Mapping a path to sustainability
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Mapping a path to sustainability
Produced by:
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Sponsored by:
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We had the privilege of speaking with Jules Cullen, Head of Commercial Markets at Esri UK, to discuss the role of geospatial technology in advancing corporate sustainability practices. Jules brings a wealth of experience from her early career in the oil and gas industry to her current role at Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) software. In our conversation, Jules shared fascinating insights into how location intelligence is empowering organisations across industries to meet their sustainability goals, drive supply chain transparency, and respond to the challenges posed by climate change.
We had the privilege of speaking with Jules Cullen, Head of Commercial Markets at Esri UK, to discuss the role of geospatial technology in advancing corporate sustainability practices. Jules brings a wealth of experience from her early career in the oil and gas industry to her current role at Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) software. In our conversation, Jules shared fascinating insights into how location intelligence is empowering organisations across industries to meet their sustainability goals, drive supply chain transparency, and respond to the challenges posed by climate change.
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Jules, could you please start by sharing a bit about your background and your current role at Esri UK?
My career began in the oil and gas industry, specifically in petroleum exploration. At the time, I didn't fully grasp the concept of "location intelligence," but our work involved mapping geoscience data to provide exploration teams with insights for better investment decisions. Later, I joined Exprodat, an Esri Gold Partner specialising in geospatial solutions for the energy sector. That's where my passion for Esri and GIS technology really took off. Two years ago, I joined Esri UK, where I now help commercial customers leverage our solutions to meet their sustainability goals.
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I now help commercial customers leverage our solutions to meet their sustainability goals.
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For those less familiar with Esri, could you provide an overview of what the company does, particularly in relation to sustainability?
Founded in 1969, Esri builds ArcGIS, the world's leading mapping and spatial analytics platform. We help organisations solve problems by visualising data geographically to reveal deeper insights. ArcGIS offers advanced capabilities for analysis and collaboration through maps, apps, dashboards, and more. It includes the Living Atlas, a vast collection of global datasets that is regularly updated and powers billions of requests daily. Over our 50+ year history, Esri has grown to serve over 350,000 organisations globally across various industries and governments, with more than 10 million users.
In terms of sustainability, our software enables a wide range of initiatives, such as conservation, biodiversity protection, climate resilience, sustainable operations, and supply chain transparency. Organisations have different sustainability priorities, but they generally aim to balance environmental, economic, and social development.
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We help organisations solve problems by visualising data geographically to reveal deeper insights. ArcGIS offers advanced capabilities for analysis and collaboration through maps, apps, dashboards, and more.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/techpros_blackcircle.9eab1080141e.png?ext=webp)
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Where do you see the biggest opportunities currently for Esri to help enterprises meet their sustainability goals using geospatial solutions?
One great example is our work with Nespresso. Coffee farming faces challenges like climate change and poverty. Nespresso aims to protect their sourcing by helping farmers adopt sustainable practices to provide quality coffee long-term while improving livelihoods. They have pioneered investing in sustainability through their partnership with the Rainforest Alliance, ensuring quality, productivity, and sustainability across their supply chain.
Nespresso uses Esri technology to communicate their sustainability efforts to customers through maps, which are far more effective than traditional reports. They also utilise a sustainability dashboard to visualise key details on the locations of over 100,000 partner farms. This level of transparency and engagement is crucial for driving sustainability initiatives forward.
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Nespresso uses Esri technology to communicate their sustainability efforts to customers through maps, which are far more effective than traditional reports.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/techpros_blackcircle.9eab1080141e.png?ext=webp)
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/julescullenbw.9dde53411648.png?ext=webp)
In your opinion, what technological innovations are currently driving the most significant changes in corporate sustainability practices?
Before diving into specific technologies, it's important to understand why companies are embracing sustainability in the first place. Organisations that take sustainability seriously realise that it makes business operations smarter, more responsible, resilient, and better for the planet - ultimately reducing costs rather than adding them.
Today, sustainability considerations are unavoidable for any organisation, from retailers to insurers to agriculture. Achieving a sustainable future requires clear visibility into where and how to take action, making a geographic approach essential. Businesses must understand location-based risks around sourcing, assets, people, and more.
Leading companies are integrating sustainability into their operations to reduce impacts and costs, identify innovation opportunities, and gain a competitive edge. They utilise mapping technology to place assets and strategy into a geographic context. For example, CBRE, the world's largest real estate manager, invested in solar firm Altus Power to install panels across their retail, office, and warehouse portfolio. Using GIS and AI, they're analysing thousands of buildings to identify prime rooftop solar sites based on size, sunlight access, and energy usage. This partnership gives Altus unmatched rooftop access while CBRE gains sustainable power for tenants, making their spaces more competitive and dramatically lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Location intelligence is the driving force behind this innovative sustainability initiative.
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Leading companies are integrating sustainability into their operations to reduce impacts and costs, identify innovation opportunities, and gain a competitive edge. They utilise mapping technology to place assets and strategy into a geographic context.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/techpros_blackcircle.9eab1080141e.png?ext=webp)
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/julescullenbw.9dde53411648.png?ext=webp)
How has supply chain mapping evolved to help businesses contend with climate impacts?
Initially, supply chain mapping allowed staff to visualise global assets, such as suppliers, fulfilment networks, factories, and warehouses. This created a digital supply network to monitor the flow of goods from source to consumer. Companies can now leverage these maps to assess disruption risks from weather events and geopolitical factors.
However, it goes beyond reactive risk management. In the long term, climate change will affect virtually every business's supply chain, operations, infrastructure, assets, and real estate. Successful companies need to understand climate impacts, adapt, and mitigate them when planning for the future.
As climate change reshapes business, resilience requires a clear view of today's operations and future climate threats, wherever they occur. This makes dynamic supply chain mapping a critical part of an organisation's climate response. Mapping provides the visibility to proactively shift sourcing, redirect transport routes, flood-protect facilities, and more. It's no longer just about visualising the supply chain, but future-proofing it amidst climate disruption.
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Mapping provides the visibility to proactively shift sourcing, redirect transport routes, flood-protect facilities, and more. It's no longer just about visualising the supply chain, but future-proofing it amidst climate disruption.
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/techpros_blackcircle.9eab1080141e.png?ext=webp)
![](https://assets.foleon.com/eu-central-1/de-uploads-7e3kk3/42075/julescullenbw.9dde53411648.png?ext=webp)
The new EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) seems to be a major driver for supply chain traceability. How is Esri helping customers address this regulation?
Rising consumer demand has allowed businesses to operate for over a century without fully considering environmental impacts. However, up to 90% of an organisation's impact lies in its value chain, and under 20% have full visibility into sustainable sourcing.
With supply chains causing 60% of emissions, EUDR forces companies to acknowledge their footprint. Fines for deforestation detected in supply chains can reach 4% of annual turnover. The challenge is that companies don't know precise locations, so they can't confirm compliance.
Esri helped found the Supply Chain Data Partnership in November 2022 to tackle this issue. Its mission is to help companies gain supply chain transparency through a trusted authoritative asset location register and the provision of geographic identifiers.
This will enable broad transparency for monitoring, due diligence, and attributing sustainability measures over time, which can inform consumers and investors. By mapping suppliers with precision location data, companies can certify products as deforestation-free. It's a major collaborative step toward accountable, sustainable business practices.
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By mapping suppliers with precision location data, companies can certify products as deforestation-free. It's a major collaborative step toward accountable, sustainable business practices.
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You mentioned Rewired Earth, an innovative nonprofit linking sustainability to financial markets and company valuations. Can you explain their approach and Esri's involvement?
Rewired Earth is a collaboration of leaders from sustainability, finance, academia, policy, and non-profit sectors. They believe the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can become a universal sustainability label. Their theory is that showing collective demand for sustainability compared to an organisation's actual impact will enable properly valuing sustainable action.
As people easily choose products, services, or companies matching their priorities, capital, customers, and talent will flow to those meeting stakeholder needs. Esri and the Supply Chain Data Partnership are central to this because, without simple, automated location verification and activity tracing, we can't build trustworthy sustainability reporting.
By combining Esri's location intelligence software and mapping with Rewired's financial access, we can structure supply chain backbones worldwide. Incorporating key sustainability metrics will allow SMEs to easily report verifiable impacts. This partnership brings transparency across global supply chains, accelerating auditable impact reporting while driving SDG achievement locally and beyond.
It's an exciting space achieving real-world impact. If anyone wants to learn more about our collaboration enabling sustainable, ethical supply chains through location intelligence, please get in touch jcullen@esriuk.com.
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This partnership brings transparency across global supply chains, accelerating auditable impact reporting while driving SDG achievement locally and beyond.
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