Amelia DeLuca, CSO at Delta Air Lines Talks Sustainability and Female Leadership

Women are advancing in sustainability at a much faster rate than other business areas. Do you see sustainability as a catalyst for increased female leadership? 

For me, the role of a sustainability leader is to provide the energy and advocacy required to champion progress, even when it is difficult or inconvenient for an organisation to do so.

It means providing the rational and unrelenting voice that does not shy away from challenges or barriers — all while being able to communicate clearly so stakeholders don’t lose sight of our ultimate goals as we navigate the realities of a changing climate.  

When I think about women’s business leadership more broadly, women are only going to continue to grow into more leadership positions.

We are no strangers to doing hard things, we are often great communicators and have historically been strong people leaders, especially through transitional and evolving times.   

I do think that the CSO role is uniquely positioned because success doesn’t just lie with what my team does. It’s also how we communicate and partner with stakeholders, industry collaborators, investors, policymakers and more. It’s a complex web of players who all need to be engaged.  

What behaviours or characteristics do women possess that help them succeed in the sustainability leadership role?

We have people on our team with a wide range of backgrounds from consulting, automotive, aerospace engineering, environmental sciences, marketing, communications and more.

Every role throughout Delta should touch sustainability, so to me, sustainability is unique in that it can attract and impact people from nearly every background.

When I think about a characteristic that makes women, or anyone in sustainability leadership roles successful – it’s the ability to prioritise and deprioritise initiatives based on the data you have.

We know that if we could do everything, we would. But that’s not always possible, so finding ways to prioritise and focus in on the levers that will make the most impact and communicate the bigger picture – these are key for helping women leaders succeed.  

Another trait that’s important to have is knowing when to take a step back.

Again, decarbonisation within aviation is incredibly hard. And it’s not going to be solved by one leader, one company, one industry. That’s why it’s important to find ways to take time for yourself.

I’m a huge proponent of work-life balance for our team. I have two young kids and family is incredibly important to me; I’m also a long-distance runner. My family and exercise are two things that just help with my mental health, which makes me a better leader.