????凱瑟琳?溫克勒從小就對社會和環境問題頗感興趣。在家鄉新澤西，她經常到周圍的樹林和山區探險。而且她還是一位書迷，很早就喜歡閱讀環保主義者瑞切爾?卡森的作品。長大后，溫克勒進入了計算機與科技領域，但私底下，她依然是一位環保主義者。上世紀90年代中期，為了讓自己能夠實地觀察自然系統，她開始嘗試輕便潛水。而且，她從來沒有停止過學習的腳步。

????初到云計算公司EMC，她負責產品管理，而不是可持續發展。后來，這家公司決定在產品規劃與開發過程中融入“綠色”理念，于是，溫克勒主動出擊，抓住了這個一展身手的好機會。她的使命是找出自己能夠施加影響的領域。溫克勒在擔任首席可持續發展官期間一直致力于減少電子廢棄物、最大程度回收可回收材料，更好地報告EMC的碳足跡與水足跡，同時調動公司員工和社區的積極性。

????58歲的溫克勒曾出席《財富》（Fortune）綠色頭腦風暴大會（Brainstorm Green）。她最近接受了我們的采訪。

????1. 最讓你興奮的替代性能源項目是什么？

????太陽能。這個答案聽起來理所當然，因為太陽的光輝無處不在，我們可以自由獲取。坦白地說，太陽能行業處在一個不斷摸索的學習過程中，所以我預計，這個過程仍將繼續下去。未來，太陽能將為我們提供更多的能源。

????2. 你最崇拜的綠色企業或人物是哪些？為什么？

????我一直對于保羅?霍肯和雷?安德森這些能夠真正發起對話的人心存敬意。至于公司方面，經營戶外服裝的Patagonia最近給我留下了特別的印象。不論我走到哪兒，都能看到人們穿著這家公司出售的顏色亮麗、造型帥氣的超輕薄保暖外套。我喜歡這家公司，并不因為它是一家“綠色”公司，而是它讓可持續發展變得很酷。他們用回收材料來制作服裝，他們真正圍繞可持續發展打造自己的產品和公司品牌。

????3. 你還崇拜其他哪些公司？為什么？

????特斯拉（Tesla），因為它的顛覆性。我非常崇拜IBM。身為一家大公司，它證明了再大的公司也可以進行轉變。IBM進行了多次改變，我相信，面臨可持續經濟浪潮，大多數公司將不得不做出改變。另外還有維珍銀河（Virgin Galactic）與維珍海洋公司（Virgin Oceanic）公司，這樣一家“可上九天攬月，可下五洋捉鱉”的公司，讓我敬佩不已。

????4. 你獲得過的最好建議是什么？

????從我很小的時候起，父親就常常告誡我，有人找你借錢的時候，除非你真心愿意，否則就不要答應。他一直是這么做的，我也聽從了他的建議。所以，我從來沒有因為金錢問題影響和別人的關系。

????Kathrin Winkler grew up with an interest in social and environmental issues. She regularly explored the woods and mountains close to her New Jersey home and was an avid reader who had an early interest in the works of conservationist Rachel Carson. As an adult, she explored the world of computing and technology, but retained a love of environmentalism in her personal life. In the mid-1990s, she started scuba diving, where she was able to watch natural systems in action. She was committed to learning more.

????When she arrived at EMC (EMC), it was to manage products, not sustainability. But when the opportunity came to integrate "green" concerns into the way the company planned and developed products, Winkler jumped at the chance to do some good. Her mission was to figure out what where she could make an impact. During her time as chief sustainability officer, Winkler has focused on e-waste reduction, maximizing the recovery of recycle-able materials, better reporting on EMC's carbon and water footprints, and engaging with employees and the community.

????Winkler, 58, is a former attendee of the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference. She spoke with us.

????1. Which alternative energy projects are you most excited about?

????Solar. It sounds very obvious, and yet the sun is everywhere around us and is there for the taking. Frankly, the solar industry has been on a very sharp learning curve, so I have expectations that that learning curve will continue and that it will, over time, be able to contribute a much higher percentage of energy.

????2. Which green business or person do you admire most? Why?

????I have huge admiration for people who really started the conversation -- people like Paul Hawken and Ray Anderson. As far as companies go, at the moment I happen to be particularly impressed with Patagonia. Everywhere I go, I see people in their cool, super-lightweight, super-warm jackets in bright colors. [Patagonia] made [sustainability] cool, and not because it's "green." And yet they've made the clothes out of recycled materials, and they're really building a brand around their product and a business around sustainability.

????3. Which other companies do you admire? Why?

????Tesla (TSLA), because it's disruptive. And I have a lot of admiration for IBM (IBM). As a large company, it has shown it's possible for a big company to transform. It has remade itself a couple of times, and I believe that for a sustainable economy, most companies are going to have to remake themselves. I'll also add Virgin Galactic and Virgin Oceanic because I love that there's a company out there that's both reaching for the stars and reaching for the bottom of the ocean.

????4. What is the best advice you ever received?

????My dad told me many times, starting when I was very young, that if someone wants to borrow money, you should only lend it to them if, in your head, you're actually willing to give it to them. He practiced that, and so did I, so money has never gotten in the way of any relationships.