Leading the Charge for Sustainable and Inclusive Supply Chains

I believe high performing leaders needs to have a well-rounded skillset to lead effectively in the current environment, and the ability to flex and lean in on different capabilities depending on the situation.

The HR Digest: C. H. Robinson recently received its World Finance Sustainability Awards 2022. How do you think it was possible and what were the steps you took as a CHRO to motivate employees to work as a team and achieve it?

Angie Freeman: The award was terrific recognition of the great progress our people have made in driving sustainable practices at C.H. Robinson and in global logistics. Our employees are experts in helping our customers create more efficient, resilient and sustainable supply chains. As the scale and scope of our company have expanded over the years, so has our focus on taking meaningful steps to improve the world in which we live. Our employees consistently tell us that doing meaningful work, and being part of an organization that makes a positive impact, is very important to them. We have taken an intentional approach to develop a vision and strategy that takes all our stakeholders’ perspectives into account – one that our customers, carriers and employees can stand behind.

Freight transportation accounts for about 8% of global carbon emissions, and Scope 3 emissions account can account for 90% or more of a companies’ emissions. We have a critical role to play to help our customers, our industry, and our world lessen the environmental impact of supply chains. We have the one of the largest freight transportation datasets in the world, and we’ve leveraged that asset and our expertise to create products that help our customers measure their Scope 3 emissions. We have done this based on international standards, and we use those tools and benchmarking to help shippers identify ways to reduce their emissions.

Within C.H. Robinson, we are focused on reducing the emissions from our own carbon footprint. Through a combination of efficiency projects and the use of renewable energy, we are on pace to reach our carbon emissions goal ahead of schedule. In fact, we are more than 90% of the way to our 2025 emissions reduction goal.  

Our people love to make a positive impact and go the extra mile, and we apply that same attitude when it comes to sustainability. Whether making a difference in a home office by getting rid of single-use containers or working directly with renewable energy developers on complex supply chain challenges, C.H. Robinson will continue to help advance the supply chain around the globe.

What DE&I strategies have helped C. H. Robinson add success to the global supply chain industry?

The evidence is clear that more diverse and inclusive organizations are more creative, innovative, and higher performing. We’re a people-driven company and want to be an organization that attracts and retains the best talent, across all dimensions of diversity.  It is a key competitive advantage. At C.H. Robinson, our overall Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy is infused into our culture, and across every area of our business. Our global team is made up of individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, cultures and skillsets. Together, these diverse perspectives make us stronger and create a more holistic view and representation of the people and communities where we do business around the world.  

As an organization, we work with our employees around the world to meet them where they are on their DEI journey and to identify where and how we can best support them.  We host focus groups with employees to understand their thoughts and concerns and actively listen to their feedback on how and where we can improve our efforts.

We approach new and existing processes at C.H. Robinson with a DEI lens to ensure it is represented in everything we do within the supply chain industry, from how we interact with our customers in their preferred languages, to taking customers’ and employees’ special cultural preferences and holidays into consideration, to name a few. We encourage our employees around the world to celebrate their chosen holidays and share those celebrations with each other and externally across their networks and on social media. We want our employees to feel valued and proud of who they are.

We also share our progress to ensure employees are aware that their perspectives play a key role in driving ongoing, meaningful change. A critical component of the DEI strategy is our commitment to measurement and metrics. We have a robust partnership with our in-house analytics team to ensure we are set appropriate DEI goals using data-informed targets, regularly tracking and reporting to our senior leadership on progress and areas of opportunity.

Other important aspects of our strategy include ongoing training and education for our talent acquisition teams to ensure we are sourcing and hiring diverse candidates, having Employee Resource Group (ERG) to celebrate, educate and advocate for historically marginalized groups, holding our leaders accountable to our DEI goals to drive positive change.

What challenges have you come across while working as a CHRO at C. H. Robinson? How are you planning to manage these challenges?

In speaking with my peers over the years, C.H. Robinson has experienced many of the same or similar challenges of other companies of the same size, locations, and industry. The pace of change we are all experiencing, economic disruptions and volatility, and talent shortages are just a few of the factors many of us are grappling with. 

The pandemic created the opportunity for us to evaluate and pivot on how and where our employees get their work done. Robinson has always fostered a culture grounded in relationships, collaboration, and team interaction. Quickly moving to a remote working environment resulted in the need to find new and innovative ways to keep our employees engaged and excited about being part of this team without being together in person. More frequent communications on the state of our business helped people feel more informed throughout times of uncertainty. Additionally, we needed to be sure our leaders were comfortable leading through change and embracing a culture that allowed for flexibility and trust that employees could still be successful while working remotely. We also ramped up our employee listening efforts, to ensure that the feedback, ideas, and input of our employees – at all levels and around the world – were heard.  Our senior leadership team is communicating timely updates to employees often and through new or different virtual platforms and create opportunities for feedback and two-way dialogue.

Another new opportunity in HR has been ensuring we are hiring the right workforce of the future – both in terms of upskilling our team today and hiring for the roles that we need to deliver success, specifically as we quickly increasingly digitalize our business.  Pairing leading-edge digital capabilities with people who have deep supply chain expertise and an unmatched service commitment is, we believe, a differentiating and winning strategy.

What is the number one leadership competency required in today’s fast-paced, unpredictable world? 

It is so hard to pick just one – I believe high performing leaders needs to have a well-rounded skillset to lead effectively in the current environment, and the ability to flex and lean in on different capabilities depending on the situation. Decisiveness, empathy, strategic thinking – all critical. But, if I had to pick a single capability, I would select having a growth mindset. The ability to continuously learn, adapt, bounce back from setbacks and failures, stay open minded and see different perspectives – in my mind, those are all aspects of a true growth mindset. One of Nelson Mandela’s quotes perfectly encapsulates this for me: “I never lose. I either win or learn.”

How are you going to shake things up next?

We don’t shake things up for the sake of change – we do so intentionally when we recognize that evolution is needed to support the strategy direction of the company.  Significant change can be necessary when organizations have stopped evolving, stopped learning, lost sight of their mission and are stuck. “Evolve Constantly” is one of C.H. Robinson’s core values, so we see it rather as a continuous focus on growing, changing, learning and always striving to improve. In order to do that effectively, together as one team, you need to fortify culture and connection. We want to ensure our employees feel grounded in who we are, and where we’re going as an organization. Like many companies, we’re identifying and establishing the new norms that came out of the pandemic. Communication will continue to be critical. We want employees to feel engaged and inspired in our vision and strategy and understand how they play a role in our future success.

Angie Freeman,

Chief Human Resources & ESG Officer, C.H. Robinson

As Chief Human Resources & ESG Officer at C.H. Robinson, Angie Freeman leads the company’s global talent and sustainability strategies, including recruiting, compensation, learning and leadership development, culture and talent brand, environmental impact, charitable giving, and diversity and inclusion. She has a diverse career background and serves on the board of several organizations, including The Shyft Group and the University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation. Freeman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from the University of North Dakota, as well as a Master of Science degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics. She is a frequent public speaker on talent strategy and leadership topics.

Photo: C.H. Robinson  

This profile was published in the January 2023 issue of The HR Digest.

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