KATE BRANDT TITLE : CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY
One of our youngest recipients of the Lifetime of Achievement accolade , Google ’ s Kate Brandt was born to do it .
Growing up in California surrounded by nature and making the most of the great outdoors , it was almost inevitable that Brandt would devote her professional life to preserving those forests , streams , and natural wonders of her childhood .
“ From the beginning , I had this deep appreciation and love for being outside ,” Brandt says in an interview with Outsider Magazine . “ I had this early realisation of how important it is to preserve the special places we have left .”
Still capable of qualifying for 40 Under 40 lists , Brandt has packed more into the first 15 years of her stellar career than most manage in a lifetime .
After impressing on the Obama campaign trail in Florida in 2008 , Brandt was made Senior Advisor at the Department of Energy , Director for Energy and Environment in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel , and Energy Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy .
Entering government positions aged just 24 , Brandt carried significant responsibility , and says she cast aside any feelings of self doubt by focussing on the impact she wanted to achieve . “ When I was 24 , I worked at the Pentagon . I remember looking around the table and realising I was the only woman and the only person under 50 ,” she told The Cut .
“ I felt confident knowing that I was contributing , while also learning a lot . I was excited about how I could drive the change I want to see .”
Brandt became the first Federal Chief Sustainability Officer in 2014 , responsible for annual spend of around US $ 445 billion , and charged with driving sustainability initiatives across more than 360,000 buildings and 650,000 vehicles . Word is she saved the US taxpayers a cool US $ 18 billion .
KATE BRANDT TITLE : CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
COMPANY : GOOGLE INDUSTRY : TECHNOLOGY LOCATION : UNITED STATES
After graduating with a Master ’ s in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge , Brandt began her career working for Obama For America , as part of the Women for Obama Florida Campaign . Appointed in 2009 as Special Advisor for Energy to the Secretary of the Navy , Brandt went on to assume increasingly high-profile government roles – first as Director for Energy & Environment at the White House before becoming the country ’ s first CSO . Moving to Google in 2015 to serve as lead for sustainability , three years later , Brandt was promoted to CSO for the tech giant .
30 March 2024