E17: Kyndryl's Faith Taylor on Sustainable Business and IT Services Strategies

Kyndryl, a global managed IT service provider (MSP), is marching toward net zero while also assisting partners and customers with their sustainability strategies.

How so? Faith Taylor, global sustainability and ESG officer at Kyndryl, shares some perspectives in this podcast.

Our conversation covers Taylor's career experiences and milestones at hospitality giant Wyndham Worldwide and electric vehicle maker Tesla. Then we zero in on Taylor's move to Kyndryl -- a global technology infrastructure provider that spun off from IBM in 2021. We discuss collaborating on sustainability across a business; early thoughts on generative AI; and working with end-customers on sustainable IT services.

• 0:00 - Introductions
• 1:09 - How and why Taylor began to focus on sustainability at Wyndham Worldwide around the 2005 timeframe.
• 3:17 - How has the sustainability conversation evolved since 2005? Early collaborations, plus the rise of software systems, regulations and solutions to propel organizations forward.
• 6:37 - Taylor's career path from Wyndham to Tesla, and why she joined Kyndryl amid that company's 2021 spin-off from IBM. What she learned about sustainable IT solutions during that journey.
• 8:50 - Examples of Kyndryl's leadership commitment to sustainability; key leaders such as Global Head of Corporate Affairs Una Pulizzi; and coordinating efforts across the business.
• 10:40 - The sustainability function's success depends on the organization's leadership, and a true integration into the business.
• 12:37 - How to achieve alignment toward sustainability goals across departments: Monthly and quarterly KPIs (key performance indicators) across the organization.
• 16:37 - How Kyndryl's sustainability team works with the company's CIO, CTO and associated offices on sustainable IT services, e-waste reduction and more.
• 21:00 - HowTaylor interacts with Kyndryl's customers, and a key alliance with Microsoft explained.
• 22:48 - The world requires global sustainability solutions that scale: Alliances and partnerships reqiuired.
• 23:58: Are artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI a net positive or negative for energy consumption, carbon emissions and sustainability? Considerations involving data centers, energy sources, chips, coding quality, carbon monitoring and more.
• 26:23 - A recap of Kyndryl at COP28, the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, and looking ahead to COP29 and COP30.
• 28:29: For more information, check out the Kyndryl Corporate Citizenship Report for 2023. The next annual citizenship report is scheduled for September 2024. Track ongoing sustainability updates here, and reach Faith Taylor on LinkedIn.
• 29:37: Conclusion