The Panama Canal announced that Deputy Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta will now also serve as the Canal’s first Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). In this new role, Espino de Marotta will drive the creation of a more robust sustainability strategy, building on the Canal’s long-standing environmental leadership and developing business opportunities.
As CSO, Espino de Marotta will spearhead the development of a comprehensive sustainability strategy focused on decarbonization, adaptation, and transition. Working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, the Canal is already in the process of finalizing an inventory of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and aims to complete a climate risk assessment by the end of the year. New short-, medium-, and long-term targets will also be set, with the goal of implementing aggressive emissions reduction targets starting in Fiscal Year 2025.
In addition to appointing a CSO, the Canal is integrating responsibility for climate action across its entire leadership team and embedding its commitment to sustainability across the entire business.
Espino de Marotta began her career at the Canal as the sole female engineer on the shipyard. She eventually became the Executive Vice President for Engineering, overseeing the ground-breaking Panama Canal Expansion Program; and then she was appointed Vice President of Operations for the Panama Canal. In January 2020, Espino de Marotta took office as Deputy Administrator, making history as the first woman to ever hold the position.