How AT&T Tackled Its Carbon Footprint: The Energy Exchange

On this episode of The Energy Exchange, Host David Hidinger talked with John Schulz, Director of Sustainability Integrations at AT&T. They talked about Schulz’s career, how he got into his current role, and his role in helping AT&T lead the way in sustainability.

“I’ve been really lucky,” Schulz said. “I’ve had the chance to do lots of different jobs within sustainability.”

Of the 19 years Schulz has been at AT&T, 14 of them have been in sustainability. He started by looking at the media company’s footprint and how they use electricity. As the first to gauge the companies carbon footprint, he measured the company’s emissions back in 2008. This led him to work on other parts of the business, such as the supply chain and vehicle fleet.

As the first person to tackle AT&T’s carbon footprint, it seems like an enormous task. But, the company was ahead of its time when it came to tackling this work. Schulz noted that there were protocols and technical documents available for companies taking on the job, with a lot of intelligent people setting up the guidelines.

“We were early in the cycle when our first emission portfolio came out in 2008,” Schulz said. “We were in the early group to do that. It was exciting and challenging.”

But, he might be most excited about what he is working on now: customers. He is currently examining how AT&T’s connectivity can enable their customers to reduce their carbon footprint through energy or fuel use and even water and raw materials.

Listen to hear more about Schulz’s career with sustainability at AT&T.