It’s one thing to set an ambitious goal, quite another to make meaningful progress toward achieving it. And that’s especially true when it comes to climate change, “a fundamental threat to human health,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
As part of its Health for Humanity Goals, Johnson & Johnson pledged to source 100% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2025 and to reduce carbon across its operations. The company’s global operations are sourcing more than 85% renewable electricity, and that includes 100% renewable electricity in the United States, Europe and Canada.
If that sounds like a big deal, that’s because it is. “Using more renewable electricity throughout our global operations is essential to reducing the company’s environmental footprint,” says Sonali Sharma, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, Johnson & Johnson. “That’s a significant step toward reaching our climate goals.”
We sat down with Sharma and two other climate champions who are helping the company deliver on its goals for a healthy planet to learn more about their passion for the cause.
Designing Sustainable Solutions for a Global Problem
Climate Champion: Sonali Sharma, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, Johnson & Johnson
What inspired her passion for sustainability: Sharma, who grew up in India and Northern Africa and has lived and worked in nine cities across three continents, knows all about the global impacts of climate change.
“I’ve had the opportunity to live in both developed and emerging markets and to work in both corporate and nonprofit sectors,” explains Sharma. This left her with an important perspective on complex societal challenges and a strong belief that companies can play a major role in tackling issues like climate change.
When Sharma started to learn more about the connections between human health and environmental health, she knew the healthcare sector was where she belonged. “I’m passionate about helping companies embed sustainability in their strategies, their operations, brands and culture,” she says. “What could be more important than doing this for a company that is committed to having a positive impact on both human health and planetary health?”
What her job entails: Sharma manages a team of technical experts and works with other teams across the company to develop strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of Johnson & Johnson’s operations and products. “My role includes delivering against our science-based climate goals so we can continue to support healthy people and a healthy planet,” she says.
Finding opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of Johnson & Johnson’s products and solutions is another priority for Sharma and her team, who work with partners across the company’s business sectors on initiatives ranging from more sustainable packaging to recycling programs for surgical instruments in hospitals.
Additionally, Sharma oversees partnerships to build climate resilience at healthcare clinics and support community healthcare workers who are serving communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
What she wants others to know about sustainability: “The climate crisis is linked to the health crisis. The health crisis is linked to health inequity.” Since these issues are interconnected, they require a systemic approach to address them, which means a wide range of people and groups—governments, companies, nonprofits and individuals—must work together to drive change, she says.
Finding ways to use more renewable energy
Climate Champion: John Magner, Global Director for Energy and Sustainable Operations, Johnson & Johnson
What inspires his commitment to sustainability: The son of a farmer, Magner spent his formative years in rural Ireland, which fostered a deep connection to nature. “When you grow up on a farm, climate drives everything you do,” he says. “So my values around biodiversity, climate and sustainability—they were naturally shaped and intuitively handed down to me by my father, who loved nature and farming.”
Magner is now passing along those same values to his children, both of whom are pursuing climate-adjacent careers. “I’ve always believed in doing the right thing no matter how hard it is and in leading by example,” he says. “Hopefully, I’ve passed on the values around sustainability and the environment.”
What his job entails: Magner leads a team that’s responsible for the energy Johnson & Johnson uses at its sites around the world. That includes securing both the amount of energy and the type of energy needed to power the company’s operations. A key part of his job: Finding ways to use more renewable energy through on-site generation, like wind turbines and solar panels on the company’s campuses. He also secures longer-term contracts to procure large amounts of electricity from off-site renewable sources, such as the multiple power purchase agreements that the company has in place in Europe and North America.
In the interest of using less energy, Magner and his team also look for ways to make the company’s operations more efficient. This includes implementing new technologies, like heat pumps and heat recovery systems. The goal is to reduce the carbon emissions of Johnson & Johnson’s global operations and help the company meet its global climate goals.
“I’m an engineer, so my passion is finding innovative, creative solutions to problems—whether it’s trying to find more efficient ways to use energy or solutions that will transition us away from high carbon intensive energies,” he says.
What he wants others to know about sustainability: The health of humans and that of the planet are intrinsically linked. “At Johnson & Johnson, we create pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare solutions so that people can lead healthier lives,” says Magner. “I’m proud to work for a company that makes products that drive a healthier life, but the health of people also relies on the health of the planet. So within Johnson & Johnson, ensuring a healthy planet isn’t just a responsibility, it’s a core value. That’s why sustainability is such a key aspect of working at Johnson & Johnson.”
Making climate goals measurable and actionable
Climate Champion: Kinan Tadmori, Climate Manager, Johnson & Johnson
What inspired her passion for sustainability: Growing up, Tadmori knew she wanted to use her love of science to positively impact the world. When she learned about climate change in high school, she immediately knew she’d found her purpose. “As I learned more about climate change and saw climate-related events like wildfires, flooding and hurricanes unfold, I saw that it was disproportionately impacting people who are most vulnerable—such as individuals in low-income communities, children and elderly populations—so I wanted to be part of the solutions to help mitigate and reduce that impact,” she says.
Shortly after completing her undergraduate degree, she set her sights on a career in sustainability and climate change. “I knew I wanted to work for a company that could make an impact on a global scale,” she says.
What her job entails: In her role, Tadmori leads Johnson & Johnson’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting and reporting. After all, “you can’t manage it if you can’t measure it,” as she likes to say. Her job involves “a robust data-collection process, performing GHG emissions calculations and assuring they’re quality-checked and reviewed so they can be publicly reported through resources like our Health for Humanity report.” The GHG emissions data is especially important because it helps guide Johnson & Johnson’s climate strategy on where to focus emissions-reduction efforts in order to have the greatest impact, she explains.
Her best days on the job: Spreading knowledge about climate change to people who aren’t as deeply involved as she and her immediate colleagues are. “People on our sustainability team think about this every day—it’s our job,” she says. But for coworkers in other areas of the company, that’s not always the case. So when she’s able to explain the science of climate change, Johnson & Johnson’s GHG footprint and ways in which the company can have a positive impact, it’s especially satisfying. Hopefully, by spreading awareness, it will be in the back of someone’s mind when they have a decision to make that may impact the environment or climate change, she says.
*This story, originally published on April 21, 2023, has been updated.
