Mary Ann Polad
Nominated for: 30 Over 30 Award
Title: Director, EHS, Security & Sustainability
Company: The Boston Beer Company
Years in Profession:
Nominator: Christian Missonak, Benchmark Gensuite, customer of Mary Ann.
Tell us why this person deserves recognition for making a difference in the practice of EHS & Sustainability management. (500 words max.)*
Mary Ann Polad deserves recognition for making a difference in the practice of EHS & Sustainability management as she gives these critical areas the same priority as business performance. Mary Ann ensures EHS and Sustainability are consistently prioritized. The Boston Beer safety culture is a positive and engaged culture because of Mary Ann’s efforts over the last 10 years. While measuring EHS and sustainability KPIs are important, engaging within safety culture is an area that Mary Ann is committed to focusing on. Having everyone within the organization engaged within the safety culture has proven to make a significant positive impact.
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.)*
Mary Ann has had a significant impact on the Boston Beer EHS and Sustainability program. She has successfully integrated EHS & a strong safety culture within Boston Beer. The EHS business integration included a launch of EHS software. Implementation of new software can be a challenge, but Mary Ann was committed to having all coworkers engage within the Boston Beer Safety Culture. In addition to business-wide safety engagement, Mary Ann has been crucial in the development of safety analytic analytics & reporting. As a result of the above, the team is better able to mitigate risk providing a safer environment for all coworkers. Her dedication to EHS and Sustainability is exceptional.
In your opinion, what are the predominant skills and attributes that directly contribute to the nominee’s effectiveness and success? (500 words max.)*
As the Director of EHS, Security, and Sustainability, Mary Ann has many skills and attributes that have led to her success. Mary Ann has a passion for keeping people safe – having passion in this role is critical to creating and sustaining a safe and protective work environment. As a member of Mary Ann’s team, I can say she has exceptional communication and coaching skills. Having such clear and open communication has led to a strong EHS team where we can continue to develop new skills. Mary Ann is proactive in all she does which is critical in an EHS role.
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.)*
Mary Ann has positively influenced many throughout her career. She brings broad and varied experience that enables positive and productive organizational change - all focused on creating and sustaining a safe work environment.
In addition to her EHS and Sustainability contributions, Mary Ann is an exceptional people leader. When visiting Boston Beer locations, she is sure to know as many coworkers’ names as possible. This encourages coworkers to be engaged with the EHS team and enables our team to get feedback from coworkers. With the coworker feedback received, Mary Ann ensures the feedback is taken seriously and she will evaluate opportunities for optimization. This ensures coworkers feel valued and creates an environment focused on engagement and advancement in all areas.
Provide one or more examples of nominee’s commitment to environmental stewardship within their organization and/or the community. (500 words max.)*
Mary Ann is committed to implementing our corporate sustainability philosophy and strategy the right way — which means embedding sustainability at all levels of the business. For example, Mary Ann has been instrumental in launching programs to ensure we are reducing and tracking all hazardous and other waste materials. Additionally, Mary Ann has taken steps to create a more efficient sustainability reporting program.