Adding grassroots power to corporate sustainability
The Corning Sustainability Network is over 900 employees strong, creating change across the globe.
Corning Sustainability Network members bike to work and log their trips on the Corning Green Commuter App, which tracks their greenhouse gas emissions saved.
In 2021, Hillary Junglas, a sustainability specialist at Corning, had a thought.
“What if all the sustainably minded employees of Corning got together to learn from each other and stoke real change in this Fortune 500 company?”
At the time, Junglas was not in a sustainability role and wanted an outlet for her passion. She knew others in non-green roles could contribute to the company’s sustainability journey as well.
“The world has got some pretty overwhelming challenges, and I realized, ‘Who better than the smart people at Corning to solve them?’” Junglas said.
It’s true. Corning developed a ceramic clean-air technology in 1970 that has been reducing vehicle emissions for five decades. The company’s scientists and engineers have invented ways to make glass with a reduced impact on the environment. Corning’s products have also been helping the company’s customers meet their sustainability goals already. So why not join employees together to continue the work?
While Corning set its own sustainability goals as a company, its employees needed to find each other to help creatively tackle those goals – and create a forum for employees’ voices, encouraging a culture of making empowered, educated choices on behalf of the planet.
“I knew my colleagues had a shared sense of urgency about the health of the world,” Junglas said. “Banding together as a ground-up movement would grow our impact exponentially.”
With the help of colleagues Allison Draper and Christina Chan, Junglas’s original thought blossomed into the Corning Sustainability Network (CSN), a thriving, completely employee-led group that works to educate and accelerate change in the community, environment, and the company. The group’s first meeting attracted over 900 employees.
Hillary Junglas, CSN President and Sustainability Specialist, interviews Mark Steen, Vice President of Sustainability and Climate Initiatives and CSN Sponsor, during one of the group’s virtual information sessions.
Junglas wasn’t alone. And now, the group is supporting Corning’s goals even further – whether it’s implementing renewable energy, diverting waste from landfill, recycling scrap, or finding new customers to use Corning’s already sustainable products.
Since that first meeting, CSN has garnered the support of Corning’s CEO and sustainability leaders. In concert with that support, CSN members aim to spark continuous progress in Corning’s businesses, bettering their social and environmental impact.
The group hosts global virtual events to educate employees on topics like circularity, emissions, modern slavery, and other issues relevant to the company and its markets. Local CSN champions lead initiatives at their facilities and within their communities, such as volunteering at a community garden, hosting recycling drives, or organizing water-reduction workshops.
With colleagues-turned-friends in nearly every location around the world where Corning operates, Junglas has witnessed a culture shift.
“In just three years, we’ve gone from very little employee engagement to an organized, grassroots, employee-led effort with measurable impact,” Junglas said. “Our members have pushed for composting at Corning sites. They’ve launched an app that tracks alternative commuting mileage, putting a number on employee emissions reduction. They’ve fed each other with fresh produce from campus gardens. The impact is real.”
Let’s hear from some of the voices empowered by CSN:
Seh’ba Srivastava, Senior Regional Counsel in Gurgaon, India
“CSN acts as an extension of the corporation’s ongoing sustainability strategy. The network has accelerated the integration of sustainability into many parts of Corning and has also led to operational efficiency and cost savings. For the community, CSN demonstrates corporate responsibility and enhances our reputation, fostering trust and stronger relationships. Beyond these immediate benefits, the network cultivates a culture of sustainability, inspiring other organizations and individuals to adopt eco-friendly practices, amplifying our positive impact globally.
I believe that sustainability is not an initiative – it is a culture. In India, CSN’s presence has stoked small changes – like switching paper tissue over to bamboo tissue, or finding ways to recycle fiber waste instead of landfilling it – but those changes add up to a big impact over time. Employees’ passion for the environment is essential to the corporate-culture shift.”
Martin Santen, Equipment Engineer & Site Energy Manager in Kaiserslautern, Germany
“I joined CSN because I am passionate about environmental stewardship and wanted to contribute to meaningful change within Corning.
I’m most proud of my involvement in developing and implementing the Corning Green Commuter app. The app has successfully encouraged employees, including myself, to adopt more sustainable commuting habits, reducing our collective carbon footprint. It’s rewarding to see tangible results from this initiative.
I’m also proud to have led the first Sustainability Week at the Kaiserslautern plant in 2023 where we showed off our newly planted no-dig organic vegetable garden, hosted a seed sharing event, and had discussions regarding waste reduction, buying local, food sharing, and plant-based diets.”
Jeff Herrera, Global Supply Chain Training Supervisor in Keller, Texas, United States
“The value I see in CSN is that it is more than a network; it is a force multiplier for sustainability. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join and contribute, whatever that looks like. With this approach, we’re steadily expanding our impact – even beyond Corning.
As the current vice president of CSN, I am proud to have had a part in helping to spread awareness and emboldening global sustainability advocates to become CSN champions. Our amazing team of volunteers works relentlessly to make our network’s mission a reality more and more each day. It’s for sure a challenge, but so worth it.
In Keller, Texas, we hosted a successful tree planting for Earth Day 2023. We had about 15 colleagues get their hands dirty with planting four pecan trees. It’s through these activities when I feel very connected with my team and planet to the tangible impacts we can have.”
Beyond us
By building a network that's growing in number, Junglas believes the group will not only inspire her colleagues to drive change at work and at home, but will encourage prospective talent to join the company and its sustainability efforts.
After all, she’s seen the power in banding together and empowering colleagues to advocate for a sustainable future.
“When we work together, we can create a better world that will outlast us all,” she said.
