Sustainability CEOs: 3 leaders are redefining what it means to be a responsible corporation in 2024

Three powerful business leaders—Satya Nadella, Mary Barra, and Doug McMillon—are changing the way businesses work. Among other things they have done, they have turned old businesses into new ones and been the first to try new ways to be sustainable.

The market value of Microsoft tripled under Nadella’s leadership, and the company set big goals for governance, the environment, and society. Barra is leading General Motors toward a future with electric cars. Thanks to McMillon’s leadership, Walmart, on the other hand, is a retail giant with cutting edge environmental, social and governance programs.

These executives are in charge of making their companies very successful, but they are also changing what it means to run a responsible business in the 21st century.

Satya Nadella — Microsoft

Satya Nadella is a success story for both Microsoft and the ESG world. Born in India under modest circumstances, Nadella joined Microsoft MSFT back in 1992 and worked his way up the corporate ladder to hold several key positions, including in cloud computing, research and development, and business solutions. The big breakthrough for Nadella came when he succeeded in becoming CEO of Microsoft, a chair held in high prestige in the corporate world, once occupied by Bill Gates himself.

Investors cannot be happier; under Nadella, Microsoft’s market value has more than tripled. As a legacy software company, that kind of performance is rare. However, what’s most amazing about Nadella’s performance is his emphasis on ESG principles during his tenure as CEO of Microsoft. 

Specifically, Microsoft, under Nadella, has committed to eliminating more carbon from the environment by 2050 than it emits, with the goal of being carbon-negative by 2030. In connection with this ambition, Microsoft is looking to increase its use of renewable energy when powering its data centers.

That’s not all, though; Microsoft is also building out a suite of solutions that are actively used by other companies for ESG initiatives. Carbon accounting and data analytics in the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability help organizations monitor and reduce their environmental effect. The Azure Sustainability Calculator assesses Azure service carbon emissions and suggests cloud optimization.

Project 15 from Microsoft monitors animals and the environment using IoT and AI, while the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard leverages Power BI to assist organizations in managing sustainability data.

Meanwhile, Microsoft programs that provide organizations and underprivileged populations access to technology and resources are known as “tech for social good.” The goal of the Global Skills Initiative was to assist 25 million individuals globally in acquiring the digital skills necessary for a post-pandemic economy.

Mary Barra — General Motors

General Motors is moving away from gas engines and toward cleaner energy under Mary Barra. While GM has always championed renewable energy, Barra is the first CEO to spearhead the EV initiative. 

GM GM says new light-duty cars won’t pollute tailpipes by 2035. Barra wants a carbon-neutral company by 2040. 

New electric cars from GM include the GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Bolt EV, and Cadillac Lyriq, which will be available soon. The company wants to sell 30 brands of electrified cars worldwide by 2025. 

General Motors will use renewable energy in all U.S. and worldwide plants by 2030 and 2035. This entails placing solar panels on businesses and negotiating with renewable energy sources. 

At all of its factories, GM wants to make sure that no trash goes to landfills. This can be done by recovering, reusing or turning trash into energy. This has already been reached at a number of GM companies.

In addition, Barra has encouraged diversity and openness at GM. To improve workplace culture, the company has developed employee resource groups, CEO diversity scorecards, and unconscious bias training. Barra also got GM to join the Equal Pay Pledge to close the female pay gap. 

In the end, Mary Barra prioritizes environmental protection, innovation and citizenship as GM CEO. Barra’s efforts to switch to electric vehicles, promote diversity and inclusion, and foster a culture of sustainability and development are making GM a future automaker. 

Doug McMillon — Walmart

Walmart is an iconic American institution. Along with Nvidia, Oracle, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart’s stock recently hit an all-time high. However, that’s not the most interesting recent tidbit.

As a way to fight inflation, the Biden administration has praised Walmart WMT for giving discounts on groceries. These discounts are part of a bigger plan to help people deal with rising prices. The fact that the US government singled out Walmart for such high praise should tell investors how valuable the enterprise is. Walmart holds a total market share of 60%, with the nearest competitor Costco sitting at around 24%.

At the same time, Walmart, under Doug McMillon is also carving out quite a name for itself in the ESG field. 

Under McMillon, Walmart’s Project Gigaton is a major environmental initiative. Starting in 2017, this project aims to reduce Walmart’s global supply chain’s greenhouse gas emissions by one gigaton by 2030. The initiative encourages suppliers to reduce emissions by optimizing energy use, waste, and product design.

In addition, Walmart plans to use 100% renewable energy by 2035. This goal is supported by the company’s solar and wind energy investments and solar panel installations on stores and distribution centers.

Walmart also aims to eliminate waste in key markets like the U.S., Canada, and Japan by 2025. Recycling, composting, and packaging improvements reduce landfill waste.

McMillon is also taking the lead in efforts to raise Walmart employees’ pay and benefits. The minimum wage has been increased by the company multiple times; the most recent increase in the United States brought it to $12 per hour. Together with competitive benefits, Walmart provides education initiatives, retirement savings plans, and health insurance.

Walmart has adopted an omnichannel retail strategy that makes shopping online and in-store as easy as possible. To adapt to changing customer tastes, more services have been added, such as curbside pickup, online grocery delivery, and in-store pickup for online orders.

Read more: 5 stocks with high sustainability ratings that are also market darlings