I had the privilege to sit down with Sandra Leyva, Head of Sustainability for CHEP America, a global leader in supply chain solutions, to learn more about her career journey—from aeronautical engineering, driving sustainable supply chain innovation at Amazon , KION Group—and now at CHEP, a Brambles company, ranked 4th on TIME Magazine’s list of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies.
We met Sandra through The Sustainability Circle (TSC), an invite-only community that fosters collaboration and peer support for sustainability leaders. Learn more about TSC here.
This conversation is the latest installment in our “Deep Dive” series for ESG & Climate News subscribers. I hope you enjoy exploring Sandra’s insights into scaling circular solutions, sustainable supply chains, and driving the importance of diversity in sustainability roles.
Given your experience in managing sustainability across complex supply chains, we’re eager to learn more about your approach and achievements. Can you reflect on your approach to sustainability in global supply chains? What progress or milestones are you most proud of?
Sandra Leyva: Sustainability in global supply chains is all about balancing immediate compliance needs with long-term transformative change. At KION Group, I led efforts to operationalize sustainability across 40,000 suppliers worldwide. This included mitigating ESG risks—like ensuring compliance with regulations such as Restriction of Hazardous Substances, Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals, and the EU’s Deforestation Regulation and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism—and creating pathways for long-term decarbonization. For instance, we developed a multi-million Euro investment strategy for “green premium” sourcing and integrated sustainability into procurement governance.
At Amazon, I helped launch the Sustainability Solutions Hub, empowering over 2.8 million selling partners to adopt sustainable practices. This initiative democratized access to resources, making sustainability attainable for businesses of all sizes and proving that systemic change is possible with the right tools and innovation.
Your career started in engineering and moved to sustainability leadership roles. Can you walk us through your journey and how it informs your leadership today?
Sandra Leyva: My unconventional journey began in aeronautical engineering, solving complex challenges in R&D, which laid a strong foundation for cross-functional collaboration. I transitioned into sustainability at 22 when I was invited to lead a global sustainability strategy for Dematic, a leading supply chain automation company. This sparked a passion for creating scalable, meaningful impact.
Since then, I’ve bridged gaps between compliance, innovation, and decarbonization in roles at KION and Amazon. Along the way, I pursued professional development, such as graduating from Harvard’s Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership (EESL) program, to deepen my expertise. Today, I focus on fostering collaboration, enabling others to succeed, and creating frameworks that drive systemic change.
As a Women in Sustainability, Environment, and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Pioneer, how do you advocate for women in sustainability? Why is diversity critical in this field?
Sandra Leyva: Diversity is essential for innovation in sustainability. Women’s participation in this field has stagnated at 30%, and leadership roles remain disproportionately limited. As a WiSER Pioneer, I advocate for systemic change to break these barriers. This includes mentorship, fostering networks like The Sustainability Circle, and ensuring women are empowered to lead transformational initiatives.
To anyone pursuing sustainability, I’d emphasize continuous learning, building relationships, and engaging with supportive communities. These steps are crucial for overcoming challenges and driving meaningful impact.
With your experience, how do you maintain a long-term focus on sustainability amid short-term challenges, like regulatory changes or ESG backlash?
Sandra Leyva: It’s about integrating sustainability into the business model. At CHEP, sustainability isn’t an add-on; it’s central to operations through its circular share, repair, and reuse system. This model inherently aligns short-term actions with long-term goals.
To me, regulatory changes are opportunities to standardize practices globally and signal the importance of sustainability to stakeholders. ESG scrutiny, while challenging, pushes accountability and transparency, ultimately strengthening commitments to long-term goals.
Was there anything else you wanted to highlight?
Sandra Leyva: I’d just like to emphasize the potential of the CHEP model to demonstrate how circular solutions can scale globally, as the company manages about 347 million reusable pallets, crates, and containers across more than 60 countries. Between July 2023 and July 2024, CHEP customers worldwide saved more than 1.8 million metric tons of CO2e, 1.3 million metric tons of waste and the equivalent of 2.3 million trees by choosing its pooled solutions. This is just one example that demonstrates the power of integrating sustainability and business success, and I’m excited to continue driving this transformation.
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