MilliporeSigma discusses the importance of people, education, and the benefits of embracing discomfort to bolster sustainability efforts. This episode of our regular podcast Voices of Biotech  brings you an in-depth conversation with Jeffrey Whitford, vice president of sustainability and social business innovation at MilliporeSigma, the life sciences division of Merck KGaA. Whitford speaks about the company’s interim and long-term sustainability initiatives and provides a detailed outline of how the firm intends to meet their goals. Additionally, the conversation develops to discuss how integral people are when it comes to sustainability. He puts forward the idea that it is not about people meeting you where you are at in terms of sustainability, but more about ensuring that you meet people where they are at, to develop an understanding of why and how you are reaching this aim. According to Whitford, education (both self and academia) is vital to creating an unbreakable chain for sustainability. He talks about the academic partnerships MilliporeSigma has and the goal of making this global. Furthermore, he closes the conversation by adding how we need to be prepared to sometimes live in a little bit of discomfort and embrace change to really help make a difference. The latest episode can be found here or through the BioProcess Insider Expression Platform at, Spotify, Apple iTunes, Google podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.