Executives say sustainability is good for business

Executives from large companies with a presence in the Triangle touted progress toward environmental goals Wednesday at the Raleigh Chamber's inaugural sustainability conference.

"We're committed to accountability and transparency," said Mary Jacques, Lenovo's Executive Director of Global ESG & Regulatory Compliance.

Jacques said in a presentation that Lenovo is prioritizing climate change mitigation and a circular economy.

In January, the Chinese tech company with a campus in Morrisville announced its goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a plan that was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Lenovo is one of only 139 companies around the world with targets validated by the Net-Zero Standard.

Jacques says the company plans to completely eliminate 90% of its emissions and offset the remaining 10% with emerging technologies such as carbon capture.

David Knight, Director of Turf & Compact Utility Engineering for John Deere, said customers care about companies' carbon footprint.

The agricultural machinery company has invested in new technology and recently launched a number of green products including a lithium ion-powered residential mower.

Representatives from SAS, an analytics company with more than 12,000 employees across the globe and a campus in Cary, said its environmental policies are boosting employee recruitment and retention.

Jerry Williams, Chief Environmental Officer at SAS, stressed that sustainability is good for business. "If you want to remain competitive, you better make sure you're taking climate change seriously," he said.

The conference wrapped up with a keynote Q&A with Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who's a NC native and former Secretary of the NC Department of Environmental Quality.

Regan says the market demand for sustainability, along with federal regulations and incentives, can speed up progress.

"It’s a win-win opportunity," Regan said. "There's consumer demand which means there’s profit to be made while we also protect our land, our water, and our public health," Regan said.