An interview with Karan Gupta: Turning ESG Commitments into Operational Reality Through Strategy and Execution

Karan Gupta, Senior Director at EY-Parthenon

We sat down with Karan Gupta, Senior Director at EY-Parthenon, to explore a career shaped by depth of experience and a practical understanding of how organisations operate under pressure. From engineering and field roles across three continents to overseeing P&Ls, building a consulting practice from scratch, and now advising energy leaders, Karan brings a grounded lens to sustainability.

Much of his work sits at the intersection of strategy and responsible sourcing, where supply-chain decisions have real implications for risk, resilience, and commercial performance. His perspective cuts through familiar ESG narratives, focusing instead on execution, accountability, and how sustainability is embedded into day-to-day decisions rather than written into policy alone.

How did your career journey unfold, and what ultimately steered you toward strategy consulting?

I did my bachelor’s in mechanical and materials engineering from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. During this time, I completed a 16-month internship at a safety electronics manufacturer in the automotive industry. It was a great introduction to the professional working world, where I made lifelong friends, but I quickly realised that I wanted to do something different with my career, and after graduating, I joined Schlumberger’s field engineering program.

Starting off in the field in a hard hat and coveralls, I learned operations from the ground up, and over the next 13 years I progressed through various roles in the industry and had a chance to work in North America, Asia and the Middle East, gaining an appreciation for different cultures and ways of working. During this time, I spent 8 years in Abu Dhabi, primarily in client facing roles. I found I really enjoyed working with clients to solve their problems. At the same time, increasing responsibility at work meant overseeing a P&L, first for one division and then for an entire country. These experiences encouraged me to pursue an Executive MBA at London Business School.

As I started my MBA, and started to explore different career paths, I decided to quit my cushy full-time job and start my own consulting practice. I think this was the best decision I’ve made in the past few years, as it allowed me to live through the experience of being an entrepreneur and cultivate business from zero whilst studying strategy, finance and entrepreneurship from some of the best professors in the world at a premier business school.

While I did well with my own consultancy, I realized that if I truly wanted to scale on my own, I’d need to spend time at a proper consulting practice to learn the ropes. This is how I found my way into strategy consulting with EY-Parthenon. And I have to say, I absolutely love my job where I get to advise clients across the Energy industry, from oil and gas, to renewable fuels, to critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles; The work is meaningful, fast-paced and constantly evolving.

You work closely with leadership teams across regions on ESG and energy transition. What helps them see that responsible sourcing is a commercial advantage, not a cost burden?

What shifts the mindset is reframing responsible sourcing in hard commercial terms. Leaders respond when they see that it reduces risk, protects margins, and preserves market access. Strong sourcing standards lower exposure to supply disruptions, regulatory penalties, and reputational shocks, all of which have direct P&L impacts.

More importantly, customers, financiers, and regulators are increasingly pricing sustainability into contracts and capital. Companies with credible sourcing frameworks win preferred-supplier status, secure lower cost of capital, and avoid last-minute compliance costs. At that point, responsible sourcing stops being an ESG “add-on” and becomes a competitive advantage and resilience play, not a cost burden.

From your experience, what’s one practical step teams can take to make sourcing more responsible without slowing down operations?

One practical step is to embed a small set of clear ESG criteria directly into existing supplier pre-qualification and renewal processes, rather than creating a parallel system. When teams standardise a short checklist, covering things like HSE performance, labour standards, and basic emissions or traceability, it improves supplier quality without adding friction. Procurement keeps moving at speed, but leadership gains visibility into risk, compliance improves, and suppliers quickly adapt because expectations are unambiguous.

You’ve seen both policy and on‑the‑ground execution. Where do you see the biggest gaps between what’s written and what happens?

The biggest gap is that policies are often written at a global or board level, while execution happens in local procurement and operations teams, who are often under cost and time pressure. On paper, standards are clear, but on the ground, teams often lack the tools, data, or incentives to apply them consistently.

Thus, supplier selection, contract terms, or site practices don’t always reflect policies or recommended best practices. Closing that gap isn’t about more policy. Instead, it’s about translating standards into simple, operational controls and accountability at the site and buyer level. The organisations that succeed are the ones that operationalise ESG. They hard-wire it into how people buy, build, and operate, not just how they report.

You’ve shared thoughtful perspectives about the UAE’s single‑use plastics phase‑out. What are your main takeaways, and how do you think this law will shape sourcing now and going forward?

My main takeaways are that:

1) There is no single universal replacement for plastics,

2) Supply chains have to be reworked, not just switched, and

3) Recycling and waste systems are now the weak link.

Allow me to elaborate.

Different use cases require different materials. So, PLA for cold drinks and clear applications, sugarcane fibre, wood, or bamboo for hot food; Thus, there is no single solution that fits all applications. In supply chains, moving away from plastics requires qualifying new suppliers, which takes time and significant effort, including audits, sample testing, etc. Businesses must ensure compliance with food safety standards and regulatory requirements. Also, new packaging and containers may mean redesigning procurement processes.

Lastly, businesses will also have to think about what to do with waste. Currently, in most cases, compostable and biodegradable materials cannot be processed through existing plastic recycling streams. So this is something that will have to be worked out going forward.

With your experience in digital transformation, how do you see AI reshaping transparency and supplier accountability?

AI is making transparency and supplier accountability continuous rather than periodic. Traditionally, companies relied on annual audits, self-reported data, and manual checks, which are slow and can result in human error.

AI allows teams to pull together procurement data, certifications, shipment records, and even anomaly detection in near real time. In practical terms, this means buyers can flag risk early, whether that’s inconsistent material declarations, unusual price or volume changes, or suppliers falling out of compliance.

The real shift isn’t replacing human judgment but giving procurement and sustainability teams better visibility at scale.

For young professionals entering the workforce, what’s one question they should ask themselves before committing to a career in strategy consulting?

They should ask themselves: “Am I energised by solving different, complex problems for different clients, in different industries? Am I comfortable navigating ambiguity while learning on the fly?”

Strategy consulting isn’t just about analysis. It’s about adapting quickly, managing multiple stakeholders, and turning insight into actionable recommendations. If the idea of jumping into new business challenges every few months excites you rather than overwhelms you, it’s a good fit.