Kenyan woman shaping the future in sustainability

Judy Njino is a force to reckon with in the sustainability spectrum, her career has straddled continents and companies. She is currently serving as the Executive Director of Global Compact Network Kenya since 2013.

As the Executive Director, Njino is responsible for providing the strategic direction to entrench ethical and sustainable business practice in Kenya's Private Sector and broker partnerships to advance the sustainable development agenda.

 ‘’It is work that I really enjoy, working with private sector to be a force for good in the society. Whether it is a multinational company or an SME we make sure they align their business strategy as well as their business operations with a set of universal values touching on human right, environment, labour and anti-corruption,” she said.

According to Njino, Sustainability is about business conduct- it is about how you do business. She notes as the head of the network, her goal is to put the society back on track where sustainable development is possible.

“A lot more needs to done, although there has been progress, we are not on track to meet the goals making accelerated and ambitious actions ever more critical,” she said

Sustainability is a key issue for businesses around the world. Climate change, resource depletion, and social inequality are just a few of the challenges facing businesses today.

“It has been gradual if I may say, when I started corporate sustainability was a totally new agenda in the Kenyan market place. Over time we have been able to see that consciousness has risen in the private sector where they understand that corporate sustainably is about the way you do business not what you do after you have done everything else,” she said

Njino leads the largest network of the UN Global Compact in Africa and Middle East region. In Kenya, the network has commitment from all the largest corporates one can think of, the shakers and the movers of the economy. She notes her greatest achievement has been raising the level of consciousness among the private sector in the country.

“This is an area that was relatively new, not many companies were involved in. My role is to make sure everyone understands their part whether a multinational company or SME. In the years that I have had the privilege of running this network I have seen the agenda become mainstream in conversation but even more critically how corporates are able to take action,” she said.

She leverages her broad experience to create strong cross-functional collaborations to mobilize business for impact

“For us to drive that next level of action in terms of acceleration we need all hands on deck, we need every partner to help us push and challenge the private sector.

According to Njino, when she took over the network, she had to build it from the ground up. She recalls it being a one woman show for a number of years. So how does she fulfill all work and personal obligations?

‘’It has always been a work in progress. I knew I had to make some sacrifices at a personal level. Work life balance is something that you have to figure out every single day. It is still something that I haven’t perfected yet, you have to choose where you are trying to invest your time but also having it in your mind that for you to be an effective leader you need to rest and recharge,” she explained .

Njino currently, she oversees a network membership base of over  300 business and non-business signatories to the UN Global Compact in Kenya and 700 other to the Code of Ethics For Business In Kenya which includes leading multi-national, national, small and medium sized enterprises.