Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Strategies and The Road to Sustainable Development
In this episode of the "World We Want" podcast, Márcia Balisciano interviews Mandi McReynolds, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of External Affairs and Customer Advocacy at Workiva. They discuss corporate responsibility, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, and the alignment of these strategies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mandi McReynolds
Mandi McReynolds is an award-winning author and practitioner with 15+ years of leadership experience in building corporate responsibility and ESG divisions across four different industries. She currently serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President External Affairs at Workiva. She helps companies and executives around the globe drive business value and societal impact through transparency, accountability, and innovation.
McReynolds highlights that true financial transformation starts with customers and requires moving beyond outdated tools to focus on strategic, high-value work such as scenario planning and risk analysis. She notes that this shift involves both technological advancement—through AI, automation, and centralized data—and workforce development, addressing global shortages in finance professionals.
Emphasizing strong governance, McReynolds explains how board committees and cross-functional executive teams ensure alignment between strategy and sustainability. She views sustainability goals as core business objectives closely tied to the UN SDGs.
