Passionate about advancing sustainability and promoting more sustainable operational practices, Ethan O'Brien is the group director of operations sustainability at Klockner Pentaplast in London. He has more than 10 years of global experience in leading renewable energy, sustainability and energy-efficiency projects across multiple continents.
O'Brien grew up in Cork, Ireland, and has worked and lived around the world, including in Kenya and New York. In 2018, he received a 35 Under 35 UK Environment Media Group award. He joined KP in 2020 as a global energy manager, a role that involved leading energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability management implementation on a global basis. He has been the group director of operations sustainability since 2023.
"In manufacturing, sustainability often ranks fourth after safety, quality and efficiency. The goal becomes moving sustainability higher up on the priority list of very busy managers at sites. Elevating sustainability requires recognizing it as a team sport, demanding cross-functional collaboration from everyone from procurement, finance, engineering, operations and HR. Crucially, environmental sustainability must be tangibly connected to financial sustainability, forming the core of any program," he said.
"At KP, the Energy Task Force exemplifies this, focusing on energy consumption, improving efficiency and renewable energy across all plants worldwide. This dedicated, cross-functional team demonstrates how sustainability can drive success in manufacturing by reducing carbon emissions," he said.
One ongoing struggle has been ensuring that sustainability is fully respected within the plastics sector: "Traditionally, in many organizations, sustainability was seen as costly, slowing down operations and diverting resources away from core activities. However, in my experience, I've found it crucial to connect operational efficiency with sustainability. You have to foster a symbiotic relationship between operating efficiently and pursuing sustainability. There's no reason why sustainability efforts can't also enhance a company's financial performance."
The company expanded its number of site-specific initiatives in 2023.
"While most of our 30 sites have some level of community engagement, in 2023, we recorded 18 plants that undertook at least one community engagement project with a clear positive impact. Overall, community projects numbered 52 and included educational initiatives, community health checks and awareness raising, beach cleanups, ecosystem conservation, charity runs and sponsorships of local sports teams," he said.
O'Brien is also responsible for delivering on diversity and inclusion targets as part of KP's overall sustainability strategy. "This includes increasing the number of women in management positions, enhancing employee engagement and expanding our community projects," he said.
O'Brien earned a master's degree in sustainability management from the University of Edinburgh, where he received a full scholarship, and he is pursuing an Executive MBA from the Warwick Business School at the University of Warwick.