Sabrina Watkins works with organizations interested in delivering more powerful financial, social and environmental results. Her interest in conservation began camping as a young child, continued through her Gold Award in Girl Scouting, her choice of groundwater focus for her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, and her long-term work on business sustainability. She currently lives and hikes in the national parks and forests of North Carolina and serves on the board of Balsam Mountain Trust to fulfill their mission in environmental education.

She now consults with companies to accelerate enterprise-wide sustainability by aligning diverse stakeholder priorities into effective, efficient strategic action plans. This work strengthens relationships internally and externally, particularly between leaders, investors, and environmental/social advocates.

She is a change agent who delivers practical, profitable and lasting results. During her 37 years in the corporate world, she worked on adding “Valuing All People” as a company core value in the 1980’s; brought her production operations region to top quartile in safety and environmental performance; led global environmental technology; and led advanced technology for biofuels, greenhouse gas emission reduction and water conservation. In 2012, she was named to the Industrial Safety and Health News “Power 101” list of influential leaders in sustainability.

Ms.Watkins retired from ConocoPhillips in 2017 after a decade as global head of sustainability, with responsibility for corporate policies, implementation strategies, results, and reporting. During her tenure, and with board, executive, and investor engagement, the company reduced over 7 million annual tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, saved over $100 million, and strengthened stakeholder support for the company’s strategic activities.

Sabrina now serves on the board of Future 500 as well as ClimateUnbound.org.
She served as chair of the board of the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) from 2007-2009, on the board of Houston Wilderness from 2009-2010, and on the board of the Senior Advisory Council for the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) from 2012-2014. 

Drawing on her expertise in sustainability, decision analysis, engineering and innovation, she is author of over a dozen peer-reviewed scientific papers and case studies. Her public speaking has recently included topics such as carbon asset risk, successful engagement with socially responsible investors (SRI’s), action alternatives to fossil fuel divestment, and the importance of ecological economics in decision making.

Ms. Watkins earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering (1981) from Lehigh University and an MBA in Sustainable Business from Bainbridge Graduate Institute, now the Presidio Center for Sustainable Solutions at Redlands University (2007).