Katie Yoder, MBA joins Veerless after two years with The Hershey Company as Environmental Sustainability Analyst. There, she supported Hershey’s overall ESG strategy, reporting and implementation with specific activities related to the company’s science-based targets. She served as lead sustainability analyst on the company’s climate scenario planning and decarbonization strategies across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Katie earned her MBA in Sustainability from Bard College, and an BA in Environmental Studies from Franklin and Marshall College. Katie is driven by her passion to make positive impact, and her deep love for the natural world.

Outside of her professional accomplishments, Katie resides in Lancaster, PA with her husband Andrew and two dogs. In her spare time, she is a dedicated triathlete and runner who loves to compete. Her ideal Saturday consists of a long bike ride or run with teammates on a sunny day, ending with an evening spent laughing with friends, snuggling with dogs, or spending family time at our beach house in New Jersey. In a perfect world she might even jet off to Los Angeles for a few days, where her identical twin sister lives, so they can hike up mountains together.

What company do you see as your “North Star” in ESG/sustainability/responsibility? Why? What do they do that makes them unique, interesting, different, or particularly awesome in our field?

Patagonia! There are so many awesome things about Patagonia, but some of my favorites is their DIY Care & Repair knowledge base to help a person care and repair their clothing instead of replacing it, as well as their circular economy model. Patagonia was one of the first retailers to implement “Worn Wear”, a site dedicated to the resale of used Patagonia clothing. Now we are seeing many clothing companies implement circular models!

When you look at a company’s sustainability initiatives or reporting, what “red flags” do you see that company that might be greenwashing?

A job posting for a “DEI and Sustainability Manager”. These roles require entirely different experience. knowledge, and workstreams! This company is likely trying to ‘check a box’.

When you look at a company’s sustainability initiatives or reporting, what “green flags” do you see that signal a company is the “real deal” in sustainability?

Sustainability goals with context. A company who’s goal is to “reduce water by 10,000 gallons” versus a company whose goal is to “reduce their absolute water withdrawal in operations by 15% by 2030” provide very different levels of transparency around the difficulty of the goal. A goal that is transparent in context is likely more serious about making a positive change.