Kara Hurst, Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer

Kara Hurst, Amazon's Chief Sustainability Officer, has built a distinguished career at the intersection of corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability and social impact. 

With a background that spans public service, corporate leadership and nonprofit innovation, Kara has become a trailblazer in advancing sustainability goals within some of the world's most influential organisations.

Kara was celebrated as number six in Sustainability Magazine’s Top 250 Women in Sustainability 2025 supplement in March 2025.

Kara Hurst’s career

Kara’s career began in public service, where she worked for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco.

Transitioning into the private sector, she took on roles that emphasised corporate responsibility and sustainability. 

She served as Vice President at BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), where she developed global industry practices and led partnerships with governments and multilateral organisations.

Kara also co-founded the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, now the Responsible Business Alliance, promoting responsible supply chain management in the technology sector.

As CEO of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), she led efforts to create science-based tools for improving consumer product sustainability, earning TSC recognition as one of Scientific American’s Top Ten World Changing Ideas in 2012. 

Her diverse career also includes roles in Silicon Valley as Executive Director of OpenVoice and as a corporate affairs manager at the Children’s Health Council.

Pioneering sustainability at Amazon

Since joining Amazon in 2014, Kara has been instrumental in embedding sustainability into the company’s operations. 

As Vice President, she oversees Amazon's environmental and social responsibility initiatives.

Her work includes leading teams focused on renewable energy, sustainable operations, circular economy practices and responsible supply chain management.

Kara played a key role in launching Amazon’s Climate Pledge in 2019. This ambitious initiative commits Amazon to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 — 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement targets. 

Under her leadership, Amazon has made significant investments in renewable energy projects globally, ordered more than 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, and created a US$2bn Climate Pledge Fund to support innovative decarbonisation technologies.

Additionally, Kara has worked to regionalise Amazon’s logistics operations to reduce transportation emissions and introduced sustainable packaging solutions that minimise waste while protecting products during delivery. 

These efforts have helped Amazon improve its carbon intensity by 24% since 2019.

Amazon's sustainability initiatives

Amazon’s sustainability strategy is multifaceted and ambitious:

• The Climate Pledge: Co-founded with Global Optimism, this initiative now includes more than 500 signatories worldwide committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040
• Renewable energy: Amazon aims to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. It is already one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy globally
• Sustainable transportation: The company is transitioning its fleet to electric vehicles and reducing air transport miles through regionalised fulfilment centres
• Circular economy: Amazon invests in sustainable packaging innovations and waste reduction strategies
• Climate Pledge Fund: A US$2bn fund supporting startups developing low-carbon technologies.

These initiatives demonstrate Amazon's commitment to addressing climate change while maintaining operational efficiency.

Kara’s educational background

Kara’s academic foundation reflects her interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Barnard College of Columbia University, where she studied urban studies — a multidisciplinary major that exposed her to history, science, mathematics and political science.

She later obtained a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Kara credits her education with shaping her systems-thinking approach to sustainability challenges.

Her ability to integrate diverse perspectives has been critical to her success in leading complex initiatives across industries.

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