THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
Sustainability is at an inflection point. After years focused on compliance and reporting, the function is evolving into a strategic driver of business value – and the leaders navigating this shift are redefining what ' s possible.
Hilary Tam has spent more than 15 years in sustainability and has watched the function move from“ doing the right thing” at the margins to shaping core business strategy. As Sustainability Leader for Amazon Web Services( AWS) across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, she now works with customers to accelerate their journeys using cloud and AI.
While in recent years much of the focus has been on compliance, reporting and regulation, especially in Europe, Hilary empowers sustainability leaders to move beyond these requirements. As organisations build the data infrastructure needed to meet these demands, a key realisation is emerging,“ Once you have that data foundation, if you ' re using it just for reporting purposes, then you ' re really leaving value on the table,” Hilary points out. Using that same data, enabled by cloud and AI, the opportunity now is to drive efficiency, optimisation, better products and richer customer experiences, turning sustainability from obligation into opportunity.
The era of Commercial Sustainability Hilary is part of a new wave of leaders moving sustainability from a cost centre towards a driver of growth, resilience and competitiveness. In practice, that means integrating sustainability
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