Sabrina Wuersch, Buhler Group

Starting out as a young female, polymechanic in Bühler, sustainability has been a concern and a passion for Sabrina. It started out at an individual level, being aware of global inequality due in large part to her Brazilian heritage. However, it was while watching a One Young World highlight video in 2015 as the Bühler Group considered sending a delegation to the Summit that her interest was piqued.

Due to her proactivity and engagement as an apprentice, Sabrina and 5 other employees were chosen to attend the Ottawa Summit in 2016. The CTO & CHRO instructed them to “be inspired” and bring back their ideas and energy to drive the company forward, but she could not envisage how. Delegate speakers such as Micronesian climate activist Yolanda Joab opened her eyes to the inequality of these global challenges, and speeches from global leaders such as Professor Yunus showed Sabrina how change was possible.

Rather than focus upon one initiative, the team decided to try and create a movement in the company. This led to her forming Generation B, a grassroots movement that could drive employee engagement, spread sustainability awareness and action, and give young employees a voice that was heard and listened to by senior management. Inspired by sessions she attended at the Summit, Sabrina & the team launched a series of workshops to educate and train staff for sustainability internally.

She implemented the buddy system to make sure new employees were integrated socially and professionally into the 10,000+ person company. Another core programme of Generation B was the Experience Sharing Series, running mentorship sessions that connected employees to top international managers who shared advice and recommendations to help the team navigate the company and implement their ideas effectively.

To prevent these events and programmes from being dependent on the same individuals, and to encourage fresh ideas and innovations for the movement, Sabrina has passed on her role in the group but continues to support their activities. Instead, outside her current role as a Product Manager, she co-founded the initiative Kickstart with her HR D&I counterpart and fellow Ambassador, Corinne Schneider, and co-leads the group’s initiative inspiring young women to develop a career in STEM. The group of passionate colleagues around the world, platform and promote the stories of successful women in tech to present role models to young women starting out their careers.

Within her own role and as a product manager, Sabrina is also constantly working to minimise the negative impact, predominantly stemming from waste, and maximise sustainable innovations within her processes.

“One Young World was a true eye-opener to me. Back then 'sustainability' was a buzzword but I had no clue about the negative impacts around the world if they were not considered and lived in my life. It really made me think about how I can make change happen and was a driver into choosing a career where I can have impact on the whole world.”