Barjouth Aguilar, Head of Global Sustainability and Flex Foundation at Flex, is Driving Towards a Healthier, Cleaner World for Present and Future Generations

An interview by Lorena Villanueva, Director, IPC Mexico

The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. – Robert Swan.  

In an increasingly fast-changing world, the electronics industry, for which we are also responsible, is at the epicenter of a transformation whose central axis is sustainability. If sustainability in electronics is understood as the collective efforts of all those who participate in it, to reduce the impact that those electronic devices we manufacture have on the environment and society, we must also understand that it is an urgent need to be addressed.

In 2023, Kelly Scanlon, IPC’s Lead Sustainability Strategist, worked to refine what sustainability is for electronics, what are the main challenges associated with sustainability for the electronics manufacturing industry, and what IPC's role is in facilitating the industry’s ability to address sustainability challenges. Kelly tells me that industry professionals were recently interviewed to learn about regional and supply chain challenges, building on this information the creation of strategies and roadmaps for the coming years. Kelly is responsible for bringing the topic of sustainability in electronics to my attention as well as that of many others, and she was also responsible for introducing me to Barjouth Aguilar, a woman I admire and respect who leads the sustainability efforts of Flex, a global technology, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions partner to improve the world.

Barjouth Aguilar is the Head of Global Sustainability and Foundation Officer at Flex and makes us proud that she is a fellow Mexican. Barjouth joined Flex in 2011, when the company was just beginning its journey into sustainability reporting. She very successfully leads the sustainability program management office in close collaboration with the Senior Vice President of Sustainability and President of the Flex Foundation, Flex’s philanthropic arm, to help develop and integrate Flex's sustainability strategy; Barjouth also sits on IPC's Sustainability for Electronics. Leadership Council.

As head of the Flex Foundation, she has worked to support 220+ local projects in 22 countries, resulting in over 8 billion beneficiaries from 2016 to 2022.

I had the fortune of meeting Barjouth during the Women's IPC Day in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, an event we organized in the framework of International Women's Day this past March, with the goal of disseminating the efforts that both IPC Mexico and our strategic partners in government, academia and enterprise are making to support the electronics industry and women in the electronics industry in our country. Barjouth accepted my invitation to participate in one of the panels of women leaders which sought to inspire female attendants to learn more about the role of women in the electronics industry. I was impressed by her personality and professionalism, as well as her frank and straightforward style. She talked about the path that brought her to where she is today, the importance of sustainability, and also about the challenges that a professional woman faces in our industry in Mexico and in the world. We were all delighted with her talk and wanted to continue chatting so we thought it would be a good idea to continue the conversation, so I proposed this interview which today I have the privilege of sharing with you, and which I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Barjouth arrives at our appointment, and she is exactly as I remember her: friendly, smiling and approachable. “Hi Lore!,” she says to me, with that friendly greeting of people who project security and warmth from the moment they smile at you for the first time.

Lorena: Barjouth, how nice to see you again and thank you very much for agreeing to this interview.  You are part of IPC's Sustainability Steering Council; can you tell us how it's going and what you like about working with IPC and other colleagues around the world on this issue?

Barjouth: Well, I love working in this group because it is a multidisciplinary group in terms of types of companies that each live sustainability in their own way. But we also share a similar degree of difficulties we experience such as the accelerated rate at which the regulatory environment is changing, and the need for companies to work together to be ready. This includes having a shared understanding of terminology and tools that we have at our disposal, crafting a shared vision to move in that direction, and accelerating activities and knowledge as a group to facilitate this process for the rest of the industry. Sustainability is a very long road that began many, many years ago and we are now moving at an accelerated pace because society is already seeing the impact and the effects of doing or not doing something.

Lorena: Thank you so much, I'm so glad to hear this. I love the work you are doing at IPC and I love that you like it. Following on this topic, could you tell us what are the objectives of the Sustainability Steering Council?

Barjouth:  Of course, building on what I said about sharing experiences and knowledge, it is also about creating tools to make it easier for other people in the industry to walk this sustainability path. For example, digital tools, training topics, knowledge are all key resources and levers to make the topic of sustainability more accessible for everyone. We work on various approaches at the Council, from resilience in the value chain --which is obviously key and critical in all sustainability issues--, to workforce development, resource efficiency, and reporting and disclosure.

In sustainability we cover several multidisciplinary angles and seek to have the ability to inform and disseminate reporting in a more understandable way for all companies in the industry.

Lorena: As we have discussed, a woman in this industry, in this position, with these activities and the work you are doing, is a pioneer in our country, in the region and in the industry. How did you get here? What career choices did you make to get to where you are, and how did you come to be named Woman of the Year in Manufacturing from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business in 2021?

Barjouth: I studied International Business, but before deciding my career, I wanted to study political science or law. I have always had the goal of making a change in society, a real change, like fixing things that I don't like. In my youth there were things that didn't convince me, that didn't make me very happy, and I said, “maybe I'm not going to make things happen in public service, but you can make changes in the private sector,” and that's when I started to research and investigate what I would like to study. I liked many things, so when I learned that International Business included mathematics, law, finance in a holistic way, I decided to pursue that.

I live in Guadalajara, Jalisco, which is known as the Mexican Silicon Valley, and there are many electronic manufacturing companies here. In my second semester in the university, visits to companies were organized and one of those visits was precisely to Flex. For those of you who are not familiar with what we do at Flex, we are a brand behind many brands that you know in different industries, from automotive, industrial, lifestyle (products that you can find in your house), health solutions, cloud enterprise and communications, among others. I was fascinated. I was impressed by how big Flex is, its scope, and how the company could provide an impact that I could see in my daily life. It became almost like an obsession for me to work at Flex, and I said to myself “I'm going to work here!” 

In my last semester I saw that there was an opening for “Intern in Flex's Environmental Corporate.” I said, “sure, this makes sense to me and my desire to change the world!” In traditional Mexican families we tend to reuse things and avoid discarding them, especially for me as an environmentalist but also in part due to need, and in part due to habit. So, I grew up with those values. Then I said to myself, “the company I have always dreamed of being a part of is looking for me, and I applied for that opening and was selected after four or five interviews, in English and Spanish. Then, I did not fully understand the importance of the position, and that is where my career in sustainability and my career at Flex began. It has been a fascinating journey. When I came in, sustainability was a nascent space in the industry and there were many things that we needed to do from scratch that didn't exist. We had to create processes, systems, and training programs. That's where you say, “Okay, there’s a lot of work to do but at the same time the great thing about Flex is that they give you that opportunity to create and implement.” All of this turns you into what the term intrapreneur, which means, to be able to create and generate a lot of things for the company, from within the company.

I will always be grateful to Flex for that opportunity to create, to find new opportunities and to innovate. Sustainability is part of what makes it so interesting because it is very dynamic. For example, when it comes to the regulatory environment, there will be a new law or a new program that we have to implement which goes beyond the issue of compliance. In my more than 13 years in the company, I have been part of designing processes in collaboration with SMEs across the organization to create different strategies that we have implemented. The latest strategy, our 2030 sustainability strategy, required intensive work to analyze and understand the internal needs of the company, the needs of the market, and the needs of our stakeholders, all in terms of sustainability. When we create a strategy, we see things from many angles.

We follow a scientific methodology in order to achieve the global goal of a 1.5°C reduction above pre-industrial levels to reduce the global emission of greenhouse gases and meaningfully reduce the impact of climate change. To ensure our strategy and goals are backed by climate science, we joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in 2011 to set science-based emission reduction targets. Obviously, it was not easy, but our decades of hard work and sustainability investments in designing and creating systems, processes, collecting data, tracking, measuring, allowed us more easily submit and get approval for science-based targets. My work at Flex, including the design of our 2030 sustainability strategy, earned me the Woman of the Year of Manufacturing award.

Barjouth then stands up and lowers her award from a shelf, a golden, Grammy-like trophy that reads: 2021, Gold Stevie Award Presented to Barjouth Aguilar, Flex for Woman of the Year Manufacturing, and then proceeds.

That is precisely the goal and the satisfaction of this job, to be able to design solutions, even in the midst of complicated situations that will always exist, and to keep moving forward in sustainability.

What has brought me here? Going back to the question after telling you my whole story, I think the most important thing is not to give up in the face of the hundreds and thousands of “NOs” that you will receive along the way. It is important to be very clear about your strategy, but also to be flexible, to know that your goal is clear and that, even if sometimes it doesn't work on one side, you will find a way to reach your goal. It's not being afraid to implement and integrate things, because many times there will be fear, right? - saying, “How am I going to do it?” and there will always be difficulties, but they don’t push us off the road; we will always look for ways to do the right thing. Fortunately, Flex currently has incredible leadership with the CEO, the ELT, my boss, who is the Senior Vice President of Sustainability and President of the Flex Foundation, and other leaders who believe in this cause, which allows us all to inspire us, guide us and let us move in the same direction.

Lorena: Amazing story, I loved it. I was not aware of all this. I already admired you from having heard you speak and from knowing a little bit of your trajectory, but thank you for sharing this with us, and now I declare myself your fan and admirer, thank you for sharing it with me and with our readers.

Continuing a little bit with the questions about sustainability, what is Mexico doing to address sustainability?

Barjouth: That’s a great question. I think we still have a long way to go. I believe that at this moment there is already more interest on the part of companies, in part pushed by international regulations. Obviously European countries and the U.S. regulations affect Mexico because a large part of the value chain of these regions is there. So I think this is already generating an awakening in many companies on regulatory issues, on issues of what we must do to be in compliance. I also believe that there is already more education; there are already many financial industries getting more involved in the subject and committed to seeking for solutions. Even with this global vision that I have as a leader in sustainability for a global company like Flex, I know that there is still much to do as a country from a sustainability standpoint. I think that is also encouraging: all of us in the industry have a lot to learn, and also a lot to put into practice. In that sense, I am excited to know that there is a world of opportunities that we still have to put into practice.

Lorena: Could you tell us a little about your career at Flex?

Barjouth: In the sustainability program we have three main cornerstones, Our World, Our People, and Our Approach, with many different pillars, so to speak, under them.  Within Our World we have two pillars, which are environment and community. Within Our People we have labor practices- (which includes training and development, mental health, among others), health and safety, and diversity, equity and inclusion. And the last one, which we call Our Approach, involves interrelationship with different stakeholders, including our supply chain and customers, as well as the governance and ethics that are crucial for any company. These partnerships with customers, suppliers, investors, employees, among others, are crucial. Because in the end, our relationships intertwine with everything else, not only in what we do in the company, but also the impact we have on, and with, other stakeholders.

Partnership in sustainability is key to be able to have progress, as it needs to be embedded in evert single part of the business; it's not an isolated role. I lead the sustainability program, but I work with many leaders in the company to make progress happen. So, my job is really to connect the dots so that we're all in the same boat and can steer it in a way that is holistic, and also leads to achieving our outcomes.  In other words, sustainability is not going to work if it’s not integrated into the company’s strategy, in how we operate, how we manufacture, how we do business, how we talk to customers - it's integrated into everything.

I consider my work in the Flex Foundation as a gift within my work. The Foundation was created more than 20 years ago and our main objective is to be able to have a positive impact in the more than 30 countries where we operate. The Flex Foundation is our oldest part of the sustainability program, and within the sustainability approach, it is also aligned to Flex's sustainability strategy. The Foundation has two annual cycles, spring and fall, where we invite non-profit organizations that align to our strategy to apply locally in the different regions. We have a global governance structure where local sustainability teams have a community representative who works with the local NGOs. There are a number of requirements for the NGOs applying, for example, they should have a good financial track record, be able to demonstrate the impact they have achieved over the years and are aligned with at least one of the four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) that are aligned to our sustainability strategy. And that's how we work with them.

One of the approaches that I look for with my team is that we take great care in the balance of how we provide support, since we have presence in 30 countries, and we must strive to provide support to those countries. Although we cannot offer the same support simultaneously in all the countries at the same time, we take great care to do so over the course of the Foundation’s work. It is a matter of great pride for us as employees to know that in the communities where we are present, we are leaving a positive impact, - in addition to what we already do for countries by serving as a trusted and often large employer.  It is similar to starting something, like planting a tree and knowing I made a difference in my environment.

Lorena: Please tell us, how has the manufacturing industry's work changed over the years as sustainability has become a more critical focus?

Barjouth: Now I see a lot more of an interest and genuine passion. There are sustainability-passionate people in the heart of many people at Flex, and that is what makes the work so powerful. I was in Memphis, Tennessee this week, and I had the opportunity to visit the Flex site and see the passion of the General Manager's leadership, and how this passion for sustainability is shared throughout the team. At the site, sustainability is assigned as a percentage of their team’s duties. It is very nice to see how each site manages to integrate sustainability in their own way but all ladder up to our goals. At Flex, each site has sustainability score cards that help us track their status and make sustainability objectives clear. When managers see a “red rating.” they can take action and implement immediate action plans. It is wonderful to see their commitment. At the end of the day, Flex's results would not be possible without the hard work of the people in each of the plants, and there are over 100 Flex sites around the world. Our annual sustainability report showcases the joint result of site efforts. Many people are passionate about sustainability because they have children and grandchildren and want to make a difference in global and local communities, sparking generational change. This is what makes the difference at Flex.

Lorena: I love what you said, I am going to call it from now on the Flex passion, if all companies had that same passion, I am sure this world would be different, and we would reach the global sustainability goals much faster and less painfully. I could go on talking all afternoon, but I have to let you go, I have one last question and it will always be a controversial question, do you think the electronics industry is doing enough on sustainability to address the challenges the world is facing?

Barjouth: I think the world is doing what it can with what it has. I think the challenge is that globally we are already late. Everything has to move very fast and sometimes we cannot achieve that speed.  And this is not only in the electronics industry; I think it is a common characteristic of all industries in general. I think it is going to be very important that we strategize and that we can set priorities. Obviously, there are so many things we have to work on, and I think the important thing is to start now. If there are small companies or companies that have not started yet, let them start now! Sometimes I am asked, how do we start? My answer: With anything you can. If your company is small, then start small, such as by focusing on reducing waste, or turning off the lights if you are not using them. And, depending on the scale of each company, there are more impactful activities, but I think the first thing is to feel empowered to start and the second thing is to prioritize. If we want to do it all, we will go crazy because there are millions of causes in the world, in the countries, and in the cities that we all must work on. So, we have to prioritize. The pandemic taught us that something we see far away can also affect us here. It impacts us and of course we need to take action.

Lorena: I really liked your answers, and I would like to close this interview, which I enjoyed enormously, with a commitment. It just occurred to me listening to you with this passion that is contagious and that I am sure will also infect all our readers: let's do something together, Flex, IPC and IPC members who want to join, to make a constant campaign and continue to strengthen, as you say, all these efforts. So, let's continue this conversation and keep reinforcing sustainability issues, I think reminders never hurt but, as you rightly say, we have to start with what we have.

Barjouth: Of course, I love that there are these synergies between IPC, and the work they are already starting to do in Mexico with you leading. It makes me very excited also as a Mexican. Weas Mexicans and citizens of the world can make this change.

And so ends one of the most interesting, fun and satisfying interviews I have had the opportunity to do and I will keep the last sentence that Barjouth gives us, “let's contribute positively so that our time in this world doesn’t leave a negative impact but ensures future generations do not have to pay for our broken dishes.”

Barjouth Aguilar, the Head of Global Sustainability and Foundation Officer at Flex is an inspiration for companies, women and men alike, and drives us to put all our efforts into achieving a more sustainable world.

We would love to hear your comments and feedback, please leave me a message, or send me an email and let's continue this conversation.