Kate Brandt

Kate Brandt
Kate Brandt at Web Summit 2019
Education
OccupationChief Sustainability Officer
EmployerGoogle
AwardsNavy Distinguished Public Service Award

Kate Brandt is an American businessperson, former government official, and the current Chief Sustainability Officer for Google. In 2014, she was appointed as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the American federal government. Brandt is also the recipient of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest recognition the Navy bestows upon a civilian.

Early life and education

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Brandt grew up in Muir Beach, a coastal town in California.[1] She describes her parents as "earth-loving" and how she was raised to appreciate outdoor spaces. She cites early remembrances of land being developed into tract homes of teaching her to value nature preservation.[2]

Brandt graduated from Brown University with honors in 2007.[2][3] She later earned her master's degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge, where she graduated as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.[3]

Career

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After graduation, Brandt worked for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign as a deputy director in Florida.[4] After his successful election, Brandt relocated to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change as a policy analyst.[1] Brandt moved on to serve as energy adviser to Navy secretary Ray Mabus.[4] As she was relatively young, Brandt stated she fought off self-doubt by focusing on the changes 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".[5] Brandt also worked as the director of energy and the environment in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel as well as an adviser to the Department of Energy.[2]

In 2014, President Obama named Brandt as America's first Chief Sustainability Officer, where she was responsible for improving the sustainability of the United States government's wide array of buildings and vehicles including annual purchases totaling $445 billion in goods and services.[6][7]

Brandt went to work for Google in 2016, taking charge of their sustainability efforts.[8] She was named as Google's Chief Sustainability Officer in 2018.[9] In this role, Brandt is focused on Google's sustainability efforts ranging from "machine learning to help cool its data centers to smart thermostats that conserve home energy".[10] Brandt is also responsible for aligning the multiple existing sustainability initiatives within the company, which she compares in scope to her previous responsibility of leading up sustainability across the federal government.[11]

Awards and honors

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  • In 2021, Fortune magazine named Brandt in their 40 Under 40 list[3]
  • In 2023, Brandt was ranked #1 of the top 10 women in sustainability by Sustainability Magazine[12]

Brandt is also the recipient of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest recognition the Navy bestows upon a civilian.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Benembarek, Sheima (May 24, 2019). "Women in leadership: Kate Brandt's on a mission to green Google with the help of AI". Corporate Knights. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Michelson, Megan (July 5, 2018). "Kate Brandt Is Turning Google into a Green Powerhouse". Outside. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Trailblazing Women in Climate 2024 - Kate Brandt". Reuters. March 7, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Childers, Linda (April 10, 2023). "How Google's Chief Sustainability Officer Gets It Done". The Cut. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Birch, Kate (February 28, 2024). "Kate Brandt: Leading Google to Net-Zero Emissions by 2030". Sustainability Magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Spector, Julian (October 18, 2016). "Google's Kate Brandt on What the Tech Giant Is Doing for Clean Energy". Greentech Media. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Smith, Heather (October 4, 2016). "Meet the woman who's making Google more sustainable". Grist. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  8. ^ Farra, Emily (April 15, 2021). "Google's Head of Sustainability Wants You to See the Earth in a New Way". Vogue. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  9. ^ Toplensky, Rochelle (June 22, 2023). "Google's CSO Kate Brandt on How AI Can Accelerate Climate Action". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Whittaker, Matt (September 12, 2022). "Google has one of Big Tech's most aggressive sustainability plans. Here's its 3-step playbook for helping the planet". Fortune. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. ^ Wang, Ucilia (October 12, 2016). "How Google is using big data to protect the environment". The Guardian. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  12. ^ Tye, Lauren (April 6, 2023). "Top 10: Women in Sustainability 2023". Sustainability Magazine. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
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