Paul C. Harris
Executive Vice President, Chief Sustainability & Compliance Officer, HII
Ask Paul C. Harris why he loves his job and he will answer with one word: mission. A former Army paratrooper and intelligence officer, Harris is instinctively mission-oriented. HII’s mission — to deliver the world’s most powerful ships and all domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for its customers to protect peace and freedom around the world — resonates deeply.
As HII’s first-ever chief sustainability officer, Harris’ mission is to develop and execute an enterprisewide strategy where environmental, social and governance issues converge. He branded HII’s sustainability program “MVP” because, at HII, sustainability is a values-based business model grounded in the company’s mission, values and purpose. HII’s MVP approach to sustainability guides strategy, structural polices and programming, and animates its culture of service and ethics.
With Harris at the helm, HII is excited about authentically telling its story about how and why the company makes a positive impact in the world. HII’s story is, by design, reflected in its sustainability strategy, which amplifies how the company’s core principles — of service and good corporate citizenship — come to life in daily decision-making and behaviors, and in formal frameworks and processes.
Why Watch
While the sustainability strategies for many of America’s top companies tend to be outward-facing, if not compulsory, Harris provides a fresh approach by looking inward, seeking to leverage HII’s time-tested values and translate them into sustainability-oriented everyone can buy into in their daily performance across the enterprise.