Kate Elliott is Walmart’s director of global food sourcing, based in southeast Florida. An expert in strategic planning and execution of global corporate sustainability programs, Elliott manages fresh produce sourcing for Walmart Stores Inc. throughout the United States. Her main responsibility is to maintain supplier relationships that ensure integrity and certainty of supply. “Climate change is making my job increasingly difficult,” says Elliott, “as it is becoming harder to predict the weather, and thus the availability of food. Consumers expect to see fresh produce on the shelves every day, all year long; they don’t always understand climate change or weather-related impacts to the crops they desire – much less seasonality.” Elliott was initially hired by Walmart in 2011 to develop a long-term strategic plan to convert to 100% renewable energy. In 2013 she transitioned to senior produce sourcing manager and in 2015 was named director of global food sourcing. She now works closely with the sustainability team on long-term strategies for resilient, sustainable supply chains, while managing nationwide contracts to provide all of Walmart’s stores with the quality produce they need.

“My challenge is to provide consumers with the highest quality produce for the best possible value, 365 days a year. My customer depends on me to provide her fresh produce when, often, as a single mother of three, her budget is just $7 a week for fresh fruits and vegetables,” Kate said. In addition, Elliott is tackling upstream food waste, which occurs during production, storage, and transport. Elliott is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund to help, developing a baseline of upstream food waste for the largest fresh produce commodities Walmart buys: bananas and potatoes. EDF was a natural fit, having partnered with Walmart between 2005 and 2015 to dramatically reduce Walmart’s environmental footprint. 

By virtue of the sheer scale of Walmart’s influence in the US food system, many of Elliott’s decisions have a big impact.  However, she recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship in both business transactions and personal routines.  She makes it a point to reinforce sustainable practices in her interactions with co-workers. In her words, “The more people I can impact to incorporate sustainability awareness into their day-to-day [life], the more profound our collective efforts can be.”  

Kate Elliott is now the regional manager of charging at Tesla.