In Angela Hultberg’s own words, she hasn’t had what you might call a “straight arrow” career path. After studying tax law at university and briefly entering the profession, she reached the conclusion that life was too short to do something she didn’t really want to do, and made the jump into corporate life.

After working for Scania and as an M&A consultant in her native Sweden, Angela joined IKEA and it was there that things clicked into place. “Sustainability was deeply embedded in everyday operations at IKEA,” she explains. “The more I learned, the more I could connect it to the business knowledge I already had, and the stronger I felt about it. I realized that everything was going to be affected by sustainability. That was where it all started.”

This discovery dovetailed with Angela’s own motivations. “Any literate person has got to be concerned about climate change these days. My husband and I have two sons, and when you have kids, you start taking things a bit more seriously. So my passion for sustainability comes from that personal perspective as much as a sense of business curiosity.”

Angela went from her first sustainability role with IKEA to becoming its head of sustainable mobility within three years, leading the organization toward its goal of zero-emission home deliveries, and gaining widespread recognition for her expertise along the way. In 2021, she was named road transport lead for the COP26 climate conference’s Climate Champions team, heading up several initiatives to accelerate the transportation industry’s decarbonization efforts.

Angela joined Kearney in 2022 and now supports clients in the automotive, consumer and retail, and transportation industries on their sustainability journeys with practical advice and tools such as Kearney’s book, The Sustainability Chessboard, which she co-authored. “It’s not about setting high-level net-zero targets,” she says. “It’s about how you execute, how you actually ‘do’ sustainability. For our clients, that means building sustainable, responsible supply chains, adopting circular business models, decarbonizing, making transport sustainable. My job is orchestrating all of that: setting targets, following up, and organizing for success.”

Based on her own career experience, Angela is convinced that sustainability is for everyone. “I guess I am a good example of wherever you start out, the more you know, the more you see. Even if you don’t come from a sustainability background—or it’s not the focal point of your career—you need to understand the part you have to play. And if at any point you do want to make it your focus, you can.”

Outside of work, Angela stays busy with what she calls her “other full-time job”—coaching her older son’s youth soccer team. “It’s the most rewarding thing, watching my kids grow and develop,” she muses. “That’s why I want to have a solid answer when they ask me what I did to prevent climate change.”

Taking action: Procurement

Taking action: Design and manufacturing

Taking action: Transport

Taking action: Consumer