Former Zendesk sustainability lead lands at Western Digital

Shengyuan Su, whose position as Zendesk’s director of sustainability was eliminated as part of broad layoffs in February, has taken on a new role as director of sustainability disclosure for Western Digital.

Su reports to Jackie Jung, the computer storage company’s vice president of global operations and strategy, corporate sustainability and transformation. 

In a LinkedIn post, Su said her responsibilities include promoting Western Digital’s strategy and impacts, ensuring regulatory compliance and helping embed sustainability metrics and practices into all aspects of its business.

Western Digital, which reported revenue of $13 billion for its 2024 fiscal year, has committed to become net zero for its direct operational emissions and its purchased energy (Scope 1 and 2) by 2032. It aims to cut emissions for its direct materials by 20 percent by 2030, compared with a 2024 baseline.

As of its latest update, Western Digital reported an absolute reduction for Scope 1 and 2 of 36.3 percent.  

During her two-and-a-half years with Zendesk, Su established the company’s relationship with Frontier, the $1 billion carbon removal buyers initiative. She was also responsible for instituting a Zendesk procurement policy requiring suppliers to set science-based targets for emissions reductions by 2027.