Welcome to our newest episode in the Women in Climate series! I’m your hostess, Bianca Ruiz, and in today’s episode, we get the chance to talk with Mary Tullis Engvall, former Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability of Cigna and current Member of the Nature Conservancy’s Women in Climate Coalition. Listen to find out more about the Women in Climate network, Mary’s role in Corporate Sustainability, and how she is working towards finding new solutions to Climate Change!
Welcome to our newest episode in the Women in Climate series! I’m your hostess, Bianca Ruiz, and in today’s episode, we get the chance to talk with Mary Tullis Engvall, former Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability of Cigna and current Member of the Nature Conservancy’s Women in Climate Coalition. Listen to find out more about the Women in Climate network, Mary’s role in Corporate Sustainability, and how she is working towards finding new solutions to Climate Change!
Bianca Ruiz: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome back to the Streaming Science Podcast. Streaming Science is a student-driven program that works to connect you with scientists to learn how a science impacts all of us in our daily lives. I am Bianca Ruz, a second year animal science student at the University of Florida, and your hostess for today's episode.
You're currently listening to an episode where we talk with women from the Nature Conservancies, women in Climate Coalition. About how they're working together to find climate change solutions. The woman in Climate Coalition unites women from all backgrounds to solve the climate crisis through innovation labs, facilitated networks and policy workshops.
In the following interview, I spoke with Mary Tellis Engvall. We discussed her involvement in the Women in Climate Network and her previous role as the Director of Corporate Responsibility of Cigna through this podcast. I hope you gain an insight into Mary's work in corporate, restore sustainability, and how she's working towards creating a more sustainable world.[00:01:00]
So Mary, please introduce yourself and the woman in climate network.
Mary Tullis Engvall: Hi, Bianca. Well, thank you so much for having me here and I'm really excited to talk about these topics today. So, just a little bit of background on myself. Um, I've had what I feel like is a rewarding career path, uh, that includes experience in, uh, corporate responsibility and corporate philanthropy.
And earlier in my career, um, I kind of started out in public relations, marketing, communications, and, uh, right outta school. Um, I was in sales. So just hope that helps everybody, uh, who may be starting their career path understand that, you know, one thing leads to another. Um, it's, uh, it's not usually kinda a straight in direction.
Um, but I've spent the last years focus on building corporate responsibility. And that kind of business function within companies. And the point of that is really to create [00:02:00] value for, uh, both the business itself and for the greater society. Um, I'm also an active volunteer and have been, um, throughout my, uh, adult life.
Um, I'm currently active, um, for several organizations, uh, whose mission I care deeply about. Um, I'm on the board of trustees for my local historic nonprofit library. And, um, the important topic that brings us together today is my volunteer role with the Nature Conservancy. Um, and their Women in Climate Program.
Women in Climate is part of the nature of Conservancy's Comprehensive Climate Strategy. The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit organization and certainly the audience, um, you know, can find them online if they're not familiar, um, with a larger organization's work. There's several really valuable outcomes that the women in Climate Group, um, hope to generate.
But if I'm gonna kind of sum up its purpose, I'd say the [00:03:00] overarching mission is to catalyze transformational change through uniting and supporting women from a variety of backgrounds, uh, to drive and fund solutions to climate change. And currently right now, um, the Women in Climate Network is over 200 women strong and the nature conservancies kind of.
I would say creative and effective approach works through hosting, um, something they call innovation labs. Um, running policy workshops and other kind of facilitated gatherings of this, you know, network that really kind of, you know, leverage this group of, um, of people that are working in the field of climate change in order to really achieve, I would say high impact climate solutions.
Bianca Ruiz: I love always hearing everything about Women In Climate. I think it's really an amazing seeing organization and it's really [00:04:00] interesting to see how everybody kind of comes from different sides of the world and come from different specialties. Mm-hmm. It's all to work towards the common goal. Right. And exactly.
Just like for you, you're more involved in the corporate side of things while some of the other women in the uh, network are more science based or maybe working on the field with different species or different ecosystems. So I think it's a really amazing work that pulls in everybody to work towards this common goal.
And what I wanna know is kind of what sparked your interest of finding climate change in the corporate world?
Mary Tullis Engvall: So this may sound a little kind of polyannish to some of the listeners, um, but I stand by it. Um, I, I firmly believe that business is a force for good and, um, and certainly can be, um, when it tries to be.
Uh, so, you know, of course businesses are focused on providing a product or service and they do it in, um, in a way that, you know, Supports what people are looking for. Mm-hmm. [00:05:00] And makes them financially successful. And that's the whole kind of basic concept of business. And so that's kind of first and foremost what business is focused on.
So this is not, when we talk about this topic of E S G or corporate responsibility, right? Environmental, social and governance initiatives, they're not separate. From all of that, they are part of helping the company do business. Well, they are levers that can be pulled. So for me, you know, I, I would really say that I've always been attracted to the opportunities that, you know, companies have to add value to business and society, kind of that win-win, um, opportunity.
And that's really, I mean, everything a business does is, is about that. Um, you know, if you. You know, our, our A restaurant providing meals, um, you know, there are so many great things that you can do that allow [00:06:00] you to kind of meet the needs both of your, your customers and your community that add value. And then I think as I saw, corporate responsibility as a business function where there's, um, you know, really kind of deep strategy.
And, uh, goal setting and transparency around performance. Uh, that just to me just seemed like the perfect fit of my interest in, um, you know, kind of conservation and, um, social responsibility and my interest in, uh, in the business arena.
Bianca Ruiz: I think that's really awesome that you're able to find something that kind of combines both.
And I think it's something that's really interesting about kind of having to work with these different companies to kind of find that balance of going towards their goal and their objective as a company, while also helping their community in the environment, whether it's socially, um, economically, environmentally.
And, um, as we mentioned before, you're the se the former [00:07:00] senior director of corporate responsibility of Cigna for a few years. Can you kind of tell the audience more about what Cigna Healthcare is?
Mary Tullis Engvall: Absolutely. Yeah. I spent over a decade at Cigna. Um, it's a global health services company. Um, the mission of Cigna is to improve the health, wellbeing, and peace of mind of the people they serve.
Bianca Ruiz: And I know we've been kind of going around about corporate responsibility. Can you kind of define that more for our listeners and how it connects with the topic of climate change?
Mary Tullis Engvall: Yes. I am so glad that we're starting with this question because it is something that is um, uh, either, uh, not fully understood or actually misunderstood.
So it goes by many names, corporate responsibility. Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, E s G, um, corporate citizenship, whatever a company calls this function. It's how companies combine a broad range of environmental, social, and governance topics into their business decisions and their actions.[00:08:00]
So, Bianca, I like to tell people, it kind of expresses what a company values and mm-hmm. You can tell that if you look at the initiatives, the, you know, E S G, I'll call them now initiatives because they should reflect that they are aligned to the company's unique mission. It's not about every company just saying, oh, you know, we all need to do these five things, um, to make sure we're perceived as a responsible company.
It's about really understanding what is the mission of our company, what is our expertise, what are our resources? Who are our stakeholders, and I know we're gonna get into that topic, um, a little more. And therefore, what should we be doing on these topics?
Bianca Ruiz: Yes, and I know we're gonna go more into this later on in the episode, but I 100% agree.
How are they gonna be able to kind of make the most [00:09:00] impact they can with their specialty? Not every company's the same. Not all of 'em are gonna have the same goals. So really kind of personalizing it to themselves. I. And laying out these objectives and being like, okay, where can we make the most, uh, impact?
Whether they're an agricultural based company or maybe a transportation based company. What can they do to kind of serve their community and serve their members and kind of serve the people that they're providing for and build their business, which is still a big thing that the company kind of sets for.
So kind of finding that balance, I feel like is really interesting and how it kind of differentiates, uh, between company and company. Exactly. And then one thing that I feel like kind of ties into that is being, uh, scientific, scientifically literate. And that is one of the goals of our podcast to help listeners understand the importance of science literacy.
Science literacy for everybody who may not be familiar with the term, refers to the ability to read, understand, and interpret scientific topics in the field that are currently being studied. No matter what field you're in, science literacy is a valuable tool that everyone could help understand [00:10:00] important, uh, topics in the field and how it applies to all of us. Mary, while you've spent your career in the business realm and not a scientist, you are still probably familiar with the term science literacy. Do you think science literacy is also an important factor when it comes to working in corporate responsibility?
Mary Tullis Engvall: Absolutely. Um, to put it short, yeah. I, I, yeah, I, I, um, I can't underscore enough, um, as I've kind of mentioned already that there's a lot of generalization and misunderstandings or just incomplete information about what these e s, ESG topics are, um, and, and how they are or are not related to business and that confusion.
Um, Is problematic. Uh, it can lead to a lack of support. It can lead to lackluster or misaligned goals. It can lead to greenwashing or social washing. So it's really important, and this is true of everything of [00:11:00] course, right? That, um, that people understand, um, in a scientific way. Um, What we are actually talking about.
Mm-hmm. And, uh, when it comes specifically in a, on the science side of it, that would be more under the environmental, um, pillar of E S G. And there's actually a whole kind of focus on what's called, you know, kind of, um, science-based targets. So this has been. And still continues to be and will continue to be, um, a heavy lift for companies to start to understand their carbon footprint.
Um, get the expertise, whether it's some people that they bring on board or outside organizations, um, where they seek support to really [00:12:00] understand, you know, what are the protocols, um, how do companies set these targets? And I think more and more, um, as this becomes, you know, a really important topic for business success, a a lot of that rigor around mm-hmm.
Um, the science behind it, um, is going to continue, um, to be supported and, and I think that's great.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah, I think that's great as well. I think especially things are gonna be progressing and hopefully everything will continue to improve and people are gonna really be able to understand these scientific backgrounds.
And, um, we're talking here about kind of reducing carbon footprint and that all kind of ties to sustainability and protecting earth's resources and climate. But what does sustainability mean in the corporate world?
Mary Tullis Engvall: So, you know, kind of going back, um, if I, if you don't mind just to that first statement where mm-hmm.
The word sustainability, um, is a kind of a general term [00:13:00] in the corporate world and often means corporate responsibility or that total realm of E s G. Um, so, you know, You have to kind of understand that when you're reading things, um, and understand are they actually talking about environmental sustainability or are they talking about this more overarching term of corporate responsibility?
Um, it's one of the reasons that we chose the, uh, the, the term corporate responsibility, um, because there's just a lot of connotations with the word sustainability. And we didn't wanna, you know, again, be misleading or confuse anybody when we were talking about more than, than, um, environmental sustainability alone.
Mm-hmm. So, but let's talk about environmental sustainability. Let's kind of, you know, say that that's what we're, we're talking about now. Um, you know, it's. It, it's, uh, again, [00:14:00] it's very different for, um, for each company. But if we do look at, you know, kind of, uh, the decarbonization of the economy, and you know what, that's.
Going to take for companies to be successful. Uh, and we start to look at, uh, some of the standardization that is happening around, um, the goal setting in this area. So that's really what we're talking about is kind of two things, is. Um, you know, minimizing impact to a point where, um, it has the impact we need it to have.
So that would be through setting conservation goals, um, around energy, around, uh, water. Um, and, and then I think, you know, waste, et cetera. Um, and then I think there are, Opportunities as well. And we're gonna touch on that I think a little later in the interview. So I'm not gonna go too deep here, but you know, in addition to [00:15:00] trying to conserve and lower your impact, um, what can you actually do as a business that will be a solution.
And so that's kind of the, the two, um, sides of that environmental sustainability coin.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah. I love that you kind of touched on that and how it's more than just what we may know of it now. There's a lot of different branches that are kind of fitting under corporate responsibility and what it does for the company and its people.
Mm-hmm. And you've been working in corporate responsibility for a while, for a few years now, especially with Cigna, and you've kind of kind of worked through it all and kind of helped build it as Cigna. And what do you think were some of the biggest challenges you actually faced kind of growing that corporate responsibility branch?
Mary Tullis Engvall: So in the beginning, you know, myself at Cigna and certainly my counterparts at other, um, companies, um, you know, we were, we were a small group, um, uh, in general, uh, and. At each of [00:16:00] our companies. We were very small teams. That certainly when I started, it was just, I used to say a team of three, me, myself, and I.
But, uh, but so, so, you know, in those early days when, um, you know, and, and certainly, you know, the companies that had these positions were. Supporting this work and they had added the position and hired us to do this work, but it still was our responsibility to make the business case and really help. Areas of the company understand what is this, why does it matter?
Um, and what is their role in it? And I used to, um, say as I, you know, went around, um, Cigna and talked to different people that, you know, I kind of felt a little like, um, uh, you know, we had a teacher in grade school and they had. Um, I'm probably dating myself. Maybe this doesn't happen anymore, but they would have like the little, the little book of gold stars.
Bianca Ruiz: Um, no, [00:17:00] I know a hundred percent what you're talking about. I, I love those gold stars. Right? I did everything to get a gold star.
Mary Tullis Engvall: Yes, exactly. So my job in the beginning was to go around and put the gold stars on everybody and they'd be like, wait. Me, like, you know, working in facilities, what do I have to do with this?
So you went back to the child supply chain. What do I have to do with this in hr? What do I have to do with this? And then we'd have the conversation and I'd kind of explained. Um, but so yeah, so it was really kind of making the, the business case, um, getting the resources, you know, that I think everybody at every company, you know, always has to, to do that work, um, and show, you know, kind of why.
The work they're doing is important and how it needs to be supported. Um, cuz again, you know, a company needs to be fiscally responsible first and foremost. Um, and, uh, and so, you know, even though you've been hired to do this work, um, does not, does not by any chance, um, mean that you have cart launch, [00:18:00] um, to just go ahead and do what you want.
Um, so, um, so I think that was, you know, that was a good piece of it. And it was really kind of bridging in the, in the early days, that kind of knowledge gap, um, helping the company identify risks, um, and, you know, always hopefully identifying opportunities at that side of, it's always more challenging. Um, but, uh, the, the other piece I think was.
Understanding, um, the stakeholder sentiment around these topics. And again, it just, in the early days, that just wasn't something that companies were doing. Um, now stakeholder engagement on e s G topics, um, you know, is, is well established. Uh, but it wasn't then, and you know, Asking for and getting the opportunity to engage with stakeholders and ask them questions and use that information to help us develop our initiatives, um, and set our goals.[00:19:00]
Uh, you know, that was kind of a big ask. And so, you know, that's what, like I say, myself and my counterparts at other companies, um, you know, really kind of, that was our challenge. That was, that was kind of what we focused on.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah, and I feel like all the support from the stakeholders really helps them make it grow.
Whether any project you have stakeholders play a really big part, and lots of people may not actually understand what the term stakeholders mean. And stakeholders are pretty much leaders, whether it's gonna be individuals or groups that are interested in your organization's goals and help to invest towards your projects.
They are really important relationships organizations have to grow and succeed towards their goal. Can you explain more about stakeholders in the corporate field and the impact they have on responsibility management?
Mary Tullis Engvall: Absolutely. So examples of stakeholders at a company would be the company's employees, companies, customers, and or clients, depending on whether they're kind of, you know, B2B or B2C type company, companies, vendors, [00:20:00] um, it's investors.
So these are all groups of, uh, of people that have a vested interest in the success of the company. People wanna work for companies that the expression is, you know, doing things right and doing the right things. Um, they really do want to work for a company that is genuinely, um, socially and environmentally responsible, um, and has great governance, uh, programs that make them, you know, ethical and, um, and trustworthy.
So, one really important. Stakeholder when we talk about this E S G world, uh, is the investor community. And you had asked me earlier about, you know, kind of in the early days, you know, what were some of the challenges? Um, again, myself and, and my counterparts at other companies, um, really felt like, [00:21:00] you know, what's really gonna make a difference, um, is when the investor community.
Really starts to focus on these topics. Um, you know, money talks, especially in the business world, and there's nothing wrong with that. Mm-hmm. In fact, in this case, It's a good thing. Uh, and so we saw this happen, um, and it, when it happened, honestly, for me personally, I'll just speak for myself, it happened even faster than I thought it would.
Um, I felt like we've been waiting for so many years trying to make the business case, trying to make the business case. And then, you know, when the, um, investors, you know, kind of really started. Focusing on E S G as, you know, kind of a lens, you know, they call it in the investment community like Alpha, where you kind of, you know, how do you kind of, you know, look at, at.
A company and, um, you know, how can you kind of discern, um, its ability, uh, to succeed. [00:22:00] And when they started looking at all of these topics within the environmental pillar, the social pillar and the governance pillar, it became very clear that companies that are well managed and that are focused on growing themselves.
Are, have this stuff, you know, either as, you know, already embedded into how they operate and are continuing to focus on it and build on it. And companies that are not looking at these things could, it could be a huge risk for them. Um, and there's so many ways that it could be a huge risk, but, you know, they could have a big, um, you know, um, uh, Social media campaign against them if they are, you know, found to be using, um, you know, child labor, let's say, um, in a particular country or, um, you know, just if they're not.
Treating their own employees, you know, kind of [00:23:00] fairly in terms of compensation or, um, those types of, of, of topics. And, you know, I could go on and on with examples, but you get the idea where those, you know, those could be real, um, real risks, you know, or they could simply be very inefficient. Um, and, you know, therefore, um, not have the bottom line results that they're looking for because of, you know, all of their operating costs.
So there's so many ways where the E s G topics help the investor community. Um, you know, really think about the, um, the companies they invest in and, uh, you know, their ability to be successful financially.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah. And I could kind of see why they understand because they're looking to invest and they kind of see the potential it has to kind of go forward and kind of move and be impactful.
So, So we were talking about earlier about kind of building that tr that trustworthiness and reporting and kind of showing their members what they're doing with their E [00:24:00] S G goals. And can you tell us more about how companies report their sustainability goals and performance and how you kind of see that evolving more in the future?
Mary Tullis Engvall: I'd love to talk about that. And again, for anyone listening who's interested, if you go on the website of um, uh, you know, again, most of the large public companies now, uh, you will. You know, be able to search on either their corporate responsibility report, sustainability report, e s g report, one of those terms, you know, will come up with something.
Um, and then you can kind of take a look at, um, and certainly I welcome you to look at, at, at Cigna's. Um, Uh, I just, um, retired from Cigna very recently and, um, we've got a, um, a really, you know, again, back in the day when it was me, myself, and I, um, you know, it's, it's a real matrix, kind of, you know, across the organization team now.
Um, very collaborative and working really hard on it. So I [00:25:00] think it's a good example. Um, is it all public? So myself, Absolutely. And that's the most important piece. All of this has to be public. If it's not public, it's meaningless. Mm-hmm. So, um, so we, we did our first public report. That was kind of my first goal when I started back in 2012.
So 2013 was our first public report. And, um, and Cigna has had a. Public e sg report every year since. Um, and, uh, and each year, you know, it kind of grows, um, in, in scope and our goals continue, um, to, uh, to be reestablished, um, and. You know, reporting on the performance is incredibly important. So what I wanna talk to you about in terms of how companies do this, so we talked before about these universal standards.
So it's very important that a company is using a rigorous set of standards. Um, it's also important that you see that they have had stakeholder engagement. So that [00:26:00] they are, you know, getting those outside voices inside the company. Um, and, and the internal voices as well are being heard and developing a strategy so that they can set meaningful goals.
So that's kind of the table stakes. Now what happens next is how are you performing against those goals? And we talked about if it's not public, it's meaningless. There has to be transparency, which is why we work really hard to discuss this as a journey. And any journey. I mean, we're all, you know, people working at these companies.
Any journey is not just. Straight up and to the right. Um, you know, there are challenges. Certainly none of us saw the, you know, kind of the. Pandemic, um, to the extent that we right had it and how that transformed things and changed things and delayed things. Um, so it's really important that [00:27:00] you're able to have a balanced report, which means you talk about the good and you talk about.
Challenging, right? It can't just be, you know, oh, it's all just great and we're just doing so well and we think you're just gonna love everything we're doing. Um, it's gotta be real and every company will have challenges. So, you know, you would see if you looked, not that anyone will do this, but if you looked at, you know, um, different, uh, companies, CR reports from year to year, you'll find every once in a while that they will restate information.
Um, because they've learned something, you know, they've learned that, you know, either maybe they hadn't gotten good information at one point, and so it led to something that they learned later was not accurate or, um, uh, you know, that they've, they've kind of changed the process on something and they're including, you know, let's say like in an acquisition, they're including a whole, you know, another set of, uh, facilities within their reporting, that kind of thing.
So it's really important to understand [00:28:00] all that. And be able to look at these, uh, reports and see yourself as whatever stakeholder group you are, even if it's just, you know, kind of a, you know, community minded, interested, um, individual, um, and really be able to see. Why does this matter to the company? How are they using their expertise and resources to, you know, make, um, meaningful change happen?
Uh, how are they measuring it? How are they performing against it? Um, and if they are having challenges, how are they explaining how they will address those challenges?
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah, and I feel like in orbiter, for any company to grow, for anybody to grow, you have to look at what are some things that I've been challenging, how can you improve from, and it's gonna really just build that trustworthiness with the company, with its who, their providers, their stakeholders, their workers, the people they're providing their services to.
It's just building that trust, reporting honestly, [00:29:00] the good and the bad, because that's how we all improve. Like we said, like nothing's linear. It's not just gonna keep going get better, there's gonna be some challenges along the way, but with that honesty, it's really gonna allow for growth.
Mary Tullis Engvall: That's right.
And every company's at a different place in their journey. So there are some, mm-hmm. You know, um, leading companies that, you know, really have, uh, been doing this, you know, for much longer than others and are very sophisticated. And then there are some that are very early in their journey. Uh, so understanding that as well, um, I think is important.
But, um, as long as you know, you see that they are doing these public. Um, reports that they're setting meaningful goals, that they're measuring them, um, and that are transparent with, uh, reporting on their performance. I think that it's, it's really helpful.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah. And what do you think is one of the biggest things that you think corporations really need to implement to make the most of their corporate sustainability strategy?
Mary Tullis Engvall: I would say [00:30:00] that stakeholder management piece, you know, we talked about it a little earlier, but really, um, listening, asking the right questions, taking the time to then, you know, really kind of look at the business. Um, but, but understanding that, and. Really engaging with those stakeholders and then turning that information into, you know, goals, objectives, um, solutions, I think is really where the, the, the power of ESG sets.
Um, I think it's, again, just using it, um, as kind of a business strategy lens and. Innovating with solutions that create, that shared value, that value for the business and the value for society.
Bianca Ruiz: Yeah, and I'm really happy that we reached out to you for this podcast. Yeah. I feel like you could really bring something to the table that nots a lot of people are, will have known is like a huge thing in the field with [00:31:00] climate change.
And lots of people will think about more the scientific route, what people are doing on the field with their ecosystems and you're doing things that not a lot of people don't know about are really impactful. How would you advise companies who may still be early on in this journey of being socially and environmentally responsible?
Mary Tullis Engvall: I would give them the advice to, you know, again, kind of start with, um, their stakeholders and then also to avail themselves of some experts. And I think, you know, having. People internally obviously is critical. Uh, but there are some really great expertise externally as well. Uh, there's certainly a lot of, um, you know, consulting firms and, um, you know, some other kind of e s G organizations that they can connect with, and I think that combining those two things and then [00:32:00] making the commitment.
I mean, really making the commitment, you know, not just like, yeah, we think we might do this, but wait, if it starts to take a lot of time and money, we're not going to, um, you know, really understanding how critical it is, making the commitment and then taking the time to do it very thoughtfully. Don't feel like you have to catch up with everybody immediately, or you have to take on, you know, all of.
The G R I standards in your very first report. I do think it's something that can be stepped into and having, you know, really done that stakeholder engagement, you'll understand what are the top priorities and then what are maybe some more kind of forward looking priorities and just be transparent. Uh, the last thing I think I would add is I think it's very important.
Especially for companies starting now when things are more sophisticated and more kind of regulated, um, [00:33:00] is that, uh, you know, they make sure that they are, you know, either working with their internal audit team or an external, um, audit organization so that anything that they, you know, report, um, of course is, you know, accurate, um, and not, um, accidentally misleading.
In any way, you know, there's, there's a lot going on right now. Uh, as I mentioned in the investment community, there's also a lot going on within different governments that are setting regulations that are going to impact a much broader group of. Companies that are going to, um, be maybe suppliers to some of these larger public companies that are required to do certain things, um, if they, you know, do business in some of these countries or are on some of the, uh, different stock exchanges.
So I think really kind of understanding the criticality of that is [00:34:00] very important. Uh, you know, one thing I didn't bring up yet, But, um, you know, with the US government, with the, uh, the new Inflation Reduction Act, uh, you know, there's a lot of sustainability focused topics in there. So again, I think, you know, really understanding, um, you know, how the ripple effect will continue and how this will touch companies of almost every size.
And starting it with that level of respect and understanding and sophistication, but not, again, not feeling like you have to do everything today. Uh, but you know, what you do, um, do well, uh, be transparent and, um, and look at it. First and foremost from, you know, the opportunity side of this, you know, how can you, how can you add value to your business at the same time that you are adding value to society?[00:35:00]
Bianca Ruiz: I really liked hearing your insight about it because you have a really good perspective on what works and what doesn't work since you've worked with Cigna for a while, and I feel like it's not only valuable to companies, but also people who are interested in working in the same like line of work that you're doing now.
So what is one piece of advice you would give to someone interested in working in this field? That is such
Mary Tullis Engvall: a great question. It's one I get a lot, as you can probably imagine. And the first thing I want to tell people is to understand that this is everyone's job. This is about the work of the company.
It's not as I used to say, like the do-gooder department down the hall and like, oh, you know, they're just in charge of that. My role was really more like the role of like an investigative reporter and, you know, I would marry those two things. My, you know, deep understanding of all of the different topics, um, and details within the, the three pillars of ESG.[00:36:00]
And. You know, what is the company doing in all of these different areas? It is the work of the company. So anywhere that you work within a company, for the most part, has a direct connection to E S G. So whether you work in HR or you work in supply chain, or you work in facilities, all of those areas, Have pieces of their work that fall into E S G strategy and goals and reporting.
So wherever you are, if you have an interest, um, or if you're not, you know, in a company yet and you have an interest, let's say in supply chain management, you know, you absolutely can look for. Who is doing the sustainability related topics within supply chain management and you know, maybe that's the, the e s g management team.
[00:37:00] Um, and you connect with them, or maybe it's somebody you know within, uh, your supply chain team. But just reach out with that area of interest and connect with the people that are doing the reporting and then collaborate with them, you know, offer. The other thing I would say is if you very specifically are interested in, um, you know, like the business function that I work in, which is that e s g, you know, strategy and reporting, um, kind of the e S G strategic management.
Then it's really important to get the technical skills. Um, it's, this is something that goes from being general to being super specific very quickly, and I think folks in the scientific world, Have a real appreciation for that. So it is really important if you are interested in doing that, um, that you, you know, get online, uh, connect with, um, the [00:38:00] different, uh, you know, kind of consulting firms that do a lot of blog posts on this, um, you know, different, uh, Standard setting organizations and, you know, really learn what's happening in this field.
Um, you know, what are the very specific standards, what are the topics being discussed? Just get really familiar with the details of it all. And then when you get the opportunity, whether it's through an internship or um, you know, a volunteer. Kind of, if you will roll, like I'm giving you the example before of somebody who works in supply chain that may raise their hand and reach out to the ESG team and say, Hey, you know, is there more information I can kind of, you know, provide work that we can do on a supply chain sustainability plan, et cetera.
So, you know, whichever way you could kind of get involved with that team as a foot in the door. Do it with, um, some background [00:39:00] knowledge and, you know, really be able to kind of, even if you haven't had the experiential learning yet, um, you know, with just, um, some educational, uh, you know, kind of insight on, on what you're talking about.
I think. I think that really separates people when they're looking for these roles. And, um, there still aren't a lot of people that have the real technical, um, skillset. So if you can set yourself up that way and become familiar, uh, with the technical piece of the reporting, I think it will help you get your foot in the.
Bianca Ruiz: Yes, and I feel like this is advice on not only people that are interested in specific work field could use, but anybody really, students, people were kind of just looking for a job out there in the, in their career field, because I feel like it really applies. Being prepared, reaching out, forming connections.
I'm currently a student over here at uf. And that's something I really learned, the importance of connections, putting yourself out there, trying to connect with people, trying to [00:40:00] prepare yourself, get background, um, knowledge on things that you're interested in. So I'm really interested in animal science and I have a lot of connections with wild, uh, livestock and wildlife.
Wildlife conservation is a really big passion of mine. So I kind of got into communications to kind of help myself branch out and learn different things that are gonna be really important. Because communicating wildlife conservation is really huge in helping to advocate and connect with other scientists out in the field.
Mary Tullis Engvall: Absolutely.
Bianca Ruiz: Kind of really building on your skills, getting prepared and working on those technical things that they're looking for is really gonna put you out there. I really admire what you and the Women and Climate Network are really trying to do, bringing in all these 200 women from across the world, kind of connecting for a common goal towards climate change.
And you really bring an a unique stance on to the solution of climate change, working with the corporate responsibility and the corporate world. And what I was wondering is what is the difference you are hoping to make in the field of corporate responsibility with your position [00:41:00] in the Women in Climate Network?
Mary Tullis Engvall: I think what, uh, how I would answer that question is, you know, going back to the thing that I probably at this point feel like I'm harping on, um, but it's really advancing the opportunities side. Um, I, I think at this point, We've done a lot around, um, risk mitigation, um, within the, the business community.
Um, and certainly this, you know, group of women, you know, working, um, in fields that are, um, either directly related to climate change or impacted directly by climate change. Um, you know, they, they, they don't. Really need to, uh, to kind of understand that risk side. They see it every single day. So for me, what I would love to see is real change made, real solutions [00:42:00] offered.
And if I can bring my skillset, I. Um, to this, you know, powerful and interesting and passionate group of, of women, um, to, you know, give them a voice, uh, to help them with the funding, um, and to support them with a network that makes these solutions, um, you know, happen. For me, that would be everything. That, that's what I'm hoping that I'll be able to contribute.
Yeah, and I feel like this is a really important part of the field that could really help us to under better discover solutions towards climate change. And I'm really excited to hear more in the future about your work in the Women in Climate Network and what you all do to kind of find these solutions and work together across the globe and really form these connections.
Bianca Ruiz: Mary, I really wanna say thank you so much for coming out to talk with us about your role in corporate responsibility and its impact on climate change.
Mary Tullis Engvall: Well, Bianca, thank you so much. Um, I have to tell you, I I, I really [00:43:00] just, um, have so much hope for our world when I talk to people of your generation and, uh, and thank you for including me.
And I'll mention, um, you know, both for you and for your listeners, if anyone wants to connect with me on LinkedIn, um, you can find me, uh, it's Mary Teis Engal and uh, I'd be happy to keep the conversation going.
Bianca Ruiz: Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to the Women in Climate Series on the Streaming Science Podcast.
Make sure it to check out on our website and social media for more. I am your host, Yaka Ruez. Thank you for listening. For more information, visit the links in the show notes.