Olivia Whitlam: 'You have to be willing to fail in order to find the answer'

Stuart Stone
clock • 6 min read
Olivia Whitlam: 'You have to be willing to fail in order to find the answer'

From Olympic hero to net zero, former rower Olivia Whitlam - now Siemens head of sustainability - reveals why the freshest green ideas will come from people who aren't in the green space

After rowing at both the Beijing and London Olympics, environmental science graduate Olivia Whitlam joined tech giant Siemens in 2013 where her initial focus was on strategy and processes for community...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Management

Study: Almost all firms setting sustainability targets - but fewer than half explain poor performance

Study: Almost all firms setting sustainability targets - but fewer than half explain poor performance

While sustainability strategies, materiality assessments, reporting, and targets have ‘matured considerably’, they’re not yet shaping business decisions, WBCSD claims

Stuart Stone
clock 22 October 2026 • 4 min read
B Lab names Peter Williams as first global CEO in movement's 20-year history

B Lab names Peter Williams as first global CEO in movement's 20-year history

Former World Bank, Gates Foundation, and European Union advisor appointed to lead global standards setter

Stuart Stone
clock 21 October 2026 • 3 min read
Manchester City cuts carbon emissions five per cent during 2025/26 season

Manchester City cuts carbon emissions five per cent during 2025/26 season

Manchester City promises 'determined, practical, authentic and unapologetic' response to 'tough questions' posed by a changing climate

Stuart Stone
clock 21 October 2026 • 5 min read