Exploring Sustainability and Diversity at Standard Chartered

“Diversity brings creative solutions, and organisations flourish when contributions are made with passion and excitement,” Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer for Standard Chartered, spoke to myGwork about her personal journey into sustainability, and why diversity is an increasingly important factor in the ongoing campaign against climate change. As part of our Earth Day activity, she provided a valuable insight into the role banks can play in progressing renewable and sustainable solutions.

Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Marisa has built a 35-year long career in banking, working in leveraged finance and investment banking. Though she has had a life-long passion for progressive attitudes, it wasn’t until 2017 when she received a phone call from her then-CEO that provided her with the opportunity to truly extend that passion into her work. Whilst it wasn’t directly discussed as ‘sustainability’ at first, this meeting was focused on the opportunity of bringing together “purpose and profit” in the banking industry and the role capital could and should play.

Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered

“It was a light-bulb moment”, described Marisa. “I could tell this was going to be everywhere, and that sustainability was going to be at the core of the future of businesses and financial services.”

This enthusiasm for combining sustainability and the convening power of the financial industry further motivated Marisa as she joined Standard Chartered in 2022. Inspired by the bank’s commitment to further diversity and inclusion, Marisa is excited by the opportunities that come from the bank’s unique market footprint. Unlike many other organizations that have a more western focus, Standard Chartered has its home in 59 markets globally, many of which are developing economies and are disproportionally impacted by climate change. As the inaugural Chief Sustainability Officer, she is helping to continue new and progressive ways of thinking at the company – a natural characteristic of someone who has shown advocacy for diversity and inclusion for many years.

“I have always been a very passionate advocate for female representation. On many occasions in my career, I was the only woman in the room,” she recalled. “People didn’t know how to deal with me back in the 1980s!”

Reflecting further on her journey towards finding progressive ways of thinking, Marisa thought back to the first time she realised the incredible impact diversity can have. During a project activity at business school, the teams were deliberately diverse. People of different identities, life experiences and backgrounds were placed together in the hopes that it would encourage innovation and ingenuity, and the result was a complete success.

“Each individual had a wildly different life experience yet found common intersection. We had all brought our own narrow lens to the table, but the combined solution was infinitely better.”

Applying diversity in the fight against climate change inspires the same success. People from various backgrounds, beliefs and ways of life can put their heads together and come up with bigger and bolder solutions than a team of like-minded individuals; “Diversity brings creative solutions, and organisations flourish when contributions are made with passion and excitement.” Although climate change is a vital topic to address, and the constant work achieved to combat it is admirable, it also can take its toll mentally due to the increasing severity of the situation. When asked how she copes with the troubling moments of working in sustainability, Marisa answered in a way that reflects her optimistic and progressive ethics.

“If I ever have these dark moments of worrying and wishing things were progressing faster, I just surround myself with my team of optimistic people,” she said. “We talk through our amazing breakthroughs and think back to all of our achievements so far.”

Despite spending many years advocating for progress, Marisa won’t give up as there is always progress to be made. With priorities including “Reaching net zero carbon emissions globally, fighting for a world with equal opportunity to prosper, and striving to make a difference every day,” she is more emboldened than ever to achieve progress. Though the road ahead to achieving this is long and demanding, Marisa is as keen as ever to make her mark and aspire towards a sustainable and equitable society.

Read more about the inclusive culture at Standard Chartered here. 

Connect with Marisa Drew and follow her sustainability journey on her LinkedIn profile. 

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