Feb 10, 2020
Jennifer Motles is the Director of Social Impact & Sustainability at Philip Morris International. Jennifer is an International and Human Rights lawyer. She is helping to advance PMI's transformation goal of becoming a smoke-free company, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement and social impact.
Previously, Jennifer worked for international organizations including UNCITRAL, UNODC, UNCTAD/ITC, and as Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Officer at the United Nations and other international organizations. Jennifer holds a JD degree from Universidad de Chile; an LLM from University of California, Berkeley; as well as specialized diplomas in women’s rights, sustainable finance, corporate social responsibility, risk communications, and political affairs from IHEID, Harvard Business School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Stanford University.
Jennifer Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss:
- PMI’s business transformation towards a smoke-free future
- Inclusion: achieving substantial and tangible change through collaboration, not exclusion
- PMI’s impact across the value chain / future targets: AWS Certification (water stewardship), Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) program, CDP, carbon neutrality factory targets
- Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders
Jennifer's Final Five Question Responses:
What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers?
I would say patience. I think that in the sustainability field you're working towards the long term and sometimes results are not visible immediately. The fact that positive change is not immediately perceivable, doesn't mean that you're not doing the right thing. You just need to wait a little bit.
What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability?
I am very excited about the role of the investor community and how savvy they are becoming in better understanding their role in driving change in companies and what ESG really means.
What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read?
I just started reading the book by Joseph Stiglitz, Measuring What Counts. It's about the global movement for wellbeing, and basically, he goes on to developing new metrics that go beyond GDP.
What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work?
Podcasts like this are a very, very useful tool. I think that opportunities to have conversations like at a sustainability conference, sustainability magazines and sustainability podcasts are always very much appreciated.
Where can people go to learn more about you and the sustainability work at Philip Morris?
You can learn more about our company's sustainability strategy and transformation at pmi.com/sustainability and you can find all the resources there.
About Sustridge
Sustridge is a sustainability consulting firm providing consulting in sustainability strategy development, sustainability reporting, GHG emissions calculating and management, zero waste planning and guidance in TRUE Zero Waste, B Corp, LEED and Carbon Neutral certification.