Angela Hultberg is an experienced sustainability leader with a background in driving sustainable business practices across various industries. As the Global Sustainability Director at Kearney, she plays a pivotal role in assisting clients in transitioning to more sustainable operations.
Prior to her role at Kearney, Angela served as the Head of Sustainability at Ingka Group (IKEA Retail) where she focused on sustainability initiatives related to last-mile delivery, customer and co-worker transportation, infrastructure, and more. Her work at Ingka Group involved implementing sustainable practices throughout the organization’s operations and supply chain.
Angela’s expertise also extends to sustainable transformation, sustainable transport and mobility, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies, circular economy practices, and supply chain management. Her experience as the Road Transport Lead at the Climate Champions Team for COP26 further demonstrates her commitment to driving sustainable solutions on a global scale.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Can you tell us about your background and how it led you to your current position?
My background is not exactly a straight arrow. I actually went to law school and specialized in international corporate tax. I very quickly realized, however, that tax was not my passion. From there, I tried a few different things, most of which had to do with transport and automotive. I found myself a project leader at IKEA Transport, and that was where I realized that sustainability was significantly disrupting transport and that we actually had to completely transform a whole industry. That was my aha moment, and I knew at that point there was nothing else I wanted to work with. It was a green transformation for me. And I have been doing sustainability work ever since.
What is your leadership philosophy, and how do you implement it within your company?
There are two types of leaders, I think. Those who push their team in front of themselves, doing their best to support them, succeed. And then there are those who keep their team behind them, expecting them to lift you up. I try to be the former. At Kearney, we try our best to hire the absolute best and smartest people who share our passion for essential righteousness. It’s about having a positive impact on the world. And if you hire the smartest people, why would you then start micromanaging them? It makes no sense. So I try to lead with purpose and by letting the very talented people we have in our organization do what we hired them to do!
Can you describe a challenge that you faced in your role and how you overcame it?
The main challenge in my role, and indeed for anyone in sustainability, I think, is that there is always frustration. We are doing too little, too slowly. We need to transform entire industries, and we need to do it quickly, but we are nowhere near the scale and speed that we need to be. This can be challenging, especially when you are an advisor and don’t have a final say on what gets done. I always want a little bit more, and sometimes it’s easy to forget about all the progress we are making.
Can you describe the company’s unique products or services and how they set you apart from competitors? And how does company differentiate itself from competitors in the industry?
At Kearney, we work with sustainability in the same way we advise our clients to work with it. We have not built a big sustainability practice. We do not want to have 100 consultants doing only sustainability projects. Instead, we have a small team of dedicated subject matter experts, and we use that team to really embed sustainability in all practices. So instead of having sustainability consultants, we have thousands of consultants who all understand sustainability in the industry they operate in. If you are a specialist in procurement for the automotive industry, you might not need to know so much about regenerative agriculture, but you do need to understand a lot about critical material extraction and human rights. So we try to embed sustainability deep within our company and bring it to all projects we do, regardless of whether the client asked for it specifically or not.
We also think it is important to lead by example. That is why we have set science-based targets (the first consultancy to do so), and we have recently received a platinum rating from Ecovadis.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for growth and development for the company in the next 5 years?
Well, call me biased, but obviously I see sustainability as the biggest growth opportunity. Sustainable practices equal disruption, and where there is disruption, there is lots to do. Strategies need to be changed, products need to be designed for sustainability, we need to rewire supply chains, we need to embed sustainability in the organization, and we need to seriously question and perhaps rethink core business models. So much to do!
How does your company prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility in its operations?
As I mentioned, we cannot advise on sustainability topics unless we lead by example. Therefore, we have science-based targets, we look at our footprint (mostly travel emissions) and ways to reduce it, we have received an Ecovadis platinum rating.
How does the company ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, and what steps does the company take to address any issues or concerns?
Well, the proof is in the pudding, isn’t it? If our clients are not happy with our advice, they will not come back. And we believe in long-term relationships. Therefore, we have a very collaborative model. It’s not about telling business leaders what to do, bringing only an outside perspective. We want to work closely with our clients to find the best solutions together. After all, nobody knows a company better than its own people.
Could you provide an overview of the leadership team and their impact on the company’s success and the industry?
At Kearney, leaders lead by example. It is important that they reflect the values we have, with our core values being passion, curiosity, generosity, boldness, and solidarity. We choose our CEO ourselves, and partners lead the firm together. We can only succeed when all of us are doing well. Our CEO, Alex Liu, released a book last year called Joy Work, one of his passion areas. That says a lot.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the same industry?
Be curious. Everything is a learning opportunity, and everything you learn will be beneficial. Try to find your passion as early as you can; really think about what you love and what you are reasonably good at. When you get paid to do something you love doing, you will have a long and inspiring career.
Website: kearney.com
