Erin Sedlak
Sustainability Manager
Brenntag
Please meet this week's WOTW, Erin Sedlak! Erin is responsible for sustainability at Brenntag and reports to the VP of Sustainability. She is also the North American lead for Brenntag's DEI journey. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications with a concentration in marketing and received her certificate in corporate sustainability from NYU Stern School of Business. Erin started her career in beer distribution, and in June 2010 she started as a marketing specialist for Brenntag. She held various roles at the company including commercial analyst, sourcing and then sustainability, which she began in January of 2020 after validating with her management that sustainability was here to stay, Brenntag needed a dedicated resource, and they needed to be a leader in the space. Erin is also Brenntag's contact for their Together for Sustainability involvement. Erin's transition from commercial roles to sustainability was filled with mixed emotions. She had to give up projects that she was working on for a while that were gaining traction, and knowledge about sustainability upon entering this role was limited, but she received support from her company to get her corporate sustainability certificate, and she had the appropriate connections within the company and understood the business operations which helped her with her success. She made sure that she shared relevancy with those at Brenntag by taking existing initiatives as examples to share how Brenntag was already working on sustainability without specifically focusing on it.
When we asked Erin to define sustainability she stated that it is not easy to have a short definition as sustainability incorporates all facets of a company including environmental impacts, business ethics, treatment of employees, business partnerships, etc. She shared how important it is for transparency and collaboration across the chemical industry, similarly to how the industry shares safety best-practices, in order for us to make an impact. She believes there is no quick, one size fits all for the initiative, and there is a lot of trial and error to understand what works best for your company.
Erin has been the only female in the room for the majority of her career, and she had to pave her own path when it came to her maternity leaves because she was the only female in office at that stage in life. She noted that having an open and honest relationship with her manager was important when finding the appropriate balance being a mom and having the flexibility to work from home when needed. She reflected on her positive experience with Brenntag during this time of her life and noted that she has seen incredible improvement in the industry around this topic which excites her. Lastly, Erin recommended a podcast called "Have Kids They Said" & Reese Witherspoon's book list for quick reads. She also noted the importance of taking breaks from social media.
This episode was sponsored by:
