to use carbon footprints tied to specific products. Industry groups are collaborating to streamline the creation and sharing of such footprints, including Catena-X in car manufacturing, Mondra in food retail and sector-agnostic systems such as the Partnership for Carbon Transparency, which is being developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

In the meantime, Nill recommends sticking with emissions factors and refining the estimates using information from suppliers about specific emissions-reductions measures they have implemented.

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Why 71 percent of Americans feel relaxed and calm in nature

A new report reveals a compelling truth: people connect most deeply with nature when it feels personal and because it helps them feel relaxed and calm.

The report, conducted by Trellis data partner GlobeScan and the World Wildlife Fund, shows 61 percent of Americans say that their personal experiences are most influential in shaping their views on nature, followed by:

  • Their family (43 percent)
  • Moral standards (37 percent)
  • Faith/religion (25 percent)
  • Education (23 percent)

When asked which feelings they associate most with being in nature, Americans say they feel relaxation and calm (71 percent), joy (49 percent), and gratitude (41 percent).

What this means

Research shows that when nature is portrayed as a personal and emotional experience, individuals relate to it more deeply. This emotional resonance fosters a stronger sense of connection, which can lead to increased environmental awareness and participation.

For NGOs and campaigners, this insight presents a powerful opportunity: to move beyond broad, generic appeals and embrace storytelling that reflects how nature touches everyday life. Whether through memories of childhood hikes, moments of calm in a local park or cherished family traditions, these relatable and emotionally compelling narratives make meaningful engagement and action possible.

Based on an online survey of 2,000 adults in the U.S. conducted in July 2025.

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What leading sustainability consultancies are hiring for in 2025

The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.​

Sustainability consulting is currently a highly competitive career path, despite current ESG headwinds. Firms often receive 1,000 to 5,000 applications for a single role, and most organizations have turned to AI for help with identifying candidates with the greatest potential. 

To understand how candidates can stand out in today’s competitive landscape, I spoke with senior leaders at five sustainability consultancies. It quickly became clear that once highly sought-after experience in areas such as disclosure and greenhouse gas accounting has become easier to find. As a result, many technical skills have become table stakes, leading firms to focus more on specific combinations of skills, attributes and cultural fit. 

While networking has always been important, it carries a heightened significance in today’s job market. Referrals remain the best way to get your resume seen by a human and conversations with current employees can help you understand the nuances of what each firm values. 

Below are summaries of my conversations, edited for length and clarity. 

3R Sustainability

Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA 

Approximate sustainability advisory team size: 40 consultants

Best known for: Sustainability strategy and management systems; decarbonization and resilience for the built environment; reporting, scoring, ratings and sustainability assurance

Jana Lake, president and owner on what makes 3R unique: 3R stands out for its human touch — we prioritize long-term relationships, a partnership approach with our clients and work–life balance for our consultants. Our consultants are encouraged to listen deeply, ask the right questions and motivate clients who may feel overwhelmed, while also supporting each other with a team-first mentality. We work remotely with our clients so that everyone has the flexibility they need to spend time with family or pursue other passions outside of work. 

What 3R Sustainability looks for in candidates: Cultural fit has always come first. We’re looking for candidates with a partnership mentality and a growth mindset who take a coaching approach to their work. It’s also important for candidates to clearly understand the sustainability context and what drives business value, reduces risk and improves management systems. 

How candidates can stand out: Candidates with internal sustainability experience have a unique appreciation for how difficult it can be to drive change across an organization and that makes them more empathetic and effective. We also appreciate candidates who have assurance experience and can understand how a sustainability assessment works from the other side of the table.

SE Advisory Services

Headquarters: Paris, France 

Approximate sustainability advisory team size: 3,300 consultants

Best known for: Net-zero strategy; regulatory-grade reporting; high-integrity carbon credits; climate risk consulting

Stuart Lemmon, head of the global sustainability practice, on what makes the team unique: We have always differentiated ourselves by the quality of the work that we do. We use processes that are underpinned by rigorous science to develop solutions for our clients that are data-driven and in alignment with international standards. 

The firm has been recognized as the “World’s Most Sustainable Company” by TIME Magazine and Statista for the past two years. We’re part of a larger global team of experts in energy, resilience, strategy and efficiency who really understand this work and walk the talk, which puts us in a very strong position to offer our clients high-quality end-to-end solutions. 

What SE Advisory Services looks for in candidates: We’re heavily focused on candidates with strong data science and engineering skills. They must be able to understand and interpret data within the context of the science and then understand how it informs strategy. 

We’re also looking for candidates who can engage effectively with clients. Every member of the team is expected to serve as a trusted adviser directly supporting our clients on their sustainability journey. And as a values-driven organization, we’re looking for people who are passionate about creating impact for our clients, are open and transparent, and work well within an empowered environment. 

How candidates can stand out: Exceptional candidates are capable of guiding a client’s progress along their journey while also thinking about where the market is going. They understand context and how the evolving regulatory and standards landscapes will impact the client. Strong candidates are also constantly thinking about a business’s operating model and how to improve it. They’ve learned how to use AI tools and can effectively incorporate them into existing tools and processes. 

KPMG

Headquarters: London, UK 

Approximate sustainability advisory team size: 5,000 consultants

Best known for: Sustainability strategy and implementation; sustainability reporting and assurance; climate risk and transition planning

Charlotte Fildes, global ESG head of talent, on what makes KPMG unique: We view ESG as a watermark running throughout the global organization that empowers our consultants to become agents of positive change and provides solutions and services that help our clients overcome the challenges facing our planet and society. 

Our consultants are passionate about making a difference and working towards the goals in the KPMG: Our Impact Plan, which includes a validated Science-Based Target (SBT) to decarbonize our business by 50 percent across all scopes by 2030 compared to our FY19 baseline.

What KPMG looks for in candidates: We have always looked for candidates with strong analytical minds and excellence in client service, but as we’ve moved forward with implementing KPMG’s Our Impact Plan, we’ve been increasingly looking for purpose-driven thinking as a core competency. Our consultants are interested in more than just solving problems; they’re also motivated by a meaningful career and want to drive meaningful change that creates and protects value for our clients. 

How candidates can stand out: The most competitive candidates combine ESG skills, such as reporting or climate analytics, with value-driven transformation abilities. We’re also looking for candidates who understand the risks and value creation potential across the full ESG project life cycle. They can connect the dots and articulate how a change in one functional area can impact risk mitigation, operational efficiency and competitive positioning across the entire organization.

WAP Sustainability

Headquarters: Chattanooga, TN 

Approximate sustainability advisory team size: 80 consultants

Best known for: Corporate sustainability; product sustainability; certifications and verification

William Paddock, CEO and managing director on what makes WAP Sustainability unique: We are known for our balance of strategy and execution, as well as our well-rounded cross-functional service offerings. We meet our clients where they are on their sustainability journey and stay grounded in the realities of this work. Our team combines a “get it done” mentality with a culture of camaraderie and respect for each other’s skills. 

What WAP Sustainability looks for in candidates: There are two skill sets that we’ve always gravitated towards: a growth mindset and the ability to thrive in ambiguity. Because the sustainability space is constantly changing, we look for self-motivated learners who want to build skills across our service lines while keeping pace with new developments. Every client has a unique set of needs, drivers and level of ambition so every engagement will be different and consultants have to be able to adjust for that. 

How candidates can stand out: We’re most interested in candidates who can clearly demonstrate experience with moving the needle and making the right structural differences within an organization. We look for people who have tangible accomplishments in things like strategy or supplier engagement and are looking to join a consulting firm in order to scale their impact. 

WSP

Headquarters: Montreal, Canada 

Approximate sustainability advisory team size: 130 US-based sustainability consultants, hundreds more globally

Best known for: Sustainability strategy and program design; decarbonization and carbon accounting; climate resilience and adaptation planning 

Julie Hughes, vice president, sustainability, energy and climate change, on what makes WSP unique: As an advisory team operating within the context of an engineering firm, we’re in a unique position to help our clients develop a vision, build a strategy and implement actionable plans. It’s incredibly rewarding to see an aspirational vision start to manifest in real actions.  

Our consultants are big thinkers with big ideas, and they’re also practical people who are technically sound and comfortable digging into the details that drive projects forward. They have a lot of personal agency to identify the skills that they want to develop and pursue projects they want to work on. Our team is a special blend of collaborative, supportive and respectful. We treat each other as fellow human beings first, and as co-workers second.  

What WSP looks for in candidates: Consulting is inherently about enabling others to succeed, so it’s important to have humility and a proclivity for helping other people — rather than a desire to have the spotlight or receive all the credit. We look for people with a natural inclination towards helping others who derive real joy and satisfaction from that act.  

We’re looking for natural learners who are intellectually curious, appreciate diverse perspectives, believe in what’s possible, and are excited by growth and change. 

How candidates can stand out: We’re particularly interested in candidates who are “pragmatic visionaries,” people who are adept at developing ambitious and aspirational ideas, but are also able to break those ideas down into actionable steps. We need team members who can paint a vivid picture for a client that helps them envision a better future, but can quickly pivot to the tactical, creating an action plan that builds towards that tomorrow. While we’ve always looked for candidates with intellectual agility and versatility, adaptability and comfort with change has recently become even more important. There’s a significant feeling of uncertainty in the market right now and we’re looking for people who are able to navigate that uncertainty productively, and with a level of empathy and grace that keeps our clients and our team moving forward.

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6 (short) videos to help sustainability pros take their careers to the next level

Being a change maker requires more than subject matter expertise; it takes a particular blend of soft skills: empathy, exhortation and creativity, to name just a few. These videos — all under 10 minutes — offer practical insights for honing the unquantifiable qualities that help innovators and other leaders flourish in the workplace, from motivating colleagues to managing time to persuading bouncing back from failure.

The Way We Think About Managing People Is Dead Wrong 

(Running time: 7:40)

West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran Lori Tompos — one of the first women in combat arms — has been developing leaders and teams for decades, and in this TED Talk, she sets the bar — projects need to be managed; people need to be led — then sets the tone: Her definition of leadership is heavy on purpose and empowerment, light on micromanagement and control.

The Secret to Talking about Climate Change 

(3:56)

This video, inspired by the research of Renee Lertzman, who studies the psychosocial aspects of climate change communications, offers ways to gently yet effectively broach the subject with the less green-minded people in your life, from organizational stakeholders still not sold on the importance of reducing emissions to your in-denial uncle. TL;DW: It’s as much about listening as talking. 

The 7 Keys to Creative Collaboration 

(2:18)

Team projects: love ’em or hate ’em, they’re an inescapable part of professional life. So too are the miscommunications and missed deadlines that often accompany them. Except now you can escape them! Give this clip two minutes and it will put you on the path to more positive group experiences, ones that manifest lots of synergy while generating minimal stress.

How to manage your time more effectively (according to machines) 

(5:56)

Sustainability professionals face demanding mandates and constantly changing regulations. How can you stay on top of it all? This popular TED Talk draws on computer science to suggest practical and achievable solutions. Spoiler: There’s much to be learned from the way computers organize tasks and manage time.

Harvard’s stress expert on how to be more resilient 

(9:04)

As oceans rise — and funding falls — so might your stress levels. In this video, Aditi Nerurkar, a physician and health communicator with expertise in burnout and mental health, explains the differences between adaptive and maladaptive stress, as well as mechanisms for rewiring your brain to boost resilience. The impact that has may well stretch beyond work and into other corners of your life.

6 Sustainability Interview Questions & Answers 

(9:13)

You’ve found your dream sustainability role and proofread your résumé; next up: the interview. Whether you’re gunning for climate analyst or CSO, this video will help you answer questions both industry-agnostic (Tell me about yourself) and sustainability-specific (What climate technology trends are you following?) with clarity and confidence. 

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Philips’ sustainability chief switches to Deutsche Telekom 

Send news about sustainability leadership roles, promotions and departures to [email protected].

Robert Metzke, who shepherded Dutch medical equipment company Philips’ push to integrate environmental considerations into new product design, is leaving to lead sustainability at German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom.

He will take over from Melanie Kubin-Hardewig, currently responsible for Group Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Telekom, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities effective June 30, 2026. Metzke will report to Michael Hagspihl, who’s responsible for global strategic projects and marketing partnerships. In a statement, Deutsche Telekom said Metzke will focus on the further development of its global impact strategy and performance management for its sustainability initiatives.

Metzke, a 17-year veteran at Philips, led sustainability for the past nine years. He most recently was senior vice president and global head of sustainability. 

During Metzke’s tenure, Philips became the first health technology company to have the emissions reduction targets across its entire greenhouse gas footprint approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.

The company also met its promise to include “EcoDesign” metrics — including reduced energy consumption, the elimination of hazardous substances and the use of lightweight or recycled materials — in all of its new product design roadmaps.

Philips is one of the few companies that calculates an environmental profit and loss statement that puts a monetary value on its environmental impact. The company uses that to prioritize emissions reduction investments. For example, it inspired a feature that uses artificial intelligence to reduce energy consumption in MRI machines.

Metzke cites more milestones in the Sept. 30 LinkedIn post about his job switch, with a shoutout to Philips employees: “Real change happens where human hearts meet, beyond roles and ratio. The late-night brainstorms, the courageous conversations, the shared belief that business can — and must — be a force for good.”

Simon Braaksma, head of non-financial reporting at Philips, will replace Metzke on an interim basis. “Our strong teams and foundations will ensure our ESG commitments continue without interruption,” the company said. 

Deutsche Telekom, a much larger company than Philips with close to $134 billion in revenue in 2024, was not immediately available for comment. Its emissions reduction plan calls for a 55 percent cut across its entire carbon footprint by 2030, compared with 2020. 

Like Philips, Deutsche Telekom cites circular business models that reimagine how products are sold and repaired as integral to its sustainability plan. The telecom’s goal is to make all of its technologies and devices “compatible” with a circular economy — prioritizing longer use cycles supported by repair services and materials reuse. Philips generates close to 25 percent of its revenue from circular models for upgrading or replacing its products.

Editor’s note: This article was updated Oct. 2 to add more details from Deutsche Telekom.

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NVIDIA’s top ESG priority: Slash the power gobbled by its AI chips

NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company with a $4.3 trillion market capitalization, adopted its first corporate social responsibility strategy almost 20 years ago. From the start, its agenda centered largely on human rights, supply chain management and philanthropic issues. 

Its priorities shifted in August 2023, when the company hired the assistant general counsel from hard drive maker Western Digital, Josh Parker, to revamp its sustainability strategy. Two years later, the company has stepped up its emissions reduction initiatives with two new commitments, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and disclosed in June 2025. 

But the biggest priority for NVIDIA’s sustainability team is advocating and steering continuous improvements in the energy efficiency of its graphics processors, a crucial component of the construction boom in data centers meant to power artificial intelligence.

“We cannot unlock the next level of performance for AI if we don’t deliver really dramatic improvements in energy efficiency,” Parker said. “It becomes a practical necessity to help us advance AI. It also is exactly what our customers want, because it lowers their total cost of ownership, of course, and also makes it easier just to build data centers in an energy supply-constrained environment.”

NVIDIA’s biggest buyers — including cloud companies Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft — desperately need to speed up AI processing times to have any hope of reaching their emissions reduction pledges. A single “AI factory” can use 100 to 200 megawatts of power annually — that’s on par with a traditional manufacturing facility, as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang notes in the company’s 2025 sustainability report.

“We work very closely with our customers on decarbonization,” Parker said.

NVIDIA’s latest technology architecture, called Blackwell, is 25 times more energy-efficient than its predecessor and 50 times more efficient than competitive offerings, according to the company. Translation: 40 trillion watt-hours of electricity can be saved annually by using technology accelerated with its graphics processors, NVIDIA estimates.

The company will use a new SBTI-validated emissions intensity pledge to measure ongoing progress: the goal is to reduce the emissions intensity from use of its products by 75 percent per PetaFLOP, or one quadrillion floating-point operations per second.  

“It’s the operation of our products that is, by far, the biggest impact from an emissions perspective,” Parker said. “So whatever we can do to make our products more energy efficient is the most impactful thing we can do.”

Deeper focus: supplier emissions

The emissions associated with NVIDIA’s production activities, however, are also skyrocketing. The company’s greenhouse gas inventory doubled from 2023 to 2025, to 6.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to its 2025 sustainability report. 

NVIDIA’s reduction targets call for a 50 percent cut for operations (Scope 1) and electricity consumption (Scope 2) by 2030, which account for less than 1 percent of the total. The company is “fabless,” meaning it relies on partners to manufacture its chips. The biggest single portion of NVIDIA’s reported footprint is purchased goods and services at about 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equipment in FY25. 

Two years ago, NVIDIA adopted a pledge to encourage two-thirds of its suppliers to adopt validated emissions reduction targets by 2026. It beat that goal by a year with 80 percent for the fiscal year ended Jan. 26. It has required reporting on water, energy and emissions since the 2014 timeframe. 

“Setting our own science-based target was actually one of the things we thought was important to do before becoming more ambitious with our supply chain decarbonization, because we want to make sure our suppliers know that we’re doing the same things we’re expecting of them,” Parker said. 

NVIDIA is stepping up the push, although it will stop short of mandating them. “What we’re doing is asking them to set science-aligned targets — so, targets that are consistent with the Paris Agreement,” he said. “We’re not requiring that they be validated by SBTi.”

The bulk of NVIDIA’s supply chain lies outside the U.S. — the single biggest facility being built on its behalf is in Guadalajara, Mexico. But the company has said it will spend $500 billion to ramp up domestic manufacturing, with facilities planned in Texas.

Parker’s corporate sustainability team of six people reports to a steering committee that includes members of NVIDIA’s executive leadership; it also updates a board-level governance committee semiannually. The next phase of NVIDIA’s strategy is a work in progress. 

“What we’re doing now is tactically trying to find what’s the best path,” he said. “Does it involve more domestic manufacturing in the United States? Does it involve more advocacy for regulatory reform? Does it involve investment in local renewable energy projects? We’re trying to figure out where the bottlenecks are, and then working both upstream and downstream to try to tackle these together.” 

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