Stevens Institute of Technology Trustee, former President's Leadership Council member and Department of Chemical Engineering alumna Pam Cheng '92 M.Eng. ’95 has been named to “TIME100 Health," a list of the most influential people in health care for 2024. Cheng, who earned both her bachelor's and master’s in chemical engineering from Stevens, is being recognized for her pioneering work making the pharmaceutical industry more environmentally sustainable.
As executive vice president of operations and IT at AstraZeneca, Cheng oversees manufacturing and supply chains across the company's global facilities. She also serves as AstraZeneca's chief sustainability officer, spearheading ambitious initiatives to reduce the company's carbon footprint and environmental impact.
"We are in the business of helping people become healthy. But without a healthy planet, it's a moot point," Cheng told TIME. "We see a connectivity between the health of people and a healthy planet, and I believe we have to do our part in driving both."
Under Cheng's leadership, AstraZeneca became one of the first pharmaceutical companies to have its greenhouse gas emission targets verified by the Science-Based Target Initiative, which aims for corporate net-zero emissions. Through the $1 billion Ambition Zero Carbon program launched in 2020, the company has already reduced emissions by 68% and transitioned a major manufacturing plant to renewable biomethane energy.
"Pam is showing how corporate leadership and environmental stewardship can go hand-in-hand, creating a more sustainable future for all," said Stevens President Nariman Farvardin. "Her principled approach exemplifies the highest values of technological professionalism that we aim to instill in our students."
For her many accomplishments, Cheng received an International Achievement Award from Stevens in 2019 and was the featured speaker at the university's 2016 Graduate Commencement.
View the “TIME100 Health” list here.
