Mike Train, Emerson Chief Sustainability Officer. High resolution image
Sustainability is quickly emerging as the most pressing demand our industries face. A company’s commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance has evolved from being a question of reputation to one of business sustainability. Customers are choosing their suppliers based on it, and employees are choosing where to invest their careers based on it too.
Industrial manufacturers and energy providers are hungry for ideas and solutions—technologies, services and practices to help them achieve their own environmental sustainability objectives. Prospective employees want to work for a company that takes meaningful steps to make the world a better place, a company they can be proud to talk about. Shareholders want to know the companies they invest in are taking urgent action to address these issues while creating real and sustainable value.
With that in mind, the Net Zero by 2050 goals that companies are putting forth today are ambitious and important to build a better future but fall short on truly providing a path to get there. Without taking immediate and urgent action now, the climate change burden will be too big to overcome—meaning we must act today toward the more sustainable future we envision.
I have spent the last 30+ years working with customers around the world, helping them understand how automation can transform their business performance in the areas of production, safety and profitability. Now, those same principles and innovations that improved financial performance can be unleashed to make a huge impact for companies across the world becoming more sustainable.
Meeting Net Zero by 2050 goals won’t happen overnight. It won’t be easy or simple. There are no magic recipes. However, it is possible and it is our responsibility to figure it out together.
This Emerson site will tackle head on the key sustainability issues that are important to Emerson and our customers, including decarbonization, emissions management, electrification and energy efficiency and optimization.
It will lay out the massive challenges our world is facing, the barriers to what is holding us all back, the role automation can play right now in the solution and highlight people already stepping up to take meaningful progress in the right direction. Most importantly, we will focus on measurable action Emerson is taking to further enhance our approach to environmental sustainability and define our role in making the world a better place for future generations to enjoy.
Meeting Net Zero by 2050 goals won’t happen overnight. It won’t be easy or simple. There are no magic recipes. However, it is possible and it is our responsibility to figure it out together. We cannot leave this sustainability burden to our children and grandchildren to deal with—especially when we have technology available today to make real, tangible progress.
Though not all will agree on the science, I hope we can find consensus that leaving the world in better environmental shape for generations to follow is a legacy worth pursuing. And it’s a pursuit we all have responsibility for and influence over today.
Sincerely,
Mike Train
