Ann Tracy knows what it takes to make sustainability stick. As the Chief Sustainability Officer at Colgate-Palmolive and a current Steering Committee member for the GHG Protocol, she has worked at the forefront of corporate transformation, embedding ESG across procurement, logistics, and R&D, while helping shape the very standards that define emissions reporting worldwide.
In this conversation, Ann shares why sustainability is moving from compliance to core business strategy, how companies can drive upstream change through product design, and what skills CSOs will need to thrive in the next action-oriented era of sustainability.
Sustainability has hit an inflection point in 2025. You’ve sat at the executive table and now help guide GHG Protocol. What’s the biggest mindset shift companies need to make to move sustainability from a compliance burden to a competitive advantage?
We hear it everywhere now - we must build on the science-based narrative and advance our approach to a more value-based narrative. We are entering a more pragmatic, action oriented era - setting targets that are ambitious, credible, and achievable. We will need to strike the right balance between achieving the climate ambitions that the world needs to stay below 2°C and find a pragmatic, business-oriented approach. For us, the same is true when it comes to achieving a Circular Economy for plastics. Striking that balance is hard work and requires strong leadership, collaboration, and courage going forward. As we know, the GHG Protocol is in the process of updating the carbon accounting standards and has recently formed a partnership with ISO. We will need to find that balance in the new standards. Colgate is also partnering with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) and industry partners to strive for a pragmatic circular economy.
2. You’ve led enterprise-wide sustainability across supply chain, procurement, logistics, and R&D. What does it actually take to embed ESG into core decision-making, and where do most companies still fall short?
Our ultimate goal is to embed sustainability practices and principles into our business processes cross-functionally. The role my team plays is to set the strategy, provide the guidance, and ensure that roadmaps are in place to work to achieve our targets. The execution happens within the functions. This is a journey of building awareness and education, combined with clearly articulated targets that support the business. Supply chain and procurement are the most advanced on this journey. Much of the work we have done in our efforts to reduce our environmental footprint (carbon, water, waste to landfill) across our operations has driven efficiency and cost reduction at the same time.
3. Colgate-Palmolive has been an early mover in connecting sustainability to product design and ingredient standards. How can consumer brands shape upstream supply chains to meet both carbon goals and customer expectations?
One of our lead actions in our 2025 sustainability & social impact strategy is to eliminate plastic waste. In partnership with EMF, we are part of the ‘Global Commitment,’ which means we have a target to make all of our packaging recyclable. For our company, we knew we wanted to lead the way to make tubes recyclable. That journey started over a decade ago, beginning with the design of our first-of-its-kind mono-material, #2 (HDPE) tube.
Once it passed our quality tests, we began the rollout of the tube globally. With the goal to initiate a global shift so that all tubes (not just toothpaste tubes) are recyclable, we shared our technology with others in the industry to encourage the transition. Today, according to Stina, 95% of the toothpaste tubes and 75% of all tubes in the US have converted to HDPE. The recyclable tube was also well received by consumers. Consumer centricity is key to helping to close the consumer intention-action gap. Making products not only sustainable but “better” (highly desirable) is the pathway to closing this gap.
4. As a GHG Protocol Steering Committee member, what changes should businesses expect around Scope 3, attribution, and product-level accounting? How can companies prepare for carbon accounting 2.0?
The GHG Protocol has served as the foundation for many carbon accounting frameworks globally for over 25 years. The world continues to evolve in knowledge related to climate science, and at the same time, with changing regulations, new challenging requirements are set. It is critical that the world has global carbon accounting standards that serve as the foundation of reporting & transparency, and facilitate interoperability. The organization aims to provide a more coherent global language for GHG emissions accounting that is trusted, consistent, and scalable.
5. Boards want ROI. Other stakeholders want companies to turn ambition into action. CSOs are under pressure from all sides. How can sustainability leaders deliver real impact while navigating budget constraints and short-term performance pressure?
The key is to be focused and pragmatic. We must act as business partners and adapt to the short-term pressures while building the pathway to long-term achievement of our targets. We need to demonstrate how the targets will contribute to the long-term resilience of the business, both managing risks and opportunities. We can’t be leaders in everything we do; we are making choices around where to lead and where to follow. For Colgate, it makes sense for us to lead with our Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program, bringing oral health education to children and their families, particularly in underserved communities, around the world (we have recently achieved our 2025 target of reaching 2 billion children and their families since 1991). And, as the market-share leaders of toothpaste globally, it makes sense for us to lead the way, developing and rolling out our first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube.
6. You’ve led in sustainability inside one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. In this current environment, how do you see the role of CSO evolving, and do you have any advice for future sustainability leaders navigating uncertainty?
CSOs must become true business partners, building the value creation frameworks to support long-term resilience for the company. We must demonstrate empathy and collaboration across the functions and global business units to enable change that drives progress. Building the business case to support long-term progress is key to success. Ultimately, we need to embed a sustainability mindset across the company while our teams set the strategy and the guidance from the center.
