Sustainability used to be a corporate buzzword. But as Suzanne Livingston makes clear in this episode of Business Schooled, it’s now a systems-level challenge that touches everything from supply chains to server racks.
As VP of Engineering for IBM Sustainability Software, Suzanne is helping businesses move beyond vague ESG goals and into the hard, complex work of tracking what actually happens. That includes emissions from buildings and manufacturing, the carbon cost of your jeans, and even the energy impact of running backend software.
And here’s the kicker: sustainability isn’t just about slapping on a green label. It means changing how work gets done. Suzanne’s team uses AI to reduce cloud overprovisioning—cutting waste, costs, and energy consumption. They use blockchain to validate emissions data across vast supply chains. And they guide companies through messy questions like: Where do we even start?
THer advice to future leaders? Think beyond jobs. Focus on impact. Because the most powerful kind of engineering isn’t just building what’s next. It’s building what matters.