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Senior Manager of Sustainability, Salesforce听

The world needs more badasses like Megan Lorenzen.听

She's energized, rather than intimidated, by the daunting challenges of decarbonization, renewable energy and sustainability. From her work expanding clean energy access globally to empowering others to confront the challenges of climate change, it's no surprise she was featured among the , an annual power list of key players in environmental justice.听

In her work on sustainability at Salesforce, Megan collaborates with partners in various business units to understand needs and deliver solutions that create impact鈥攏ot just for the business, but the world.听

鈥淎t Salesforce, we believe we have a responsibility to help bring the entire community with us,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we reach our company targets and get to the finish line alone, we will have failed to actually impact climate change.鈥�

One example of where she鈥檚 creating impact: A first-of-its-kind contract to buy about 280,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy certificates from nations across the global South. Regions like India and sub-Saharan Africa that struggle with energy access have traditionally been excluded from corporate renewable energy procurements.

鈥淓nergy access is critical to human well-being and a country鈥檚 economic development,鈥� Megan said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an opportunity for these developing economies to benefit from the new, low-carbon energy sources that have been developed in the last couple decades鈥攑ursuing a much less carbon-intensive path to widespread energy access.鈥澨�

That perspective, and an ability to operate across business units, is why she chose Leeds for her MBA. She was starting to make a name for herself at Salesforce after excelling at sustainability-oriented companies on the West Coast.听

Megan considered a sustainability-centric MBA, 鈥渂ut I really wanted to focus on finance and accounting, to better understand those drivers for my business partners, so I wound up looking for a more traditional MBA,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat I liked about Leeds is there was just enough of a sustainability focus鈥�a smattering of classes I could add on鈥攁nd its location in 葫芦娃视频, where there鈥檚 such a strong clean energy economy.鈥澨�

A quick post-degree promotion

Another plus of the Leeds MBA is its robust mentorship program. Megan was paired with a local sustainability professional who was able to give her valuable guidance as a student and professional; her grad school experiences helped her secure a promotion to her current role shortly after completing her degree.听

At work, Megan focuses on power sector decarbonization鈥攊ncluding the company鈥檚 ambitious renewable energy program鈥攁nd climate policy, where she works with Salesforce鈥檚 government affairs team to advocate for policies that advance a just transition to a 1.5-degree future.听

An accomplishment she鈥檚 most proud of, she said, was the chance to work on the company鈥檚 climate action plan a couple years ago. She worked with business units across Salesforce to develop an integrated plan for decarbonization.听

鈥淚t was exciting to innovate with so many different partners throughout the business and find out how we can do business differently,鈥� Megan said.听

It鈥檚 also one of the things she appreciated about being featured among the GreenBiz ranking earlier this month.

鈥淚 loved the way the list was framed鈥攎ost of the time, when you think about climate justice, it鈥檚 a standalone initiative,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat I thought was powerful was this call to action to integrate climate justice into every decision you make鈥攚hether it鈥檚 how you purchase renewable energy, the policies you advocate for or carbon offset projects you support.鈥�

An outdoors enthusiast, Megan said she considers herself fortunate to have found 鈥渁 field where I can see a connection between my personal passion and a successful career.鈥� And she expects to see demand for this type of work continue to grow as more countries enact emissions-related regulations and disclosure requirements.

鈥淭his is no longer a nice to have鈥攖his is a cost of business,鈥� she said. 鈥淪oon, sustainability will be integrated into roles across every organization.鈥澨�

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