Using Technology to Drive Climate Change Solutions

The opportunity to touch incredibly impactful missions is often what draws people to Booz Allen. Whether you dream of having a hand in the next moon mission or creating solutions for the future battlespace, here you have the genuine opportunity to affect change.

For Prachi Sukhatankar, a vice president in Booz Allen’s climate and infrastructure business, building solutions for combating the impacts of climate change is the ultimate mission.

Prachi’s work on climate change began over a decade ago, when she was a solution lead for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program. Since then, she has led strategy, engineering, and go-to-market solutions for federal and commercial clients. She is co-chair for the Predictive Analytics World Climate Conference, and she uses her experience in the field to pen sci-fi stories on ecological regeneration outside of work.

We spoke with Prachi about Booz Allen’s climate and infrastructure solutions and how she uses a combination of her passions and talents to make real impact. Here’s what she had to say.

What made you choose Booz Allen?

Booz Allen’s focus on the intersection of mission and technology is what ultimately brought me here. The fact that our climate and infrastructure business includes work with top environmental, energy, and infrastructure agencies gives us a launch pad to think bigger and bolder. We’re front and center of this mission of national and global importance.

We can’t take a siloed approach to climate action. The firm’s pool of talented professionals across multiple disciplines allows us to take a “systems” view. I realized that I could bring that kind of lens, apply strategic and creative thinking, and lead teams in creating transformational solutions.

What sorts of projects does the firm’s climate and infrastructure business take on?

Along with the impacts of climate change to multiple sectors, we look at issues like natural resource constraints, cyber and other threats to critical infrastructure, advanced energy technology and efficiency needs, aging infrastructure management, and more.

Using technology solutions like climate intelligence, smart transport infrastructure, and aviation/space modernization, we aim to tackle these issues, ultimately improving the safety, sustainability, efficiency, and resilience of our environments.

What would you tell someone who is considering joining Booz Allen?

First, our talented and passionate people genuinely care about each other and are committed to fostering a feeling of community and support. We’re here to collectively reimagine a better world—and then work hard and smart to build it. Through our professional development and growth opportunities, trainings, and Technical Experience Groups, you can continually grow the career you’ve always wanted.

Additionally, if you look at executive leadership at Booz Allen, what do you see? The number one thing I notice is the diversity on the senior management team, and it forms the core fabric of our culture. This is actually still rare in corporate America.

What keeps you motivated to work in climate change?

This is the decade in which we need to change things dramatically in terms of the direction we’re headed to combat the impacts of climate change. I choose the side of optimism and hard work! I also truly believe that there’s a place for everybody here to play to their strengths and make a difference.

This space has some challenging and interesting problems to solve, and it’s teeming with ambition and creativity. Our team is working on missions that are important to the betterment of humanity and the planet as a whole. There’s nothing more motivating than that.