Top 10: Sustainability Leaders 2026

Every year, Sustainability Magazine unveils its Top 250 Sustainability Leaders, celebrating the individuals at the forefront of driving global progress toward a more responsible, resilient and regenerative future. The 2026 edition shines a spotlight on those turning ambition into measurable impact – championing climate action, circular innovation, ethical governance and social equity.

“Sustainability has evolved from a boardroom discussion to a defining measure of business performance,” says Glen White, CEO of BizClik and Sustainability Magazine. 

“The leaders featured in this year’s Top 250 Sustainability Leaders understand that creating long-term value means tackling global challenges with purpose and innovation.”

From  embedding ESG strategy into core business purpose and influencing corporate agendas on a global scale, the Top 250 celebrates those setting new standards for sustainable leadership. Here, we reveal this year’s Top 10.

10. Korab Zuka

Global Head of Social Impact & Chief Sustainability Officer

Novartis

Industry: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Korab Zuka, Global Head of Social Impact and Chief Sustainability Officer at Novartis, connects access to healthcare with environmental responsibility. 

He drives programmes that expand equitable care, strengthen community resilience and cut the company’s footprint, ensuring sustainability and social impact reinforce Novartis’ purpose to reimagine medicine.

9. Antonia Wanner

Chief Sustainability Officer

Nestlé

Industry: Food and Beverage

Antonia Wanner leads Nestlé's global sustainability strategy, championing the transition to regenerative food systems. Having stepped up to Chief Sustainability Officer in 2025, she focuses on reducing dairy emissions and enhancing supply chain transparency.

Antonia’s leadership drives the company’s net zero roadmap, ensuring environmental stewardship is embedded across Nestlé’s vast operational footprint.

8. Ewan Andrew

Chief Sustainability Officer

Diageo

Industry: Food and Beverage

Ewan Andrew serves as Chief Sustainability Officer at Diageo, championing the company’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress plan. He oversees climate, water stewardship, regenerative agriculture and packaging initiatives that shape the future of Diageo’s iconic brands and supply chains.

Ewan works closely with farmers, communities and manufacturing sites to reduce environmental impact while supporting livelihoods. His leadership underscores Diageo’s ambition to grow its business responsibly, with sustainability at the heart of brand building and operations.

7. Kate Brandt

Chief Sustainability Officer

Google

Industry: Technology

Kate Brandt, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer, oversees strategy across operations, products and supply chains, working closely with data centre, real estate, hardware and cloud teams to deliver climate and resource goals.

Since joining Google in 2016 and becoming Chief Sustainability Officer in 2018, she has led initiatives including seven consecutive years of matching electricity use with 100% renewable energy, continued carbon neutrality and ambitious circularity commitments for products and packaging. 

6. Virginie Helias

Chief Sustainability Officer

Proctor & Gamble

Industry: Consumer Goods

Virginie Helias serves as Chief Sustainability Officer at Procter & Gamble, where she champions the integration of sustainability into brand innovation and everyday business decisions. Her leadership focuses on scalable climate action, circularity and responsible sourcing across P&G’s global portfolio.

A long-time advocate of “sustainable by design” products and supply chains, she works closely with brand, manufacturing and R&D teams to turn ambitious environmental targets into measurable outcomes that resonate with consumers and stakeholders alike.

5. Ann Tracy

Chief Sustainability Officer

Colgate-Palmolive

Industry: Consumer Goods

Ann Tracy leads global sustainability for Colgate-Palmolive, embedding environmental and social ambition into brands and products that reach billions of consumers every day. Appointed Chief Sustainability Officer in 2020 after senior positions in safety, supply chain strategy and sustainability, she brings deep operational expertise to responsible sourcing, climate strategy, water stewardship and manufacturing footprints.

Ann has been central to Colgate-Palmolive’s commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and to ensure all packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable, while advancing circular economy solutions and material innovation. 

4. Pam Cheng

Chief Sustainability Officer

AstraZeneca

Industry: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Pam Cheng leads sustainability efforts at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, including the firm’s ‘Ambition Zero Carbon’ strategy to cut emissions by 98% by 2026. She champions the link between planetary and human health, pioneering green manufacturing and renewable energy. 

“The health of the planet is inextricably linked to people’s health,” she explains. “That means tackling global issues outside our industry on a multi-stakeholder basis through institutions such as the UN.

3. Kara Hurst

VP Worldwide Sustainability

Amazon

Industry: Consumer Goods

As Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, Kara Hurst sets environmental and social strategy for a business spanning e-commerce, cloud computing, logistics, entertainment and devices.

Since joining in 2014, she has driven programmes that integrate sustainability into operations, transport, packaging and product design, prioritising renewable energy, circular systems and lower-carbon delivery at scale. Kara played a pivotal role in co-founding The Climate Pledge, committing Amazon to reach net zero carbon by 2040 and convening hundreds of signatories who align their decarbonisation plans with that ambition. 

2. Jim Andrew

Chief Sustainability Officer

PepsiCo

Industry: Food and Beverage

Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo, Jim Andrew leads pep+, the group-wide transformation putting sustainability and human capital at the heart of growth, value creation and decision-making across more than 200 countries and territories. 

With more than 35 years’ experience in strategy and innovation, including 25 years as a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group and leadership roles at Royal Philips and Sears, he brings deep commercial insight to climate action and regeneration. .​

1. Alastair Child

Chief Sustainability Officer

Mars

Industry: Food and Beverage

Alastair Child leads Mars’ global sustainability strategy, steering its “Sustainable in a Generation” plan to halve value-chain emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 while strengthening resilience for people, pets and planet. 

A Mars veteran of more than two decades, Alastair previously served as Vice President of Global Sustainability for Mars Snacking, embedding climate action, responsible sourcing and circular packaging into brand and supply-chain decisions worldwide. He served as Chief Sustainability Officer for Mars Wrigley until January 2025 when he took the global role.

Now heading a specialist team spanning climate, nature, packaging and data analytics, he focuses on decoupling growth from emissions, restoring ecosystems and improving farmer livelihoods across Mars’ portfolio. 

Mars is targeting 100% of its key raw materials, including cocoa, palm oil and beef, to be sourced according to robust sustainability standards. The business is also investing heavily in renewable energy and nature-based solutions to reduce land-use impacts and support climate resilience in farming communities.​