Careers
Passion to Purpose
Managing Director of Energy and Sustainability, Vanita, shares how she turns her passion for the great outdoors into purpose-driven work, helping companies achieve their environmental sustainability goals.
July 14, 2022 3 Minute Read
I helped a client put together a high-level strategy detailing what we need to do to get to net zero, what we can do to reduce and offset emissions, and what the cost and timeline would be. It was fulfilling and rewarding to help the client make that huge jump.
“I’ve always been very passionate about climate change—how it affects our world and how we live in it,” says Vanita, GWS managing director of energy and sustainability. Vanita loves hiking and backpacking in the mountains and she brings this passion to her work leading a team dedicated to driving energy reduction and sustainability results for clients in the healthcare and industrial sectors.
“What we do directly impacts our clients’ environmental outlooks and goals,” Vanita explains. “Our primary responsibility is to support our clients’ goals. We are guiding them along the way to reduce energy, water and waste, helping them meet their science-based targets, and taking accountability for implementation.”
To make an impact, these efforts take time, although Vanita stresses the importance of starting with the right strategy. Vanita worked with one client that had set net zero targets for 2040 but they didn’t know how they would get there. “I helped them put together a high-level strategy detailing what we need to do to get to net zero, what we can do to reduce and offset emissions, and what the cost and timeline would be,” says Vanita. “They bought into the strategy we developed and we’re starting to mobilize on it now. It was fulfilling and rewarding to help the client make that huge jump.”
Vanita is focused when it comes to getting things done, including for fun, personal goals. While there are many places she loves to hike, she is particularly fond of Colorado—where she climbed her first ‘fourteener.’ And when it comes to driving sustainability outcomes for clients, Vanita says collaboration is key.
“To be able to achieve any client goals, everybody is going to have to break down silos and work together. There is not one person who can drive the whole thing. Sustainability touches everything from a technician picking a light bulb to a person making investment decisions for the company. Everybody has to be looking at it from a sustainability lens.
To learn more about how we’re realizing a sustainable future, download our Corporate Responsibility Report here.
“What we do directly impacts our clients’ environmental outlooks and goals,” Vanita explains. “Our primary responsibility is to support our clients’ goals. We are guiding them along the way to reduce energy, water and waste, helping them meet their science-based targets, and taking accountability for implementation.”
To make an impact, these efforts take time, although Vanita stresses the importance of starting with the right strategy. Vanita worked with one client that had set net zero targets for 2040 but they didn’t know how they would get there. “I helped them put together a high-level strategy detailing what we need to do to get to net zero, what we can do to reduce and offset emissions, and what the cost and timeline would be,” says Vanita. “They bought into the strategy we developed and we’re starting to mobilize on it now. It was fulfilling and rewarding to help the client make that huge jump.”
Vanita is focused when it comes to getting things done, including for fun, personal goals. While there are many places she loves to hike, she is particularly fond of Colorado—where she climbed her first ‘fourteener.’ And when it comes to driving sustainability outcomes for clients, Vanita says collaboration is key.
“To be able to achieve any client goals, everybody is going to have to break down silos and work together. There is not one person who can drive the whole thing. Sustainability touches everything from a technician picking a light bulb to a person making investment decisions for the company. Everybody has to be looking at it from a sustainability lens.
To learn more about how we’re realizing a sustainable future, download our Corporate Responsibility Report here.
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