Making Sustainability Win-Win-Win with Ann Tracy

For years, sustainability leaders have helped companies set ambitious targets. Now comes the two harder challenges: delivering on them and proving their business value.In this episode of Purpose 360, Carol Cone welcomes Ann Tracy, Chief Sustainability Officer of Colgate-Palmolive, for a robust and inspiring conversation about what the next era of sustainability leadership demands. Drawing on more than three decades across engineering, manufacturing, global operations, and sustainability, Ann shares how she has learned to turn sustainability from a set of commitments into an enabler of business strategy.Ann explains why the strongest sustainability leaders speak the language of growth, resilience, risk, and financial value; how her “win-win-win” philosophy connects consumer benefit, business success, and impact at scale; and why knowing where your organization should lead is critical to making meaningful progress.She also takes listeners inside Colgate-Palmolive’s journey to reinvent its toothpaste tube—and the decision to share that technology to help move an entire industry forward—while offering lessons on empathy, partnership, pragmatism, and what it takes to lead change across a global organization.Purpose 360 is produced by TruStory FM.Full Show Notes & ResourcesView on YouTube (00:00) - Welcome to Purpose 360 (00:13) - Ann Tracy, Colgate-Palmolive (04:13) - Ann’s Background (06:08) - Wide Involvement Level (07:45) - Their Purpose (09:26) - Sustainability (11:50) - Swords and Shields Philosophy (13:56) - Longevity and Scale (15:16) - Win-Win-Win Framework (16:55) - Recognizing the Brand (20:09) - Recyclable Toothpaste Tube (24:05) - Communication (25:44) - Empathy (27:24) - AI (28:51) - Lightning Round (30:47) - Last Word (31:47) - Wrap Up