At Home – Jessica Joelson – 2025
Summary
Jessica Joelson secured approval for a decarbonization strategy that redefined sourcing to prioritize sustainability.
Goals
At Home, a leading home furnishings retailer, sought to reduce its environmental impact and strengthen long-term resilience by integrating sustainability into its core business strategy. To support this shift, the company engaged Jessica Joelson whose mission was to transition sourcing practices from a cost-driven model to one centered on environmental responsibility, while improving data quality to guide future decisions.
Solutions
Jessica addressed the challenge through a three-pronged approach. First, she established strong data governance by performing data analysis and identifying and correcting data integrity issues, producing a reliable baseline dataset for FY’25. This work alone reduced reported Scope 3 emissions by approximately 43% year-over-year. Second, she advanced supplier engagement by designing questionnaires to evaluate ESG maturity, highlighting supplier needs, and ultimately recommending to right size the vendor base to strengthen leverage with sustainable partners. Finally, she developed a sustainable sourcing strategy that aligned with At Home’s restructuring phase, outlining a clear vision, goals, and timeline for circularity. Together, these initiatives provided the tools for embedding sustainability into procurement and supply chain practices.
Potential Impact
Jessica’s fellowship equipped At Home with the foundation to make sustainability-driven business decisions that mitigate climate and regulatory risks. With more accurate data, the company can better track Scope 3 emissions and set meaningful reduction targets. Supplier insights created opportunities to build stronger, more sustainable partnerships, while the sourcing strategy established a pathway toward circularity. If implemented, these measures position At Home to reduce emissions, conserve finite resources, and meet compliance requirements for sustainable packaging, while enhancing long-term business resilience.
