2026 Leadership-in-Action Award Recipient
Anna Pierce
Director of SustainabilityTate & Lyle
Award Category: Empowering Systems
Anna Pierce, Director of Sustainability at Tate & Lyle, was nominated for the NAEM Excellence Awards’ Leadership in Action – Empowering Systems category in recognition of her more than 20 years of EHS and sustainability leadership and her success in transforming sustainability into an enterprise-wide business capability. During nearly nine years with Tate & Lyle, Pierce has established the company’s long-term sustainability strategy, including science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets, sustainability-linked financing, regenerative agriculture programs, and stronger integration of sustainability into business planning, risk management, customer engagement, and supply chain resilience.
Following Tate & Lyle’s acquisition of CP Kelco, she led a comprehensive reassessment of climate, water, and nature priorities across the expanded global footprint, including a shift to a risk-based water strategy focused on the company’s highest water-stressed facilities. Under her leadership, Tate & Lyle achieved a 17% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from its 2019 baseline, an 11% reduction in Scope 3 energy and industrial emissions, and a 26% reduction in Forest, Land, and Agriculture emissions, exceeding its 2028 FLAG target four years early. She has also helped expand regenerative agriculture efforts across approximately 1.5 million acres, improve Scope 3 collaboration with customers and suppliers, and embed sustainability responsibilities across multiple business functions. Through strategic vision, cross-functional collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and disciplined execution, Pierce has helped position sustainability as a core contributor to environmental performance, operational resilience, and long-term business value.