THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
It is hard to come away from interviewing General Motors CSO Cassandra Garber without feeling more positive about life, the planet and everything. Perhaps that is her superpower? If so, it is the ideal gift with which to endure the current set of sustainability challenges. Since moving to GM from Dell Technologies, Cassandra has seen:
• US pushback intensify against sustainability and DEI
• War break out in Iran
• Huge write-downs by many automakers, as they recalibrate( i. e. slow down) production of electric vehicles
• Tariffs put the supply of the critical minerals needed for EVs at risk.
To understand why she is not disheartened, it is helpful to hear how Cassandra got into sustainability as a profession.
“ It takes a lot of grit to stand back up, grab your seat at the table, show up and show the value you bring time and time and time again”
Cassandra Garber Chief Sustainability Officer General Motors
“ I couldn’ t go back”“ I need someone who can be right brain and left brain. You need to be able to crunch the numbers and talk data quality and data reliability and I need you to be inspirational and tell all the great stories.” That was the pitch when Cassandra was asked to move from marketing into sustainability. She says:“ Getting into sustainability was accidental, but I liked the challenge of that. I also was a new mom and they said:‘ You don’ t have to travel’.
22 May 2026