Who is Head of Sustainability for Amazon's Grocery Stores?

Caitlin Leibert is moving to a new position at Amazon after more than four years as Vice President of Sustainability at Whole Foods Market.

She will now lead environmental and social sustainability for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores. Amazon's portfolio includes Whole Foods Market, as well as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go.

Regenerative agriculture and food supply chains

Caitlin began her career in sustainability in 2011 as Director of Sustainability at Chipotle.

She was responsible for building Chipotle’s sustainability department from the ground up, creating and implementing a sustainability vision for more than 2,500 restaurants across the globe.

Her work includes producing Chipotle's first sustainability report and collaborating with a network of suppliers, partners and vendors.

A key focus of sustainability within the food and drink sector involves the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices.

This change presents numerous hurdles for farmers and the wider supply chain.

“Changing from extractive to more regenerative agriculture requires changes in farming techniques financial investment and supply chain adjustments – all of which present challenges," Caitlin says.

“Farmers often face upfront costs when adopting regenerative practices like cover cropping rotational grazing and reduced tillage and it can take years to see the benefits.

"Additionally, access to education and infrastructure can be a barrier as many farms need technical support and financial incentives to transition.”

Sustainable operations in grocery stores

Amazon has its own environmental targets, including a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040.

In its grocery stores, Amazon is focusing on its refrigeration systems to help meet these goals.

According to the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council, refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) can be significant pollutants, trapping thousands of times more heat in the atmosphere than CO₂.

In response, Amazon’s Fresh grocery store in Seattle, a zero carbon certified store, uses a natural carbon dioxide-based refrigeration system which reduces the reliance on synthetic chemicals.

Amazon also considers sustainability when developing new grocery stores.

Before beginning construction, Amazon seeks opportunities to repurpose existing buildings which can reduce the carbon footprint of a new project.

More than 80% of Amazon’s grocery stores and most of its corporate offices are built within existing structures.

Collaboration for food security

In her new role at Amazon Worldwide Grocery, Caitlin’s duties include managing climate and nature impacts, supply chain sustainability, food waste, human rights and ESG reporting.

She states that collaboration is essential to overcoming sustainability challenges requiring work with industry leaders, policymakers, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Such strategic partnerships can help alleviate the pressure on farmers and facilitate the implementation of regenerative practices, which supports the entire food supply chain.

“The future of agriculture will be rooted in resilience regeneration and innovation,” Caitlin says.

“As climate change accelerates, we need a stronger emphasis on soil health, carbon sequestration and biodiversity to protect farmland and food security.”

Her role will involve overseeing the sustainability of Amazon's grocery brands, including the environmental impact of operations and the optimisation of waste and packaging.