On Feb 14, 2023, the US Center for Advanced Manufacturing brought together academic, business and government experts from across the industry to Silicon Valley for its C-Suite Strategy Series. The event, hosted by HP at its Customer Welcome Center, saw dialogue, in-depth discussion and a call for the industry to work together toward the common goal of sustainability.
Chair of the California Energy Commission David Hochschild welcomed attendees to the conference and delivered a keynote address. The keynote emphasized the symbiotic relationship possible between industry and climate policies, highlighting California’s “long and beautiful history being the world’s incubator for new business.”
“Climate change is making it hard to fight climate change,” Hochschild said.
He presented several key action priorities for his energy commission:
- Scaling battery manufacturing in California’s Lithium Valley
- Transitioning away from fossil fuels in houses
- Supporting tribal energy micro-grids
- Funding direct air carbon capture methods
Moving forward, a panel discussion followed focusing on “Sustainability Driving Innovation in Value Chains” between Jackie Jung, Western Digital Vice President of Strategy & Global Operations, and Tom Clark, Strategic Supply Chain Leader. The panel was moderated by World Economic Forum Community & Initiative Lead Memia Fendri.
Key Panel Discussion Takeaways
- The sustainability imperative calls for transformative partnerships across value chains to exchange best practices and lessons learned, build visibility across supply chain emissions, and pioneer the implementation of innovative practices
- Driving the sustainability agenda requires a leadership-level mindset shift, acknowledging the interdependencies between business efficiency and sustainable models of production
- Practices of sustainability stretch beyond the products in supply chains to those who manufacture them. Retaining a future-ready workforce involves investing in a sustainable model for upskilling
- Successful upskilling and reskilling techniques involve equipping workers with data and innovative tools that enhance their capabilities, allowing them to make intelligent decisions quicker with more time to develop new ideas
Attendee Insights
The next C-suite Strategy Series event will be hosted by GE HealthCare May 15-16. The event will focus on supply chain transformation.
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