Julie Brautigam
Nominated for: 30 Over 30 Award
Title: Head of EHS
Company: Hollister Incorporated
Years in Profession: 25
Nominator: Peter Etienne, Senior Counsel, Stepan Company, former work colleague and PSCI Board colleague of Julie.
Tell us why this person deserves recognition for making a difference in the practice of EHS & Sustainability management. (500 words max.)*
Julie Brautigam has been an effective and transformational environmental professional for over 25 years. I first got to know Julie when she joined Baxter International Inc. as a manager in our environmental, health & safety group over twenty years ago. In that role, she was instrumental in compliance areas covering water, air, waste and global auditing for Baxter’s 50-plus sites worldwide. Julie was recognized for her keen strategic insight coupled with attention to detail and rapidly progressed to be a director covering sustainability at Baxter and Senior Director at Takeda followed by Head of Global Environment, Health & Safety at Hollister. Along the way, Julie helped launch Baxter’s Sustainability Council and did excellent work in championing and achieving environmental results that had significant positive business impact. Her technical expertise is significant. She can expertly discuss U.S. legal requirements covering waste, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, or significant non-US regulations including those in the EU like REACH or RoHS. Julie helped launch Baxter’s first Product Stewardship compliance audit in Europe along with Baxter’s first audit and training on China’s RoHS equivalent. She has worked with the CDP, Ceres, WRI, NAEM and many other organizations at the forefront of environmental progress. Along with Julie’s environmental expertise, her knowledge of ethics & compliance, health & safety, human rights and related sustainability areas, makes her an effective communicator on broader sustainability themes to stakeholders.
Julie has contributed to the broader advancement of environmental stewardship in other ways. She was elected Chair of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). As a fellow PSCI Board member at the time, I witnessed her leadership firsthand as she worked collaboratively to lead a number of large companies, including Pfizer, J&J, Baxter, GSK, Bayer and others to launch a strategic plan and launch the group’s first public report. Those efforts were foundational in helping PSCI continue progressing towards a sustainable supply chain. Julie has spoken and/or taught at several public forums, including at NAEM. She has continued to mentor environmental professionals and served as a strong advocate for diversity in the profession and has exemplified that in her hiring decisions and her work on supplier diversity. If asked for words that best describe Julie, I would say: professional, empathetic, strategic, program builder, and environmental champion.
Whether it is tackling pharmaceutical residues in wastewater or strongly advocating for corporate transparency in the reporting of environmental impact, she has continued to respectfully push, challenge and further the field of environmental sustainability as she puts it, by “partnering to create breakthrough outcomes for a better, more sustainable world.”
I respectfully nominate Julie Brautigam for an NAEM Excellence Award.
Describe a situation or initiative where the nominee was directly responsible for a significant achievement and/or advancement in the practice of EHS & Sustainability management. Include metrics and KPIs if available. (500 words max.)*
Julie was elected to the Board of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative and served a three-year term as Vice Chair, Chair, and Past Chair. During her tenure, she led an effort to develop a strategic plan, increase membership, and produce the organization's first public progress report. These efforts were foundational and during her tenure on the Board, PSCI doubled in membership and raised additional revenue to pursue training efforts, particularly in Asia, focusing on reducing adverse environmental impact of the pharmaceutical industry in areas and communities where many suppliers and PSCI members operated.
In your opinion, what are the predominant skills and attributes that directly contribute to the nominee’s effectiveness and success? (500 words max.)*
Julie's educational background (undergraduate degree in Biology and Masters in Environmental Management) along with a keen strategic mind and attention to detail, have been foundational to her success and growth as an effective leader. She also has a passion for environmental sustainability and she relishes the challenge to develop strategy, programs and staff to build from whatever new position she lands in. From Baxter, to Takeda, to Hollister, every where she has taken a new position, she has quickly been able to persuade leadership to give her more staff and other resources to further the environmental sustainability goals of the company. Although she comes across as very professional in demeanor, she is empathetic and I have seen her relate well to operators on the production floor and to the highest leaders of the company. I believe the academic background, professionalism, empathy and passion for environmental sustainability work have been keys to her success.
Share the ways this nominee has positively influenced you, both personally and professionally. You may also include reflections and quotes from others including executives, direct reports, colleagues, suppliers, and clients. (500 words max.)*
Three examples come to mind. First, in my past role as environment, health & safety legal counsel for Baxter, I worked with Julie on a periodic compliance report that provided senior company management visibility on compliance performance for the 50-plus sites we covered. Julie worked with me on developing a measure that aggressively sought to reduce company notices of violation (NOVs) globally. To assist in that effort, we had to define an NOV in a way acceptable and understood globally. We tracked the repeat performance of certain sites, highlighted the issues to top management, provided compliance resources to targeted sites, and thereby saw significant improvement in compliance performance. This was done in a collegial manner so that all concerned were seen as working together and not in an adversarial manner. No one saw Julie as a cop. Yet they realized this was important.
Secondly, and personally, we often come across crossroads in our careers where more than one great opportunity may present itself. I have been fortunate enough to serve, simultaneously, in the areas of ethics & compliance, trade compliance, and environment, health & safety. I could have focused on any one of those areas exclusively. I credit Julie for reminding me of the importance of environmental sustainability at this point in all of our futures and when the time came for my next job, her advice played a significant role in helping me chose my next job as an environmental lawyer rather than in the other areas of practice.
Third, as a Black professional in the environmental field, I am keenly aware of the importance of continuing to foster a diverse pool of future leaders. It has been encouraging to see leaders like Julie set an example in her hiring and mentoring of diverse staff in her leadership positions at Baxter, Takeda and Hollister. As difficult as it may be to attract, retain and promote diverse staff in the environmental field, she stands out as an outstanding leader in that regard.
Provide one or more examples of nominee’s commitment to environmental stewardship within their organization and/or the community. (500 words max.)*
In addition to the examples shared in the previous segments, one other example comes to mind. Julie has been instrumental in utilizing the avenues of Earth Day, Earth Week or Earth Month to strengthen focus on environmental stewardship not only among environmental professionals, but company-wide and in the community where the company operates. At Baxter, she was instrumental in getting employees to participate in volunteer activities at the Botanic Gardens in Chicago, the Prairie Crossing environmentally-focused residential community in Illinois and global engagement in environmental activities at all company facilities. Although I am not a Hollister employee, it has been interesting to see Julie's posts this past month highlighting her Hollister team in India as an example of her leadership in having Hollister plants at all locations participate in week-long World Environment Week 2023 activities. I believe this is one more example of Julie's leadership and her deep commitment to moving us towards "a more sustainable world."