Stephanie Cárdenas has had an incredibly diverse career. Self-identifying as a "sustainability catalyst," she has shaped sustainability strategies for international clients at Deloitte, worked as a green finance consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank and developed farm to fork systems as sustainability manager at Baldor Speciality Foods in New York.

Now, in her latest role as forest manager at nonprofit CDP, she’s part of the mission to get companies to disclose their progress on reducing corporate impact on people and the planet.

Here she talks leveraging that diverse CV, what keeps her up at night and the importance of 7 a.m. runs.

Shannon Houde: Stephanie, first off, you have such a diverse background. How have you leveraged that diversity in moving to each new role?

Stephanie Cárdenas: It is all about transferable skills. Everything you learn in your career and in life can help you get to your next step if you know how to use that to your advantage. In terms of this role, I was interviewing for another role at CDP, and I mentioned that while at Deloitte I measured the GHG emissions for a dairy company and how much I enjoyed doing so. A couple of days later, I received an offer for an opening in the U.K., for managing forests with a specific focus on cattle. You really need to know how to put the puzzle together to build a strong profile. And show: This is what’s unique; this is what I bring to the table; and this is how I will help you get where you want.

Houde: How do you see the issue of forests evolving as a sustainability issue?

Cárdenas: Forest is a huge and growing area of focus. We need more experts on the topic, and we need more experts on the topic of nature too. I work specifically combating deforestation and decoupling deforestation from corporate supply chains. I look into the issues and consider what questions we need to ask companies in order to see how their internal processes can impact deforestation specifically regarding the cattle commodity.

I don't know if you've been following what happened at COP26, but in 2014, there was the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which established that deforestation would end by 2020. That did not happen…. So, at COP26 there was the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, ensuring that we end deforestation by 2030. The big difference is that now more than 140 governments have signed up, and they represent about 90 percent of the world’s forest, which is amazing. Around $19.2 billion has been put down to invest in this area to ensure we end deforestation and drive ecosystem restoration.

Read the full article about sustainability projects by Shannon Houde at GreenBiz.