S4E8: Change in Motion with Jennifer Motles
In this episode of Sustainability Forward, we speak with Jennifer Motles, Chief Sustainability Officer at Philip Morris International, about what sustainability leadership looks like inside a complex global business undergoing transformation.
Jennifer shares her journey into sustainability leadership and explains how she sees the role of a CSO: not as a side function, but as a driver of long-term value creation, resilience, and business transformation. The conversation explores why sustainability must start with a company’s most material impacts, how systems change requires action far beyond one company alone, and why transformation should be understood not as a project with a clear end point, but as continuous “change in motion.”
We also discuss what it takes to drive change across a large organisation, how senior leadership alignment shapes progress, and why credibility comes from outcomes, evidence, and transparency around both achievements and limitations. Jennifer offers a candid perspective on trade-offs, accountability, and the realities of working on difficult sustainability challenges where change is often slower and messier than outside observers expect.
This episode will be especially relevant for sustainability professionals, business leaders, and anyone interested in how real transformation happens inside large organisations.
Topics covered:
Jennifer Motles’ journey into sustainability leadership
Why sustainability matters in the context of business transformation
Systems change and the role of business in tackling complex challenges
How to drive change across strategy, operations, and leadership
Credibility, accountability, and evidence in sustainability
Why transparency about trade-offs and limitations matters
Advice for people trying to create meaningful change inside complex organisations
A thoughtful episode on leadership, realism, and why the hard work of sustainability happens from within.
Chief Sustainability Officer, Philip Morris International
Jennifer Motles joined Philip Morris International (PMI) in 2015 and has served as the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) since October 2020. In this role, she leads PMI’s sustainability agenda as a core driver of business strategy and long‑term value creation. She oversees the design and deployment of PMI’s Value Plan 2030+, grounded in a double‑materiality assessment and structured around six strategic priorities: Consumers, Circularity, Own Workforce, Workers in the Value Chain, Climate, and Nature. Her leadership is central to how PMI embeds sustainability into its long‑term business strategy, driving sustainable business through value creation.
During her tenure at PMI, Jennifer has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s statement of purpose and expanding its sustainability strategy through Value Plan 2030+.
Jennifer holds a Juris Doctor degree from Universidad de Chile—Escuela de Derecho and a Master of Laws degree from University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
