360 degrees of digital innovation at Waste Management New Zealand

After being in telco and consulting for over 20 years, Lena Jenkins got the change she was looking for when she became the chief digital officer at Waste Management New Zealand, the country’s leading materials recovery, recycling, and waste management provider. The customer-centric emphasis that has maintained throughout her career, however, continues since she joined last year, as well as a focus on how tech and the business are more inextricably linked than ever in light of increasing uses and benefits of AI. “I really like working in the intersection of tech and business,” she says. “But I’m not deeply technical. I’m more of a generalist; leadership is my core skillset.”

Many people think about waste management as the trucks that turn up to your house and collect waste, but there’s a lot more going on. Beyond the everyday recycling, for instance, there are other technical service divisions that look after medical waste and hazardous waste, and there’s gas capture off the company’s landfills as well. “So as the waste breaks down, we capture the gas and convert it to electricity,” she says. “That’s the input back into the grid. So my team is responsible for all non-engineering technologies like IT or digital. And we support around 1,800 people across more than 70 sites and over 900 trucks.” So every aspect of digital progression is part of the pillars that make up WMNZ’s Porohita, or circular, strategy.

“We have quarterly reviews and planning to make sure we maintain that alignment,” she says. “But for me, the biggest things are transparency and feedback. So that means sharing what we’re doing, understanding what others are doing, and gathering feedback to maintain alignment.”