Top 10: Women in Sustainability in North America
In March, we published a special edition of Sustainability Magazine: our Top 250 Women in Sustainability.
For that magazine, we spotlighted some of the world’s most outstanding female leaders across the sustainability sphere, but this week, we’re refining our focus to North America.
The North American economy contains some of the world’s largest companies, so, naturally, those organisations require some of the most innovative thinkers when it comes to decarbonisation.
In this week’s list, we’ve included executives with expertise in climate change, net zero, human rights, international relations, ESG, sustainable finance and much more.
You can read the 2025 edition of our Top 250 Women in Sustainability in full here.
10. Paulette Frank
Company: Johnson & Johnson
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health
Since 1997, Paulette has been driving sustainability at Johnson & Johnson and has held office as Chief Sustainability Officer since 2021.
She oversees the company’s global environmental sustainability and human rights strategies, having founded its first Office of Sustainability within its Consumer Family of Companies.
Under her leadership, J&J has launched ambitious climate goals to accelerate the company’s transition to 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality for its operations.
9. Ellen Jackowski
Company: Mastercard
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Financial services
At Mastercard, Ellen spearheads ambitious initiatives, including the company’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2040 and the Priceless Planet Coalition.
Her leadership has already yielded results with Mastercard growing its net revenue by 13% while decreasing its emissions by 1% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Before Mastercard, Ellen was Chief Impact Officer and Head of Sustainable Impact at HP.
8. Christina Shim
Company: IBM
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Technology
Christina became IBM’s CSO in 2024 after holding leadership roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, Bain & Co., PwC and Palladium International.
Under Christina’s leadership, IBM has embraced a strategy of acting as client zero for its own innovations, applying advanced AI and hybrid cloud solutions to its sustainability.
This approach aims to minimise climate-related risks and create industry solutions that significantly reduce environmental impact.
She has also advised Princeton University on sustainability and worked on global ESG challenges.
7. Lisa Jackson
Company: Apple
Position: VP of Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives
Industry: Technology
Lisa leads Appleās sustainability initiatives, focusing on renewable energy, greener materials and climate action.
Since joining Apple in 2013, she has spearheaded transformative initiatives, including achieving 100% renewable energy for Appleās global operations and implementing an industry-leading supplier clean energy programme.
Lisaās impact extends beyond Apple, having served as the Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency from 2009 to 2013.
During her tenure at the EPA, she focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality and expanding environmental outreach to underserved communities.
6. Ann Tracy
Company: Colgate-Palmolive
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Consumer goods
Ann has worked at Colgate-Palmolive since 1991 and has been driving its global sustainability strategy as CSO since 2020.
“The strategy behind our journey to net zero is one that requires passion, teamwork and creativity across every corner of Colgate-Palmolive,” she says.
Ann has studied at Lehigh University, The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and the University of Cambridge. She is also a Board Member of the UN Global Compact Network USA.
5. Kara Hurst
Company: Amazon
Position: Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability
Industry: Technology and retail
Since joining Amazon as VP of Worldwide Sustainability in 2014, Kara has led sustainability strategy, ESG initiatives and The Climate Pledge at the global retailing giant.
“I come to work every day thinking I have the best job in the world,” she says. “I work with other people who are thinking big about sustainability and thinking at Amazon scale.”
She holds an MPP from UC Berkeley and a BA in Urban Studies from Barnard College.
4. Marika McCauley Sine
Company: Starbucks
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Food and drink
Marika took on the role of Starbucks’ CSO in 2024 after nine years leading sustainability at Mars Petcare and a decade at Coca-Cola in a variety of sustainability roles.
She has also worked at Oxfam America and the Congressional Hunger Center, having studied at William and Mary and gaining her Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.
She also volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Women Business Collaborative.
3. Kathleen McLaughlin
Company: Walmart
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Retail
Kathleen leads Walmart’s ambitious sustainability agenda, including Project Gigaton, which has cut 750 million metric tons of COā from the chain’s operational emissions.
She also drives the company’s commitments to protect 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of ocean by 2030.
Before joining Walmart in 2013, Kathleen spent 20 years at McKinsey and studied Electrical Engineering, Politics, Philosophy, Economics and Theology at the University of Oxford and Coston University.
2. Melanie Nakagawa
Company: Microsoft
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Technology
With a career spanning policy, finance and technology, Melanie became Microsoft’s Corporate VP and CSO in 2023.
She is tackling major sustainability goals, including removing Microsoft’s historical emissions by 2050 and achieving water positivity by 2030.
Before joining Microsoft, Melanie spent much of her career working in US government roles including Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy in 2021 and 2022.
1. Kate Brandt
Company: Google
Position: Chief Sustainability Officer
Industry: Technology
Kate made history as the US government’s first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer in 2014, having worked in government since she was 24.
Kate joined Google in 2015 and has led the company’s global sustainability efforts since 2018.
“I am grateful to be in the position to lead Google’s efforts to achieve its sustainability goals across our business through both our products and our operations,” Kate says.
She holds an A.B. in International Relations from Brown University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge.
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