Ryan’s values regarding sustainability started to shape in his childhood, with plenty of time in nature and, later, visits to the small fishing town where his spouse was born and raised.
“The town’s fishing industry had collapsed because of overfishing. Witnessing the socio-economic impact on the local community and learning about the ecological effects affected me.”
After graduating with a business and information systems degree from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Ryan worked for a large manufacturer in the food and beverage industry.
“While the industry experience was valuable, the environmental impact of the products and the brand’s purpose at that point in time gnawed at me. So I explored other career paths that aligned with my green values and desire to make a positive change.”
Ryan saw that opportunity at Deloitte while completing his MBA.
“Witnessing the socio-economic impact on the local community and learning about the ecological effects affected me.”
—Ryan Ernst
“As a junior, I joined Deloitte Global’s Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) team because it presented early opportunities to make a difference.”
But the world was different back then. Many clients or senior partners weren’t prioritizing sustainability in supply chains.
“A paper I wrote on green supply chains was labelled ‘leading edge’ by one senior partner and, therefore, its ideas were not considered a good fit for our practice.”
Undeterred, Ryan discovered his work could still bring about positive change while supporting his clients’ businesses through, for example, diversity and inclusion in procurement, lowering emissions and increasing efficiency in transportation, and through cogeneration and biomass generation projects.
“It’s interesting the way Deloitte has progressed. Our purpose has solidified around making an impact that matters for our clients, business, communities, and the world. It helps frame where we put our capabilities and the outcomes we drive. We now embrace leading edge.”
Hiking in the Andes with his Chilean Colleagues
Asked to recommend early climate influencers, Ryan chose three:
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Lester R. Brown,the environmental analyst, author, and founder of the Worldwatch and Earth Policy Institutes.
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Nicholas Stern, the economist and academic who led The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review.
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Amory Lovins, the founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and proponent of market-based solutions to resource efficiency and the energy transition.
“Brown was an early pioneer in recognizing the world’s need to switch to clean energy. Alongside issuing warnings about climate change, he also offered practical solutions to restructure our economies to make them sustainable. Brown, Stern, and Lovins all concluded that it makes economic sense to tackle climate change, and then they tried to figure out what that new economic model should look like.”
Ryan’s team helps clients achieve their business and climate action goals across the entire value chain. Four examples include:
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Integrating supply chain planning
“Our supply chain planning work helps clients optimize their demand and supply plans and how they integrate them into their business plans. We help measure and report how their supply chain choices impact their ESG commitments and advise them on how to incorporate those measurements in the day-to-day and month-to-month decision-making process.”
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Transforming warehouse design
“Our warehouse design work helps clients transform their supply chains into an interconnected digital ecosystem. Industry 4.0 technologies can support clients’ net-zero targets while strengthening supply chain agility, enabling them to make rapid and optimal decisions. Our new Smart Factory @ Montreal showcases these solutions and technologies.”
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Increasing procurement transparency
“Supporting clients with sourcing and procurement is about bringing transparency and visibility to their supply chain—to their suppliers and their suppliers’ suppliers. We help spotlight ESG issues, including environmental impacts such as Scope 3 emissions, human rights, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. This increased transparency helps clients make informed choices about their supplier base and safeguards against reputational risk.”
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Expanding the circular economy
“We help clients improve operational efficiency and enable sustainable innovation by integrating circular thinking in their supply chain structure, from product design and creation, including where products are manufactured, to rethinking a product's end of life to include repurposing and recycling.”
Heading into the woods for first father-daughter back country canoe trip
“We need to incorporate the guiding principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion into our supply chain design and execution processes. For Canadians, a big part of this is living up to our commitments to Indigenous reconciliation.”
“When redesigning supply chains to be sustainable, their resiliency is an imperative factor. Resilient supply chains can sustain themselves through external shocks, whether they involve geopolitical events, severe weather, climate-related issues, pandemics, or cyberattacks. However, risk resiliency cannot compromise supply chain efficiency.”
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