Alyssa Caddle
Thermo Fisher Scientific
100 Thatcher St
What I Do
Corporate Sustainability – I work with companies to help shape their Environmental and Social programs
- Job Title: Director, Procurement Sustainability
- Years in Profession: ~15
- Job and Daily Responsibilities:
Corporate Sustainability is a function in many large companies that develops the strategy for improving a company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. We work to understand the impacts that a company has on people and the planet, and develop projects and programs to minimize negative impacts.
My responsibilities include managing a team of people who work on lots of different projects, all over the world – I have employees in the UK, Singapore, Costa Rica, and across the United States. We support a team of over 900 employees who work with suppliers, to help suppliers reduce their impact and fight climate change.
What this really means… lots of powerpoint slides, lots of meetings, and lots of problem solving!
Education
Undergraduate – Degree in Mechanical Engineering
Master’s – Degree in Engineering Management, Northeastern University
Pre-Employment Experience
In high school I taught dance, and worked at the local grocery store.
During college, I first came home in the summers to work with my mom in a dialysis clinic. Beginning sophomore year, I transitioned to living full-time at school, taking part in three awesome co-op experiences through NU (highly recommended!) where I got to experience entry level engineering work in aerospace and medical device industries.
Transitioning from college, I had an incredible part-time work experience as a New England Patriots Cheerleader for four years – working while I was finishing college, and throughout my first two years of full-time corporate work. Note: don’t give up on your passions!
Even as a full-time professional, I still spent many years teaching fitness and dance as an add-on to my sustainability work.
List of classes that are most important/applicable to succeed in your profession:
There are so many pathways to a career in corporate sustainability. We often bring folks onto my team with engineering, data science, and business/supply chain backgrounds, but we also have folks with psychology degrees, and marketing backgrounds. Almost every role that is required for business to function can contribute to building a decarbonized world.
Get well-rounded if you can, challenge yourself. Working in large “Corporate America” requires effective public speaking, and being able to clearly lay out facts and options. Often it also requires “soft-skills” – understanding what makes people tick and how to work on big teams.
Advice From A Leader
Corporate sustainability can cover many topics – I primarily focus on creating pathways for companies to decarbonize and mitigate climate change, and making sure that suppliers that work in these in companies’ supply chains recognize workers’ human rights.
Others in my field focus on diversity, or reporting sustainability progress on corporate websites, to investors, or to government.
If you want to make a meaningful contribution to the fight against climate change – corporate sustainability might be for you. Every industry generates greenhouse gas emissions, so it is a great opportunity to work in companies that do lots of different things, and offer different products and services. So far I have worked for large tech companies (including Dell), a company that sold materials to apparel companies (like Nike and Lululemon), and now I work in a Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical company.
If you are interested in environmental science, but don’t want to be out in the field, this is a great way to make an impact. If you want to work in a big corporation, but are worried that you might have to do work you’re not passionate about, this is a great way to make an impact. If you want to think about really big problems, and be on the cutting edge of changing how businesses work, this is a great way to make impact!