Empowering Each Other to Create a Brighter Future

Championing the planet starts with being the change you want to see, and Ana Gonzalez Hernandez’s goal is to be that force of change. As sustainability and decarbonization manager at Emerson, Ana helps drive sustainable technologies and practices across the company and the industries it serves.

A Ph.D. graduate from the University of Cambridge with a background in resource efficiency, Ana uses her expertise to help develop and implement successful environmental sustainability business strategies. She works with innovators and policymakers to help connect common trends, identifying areas of improvement – and uncovering opportunities where Emerson can have an impact and for Emerson to support.  

Emerson’s sustainable portfolio can help transform all areas of the energy system, from production to consumption.  This is important because, in practice, companies with ambitious climate goals across Emerson’s customer base will bank on contributions from most of these technologies to reach their commitments on time. Ana understands the vital need to work across borders and frequently connects different parts of the organization to one another to maximize opportunities to partner and collaborate.             

“As a company, our impact is huge,” she said. “If we’re able to move the needle with the customer base we have, that will be significant. And we know many of our customers are looking toward how they can make a difference on the planet.”

Expanding our influence starts with raising awareness of the environmental impact we have. Today, we have access to more information than ever, Ana notes, but our lives and supply chains are also a lot more complex – making it all the more challenging to determine where to start and what is meaningful.

“A lot of my time is spent helping people learn and learning from people” Ana said. “We need to support our Emerson colleagues in more broadly channeling their passion through the networks, processes and platforms we’re creating as well as through our educational training programs, to empower everyone to see how they can contribute best.”

This internal momentum has been critical, she said, noting the creation of local sustainability champions across the globe. These champions lead environmental sustainability efforts in their regions and focus on pushing for growth and hitting targets in their markets or operations. She keeps up a consistent drumbeat of content with these champions and all employees worldwide. Ana is the head of her own environmental sustainability newsletter, where she shares trends, insights and technical topics to keep her community up to date on everything sustainability that might affect their business efforts. She also runs an internal webinar, blog and podcast series.

To solve this global issue, Ana acknowledges there must be continuous technological contributions and breakthroughs as well as individual behavioral ones. Her interest in environmental sustainability has informed not only her career but how she lives her own life, being mindful about daily choices  and thinking globally.

Considering our own contribution starts by continuously asking ourselves simple questions that have difficult answers, like: Where do my carbon emissions come from? What activity causes the biggest impact? Where are my clothes produced? How can I decrease my use of plastic? What options do I have to influence change? After all, Ana said, “If we don’t live differently – that is eat, move, buy and work differently – we won’t see the change required to put the world on a sustainable path.” She reminds us that it’s always important to keep scale in mind, to ensure that we focus our efforts on reducing our impact where it matters.

The task at hand is large, but Ana urges us not to underestimate what we can accomplish individually at work and at home to bring about the level of change we need to see for a greener future.