CSO BACK STORY - Weinreb Group

Scott Wicker, UPS:Engineer, Company VeteranScott Wicker, 50, started his career withthe United Parcel Service (UPS) in 1977,also his first day of college. By 1983,when he graduated with a bachelor’s inelectrical engineering, UPS was alreadyhome. “UPS was in a major growth spurtand they were hiring engineers to buildtheir facilities. So off I went,” he says.Today, Wicker is UPS’ first ChiefSustainability Officer and handles“everything sustainability” for thetransportation and shipping company.At UPS, sustainability isn’t a newphenomenon. “Sustainability as afunction was always there at thecompany but it was very uncoordinated.A few people were pulling data andanswering questions on an ad hocbasis,” he says.In 2006, however, it was clear internallythat the firm needed to review thesustainability governance structure.The leadership team realized that, “Weneeded to evolve to get better. We alsoknew that we had to include all thedepartments since sustainability affectseveryone,” he says.What resulted was a new reportingstructure in 2007 which included asustainability group with a director, vicepresident, and five other staff. Scottwas that vice president. He reportedto Bob Stoffel, a senior vice presidentwho held other responsibilities includingCorporate Strategy and Engineering.In hindsight, though, Wicker admits thatthe structure was clearly transitional andexperimental.When Stoffel decided to retire early thisyear, the reporting structure becamea topic of discussion yet again. “ForStoffel, sustainability was just one ofmany responsibilities,” says Wicker,preventing him from making it a strategicfocus. Externally, pressure was buildingon providing more sophisticated dataand enhanced accountability. “Wewere constantly hunting for data in anuncoordinated manner,” he adds.“Sustainability hasnever been a hard conceptat UPS. But creatingan executive positionseems to have really cementedour commitmentand mission.”-Scott WickerIt was time to make it “crystal clear” whowas responsible for leading sustainabilityat UPS, and instead of SVP, Wicker wasnamed CSO. Revising their reportingstructure, Wicker now reports directlyto the COO with one direct report and astaff of seven overall.Wicker admits that while externalpressure provided the initial motivationto create the CSO role, the internalimpact was a real eye opener. “I had noidea how much impact this would haveinternally on employees. The company’scommitment to sustainability finally sentthe right signal to all the departments,”he says. “We were trying to conserveenergy and operate more sustainablyfor a long time. Sustainability hasnever been a hard concept at UPS. Butcreating an executive position seems tohave really cemented our commitmentand mission.”Of his current priorities, Wicker has thisto say: “I’ve been with UPS for a long timeand understand how everything works.Now it’s time to use my experience andrelationships to embed sustainabilityinto every function.”CSO Back Story15Weinreb Group