From Insight To Impact: A CNH Pilot Project on Entrepreneurship for Sustainability
From Insight to Impact is a pilot initiative launched by CNH EMEA to nurture internal talent and promote sustainability-driven entrepreneurship within the company. The program targeted young professionals eager to create tangible, lasting impact across the organization.
Eligible applicants, aged between 23 and 33, working in any country across the EMEA region, were invited to propose a viable project idea aligned with CNH’s ESG pillars: environmental impact, community impact, and operational impact. Selected candidates were offered the opportunity to take part in a specialized training program on leadership and sustainability designed to help them develop their own initiative.
CNH received 24 applications from eight different countries, featuring a wide range of innovative and forward-looking ideas. A cross-functional committee - including representatives from Sustainability, Talent Management, and Corporate Communications - reviewed the proposals using an evaluation grid based on CNH’s sustainability KPIs and five qualitative criteria.
The committee selected five project proposals from their “Impact Makers”.
From October to December, the selected participants attended a training program in Geneva, delivered by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a global network of leading companies committed to accelerating the transition toward a sustainable and regenerative future.
“This was a very good experience, and I think if you keep doing this, it will be very effective for more employees. The Geneva session, for me, was particularly inspiring,” said Impact Maker - Alessandra Riitano, Italy.
“The people at WBCSD have a very good way of approaching our challenges, to find them out, to pick them out, and I really loved their way of communicating,” said Impact Maker - Andreas Retting, Germany.
Participants explored different leadership models, reflected on the role of collaboration in creating positive impact, and embraced the idea that sustainability is a shared responsibility - one that requires teamwork, accountability, and collective purpose.
WBCSD facilitators praised the high level of engagement and dialogue throughout the sessions, highlighting the quality and depth of discussions. The participants’ insightful questions and contributions reflected genuine curiosity and a strong commitment to turning knowledge into action.
“All in all, this pilot marked a successful collaboration with a key global partner such as WBCSD and strengthened CNH employees’ motivation to work together toward creating positive impact,” said Impact Maker - Brenda Salvi Gutierrez, Italy.
“Sustainability can never be one person’s objective or a team’s objective; it should be a priority for every stakeholder - from operations to HR to sales, and even for our external partners,” said Impact Maker - Murali Natarajan, United Kingdom.
“Hopefully, we can keep having these courses and grow because if other people have this possibility, then sustainability will become important for them too,” added Impact Maker - Alfonso Fezza, Netherlands.
