McCormick taps one of its own for upcoming CSO vacancy

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Michael Okoroafor will end a decade-long career at the spice and herb maker McCormick when he retires as chief sustainability officer July 1. Okoroafor will be replaced by his colleague Kathy Rostkowski, currently the company’s vice president of global sustainability.

Okoroafor departs with McCormick showing good progress on some if not all of the climate goals he helped oversee during his tenure. 

Climate progress

The company, headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, has committed to reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 43 percent by 2030, relative to a 2020 baseline. It’s also aiming to hit net zero by 2050. Both goals have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.

In 2023, the most recent year for which it has released data, McCormick reported a 40 percent reduction in Scopes 1 and 2 alongside an 11 percent drop in Scope 3. It’s also making strong progress toward goals for sustainable sourcing of ingredients and recycling, but is off course on a commitment to reduce water use.

Rostkowski joined McCormick in 2021 to lead the company’s ESG efforts, known as its Purpose-led Performance Program. She previously spent eight years working in projects, partnerships and engagement roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Rostkowski holds three environmental engineering degrees: a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a masters degree and Ph.D from Stanford. She also recently completed the Strategic Chief Sustainability Officer Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

McCormick has close to $7 billion in sales and employs 14,000 people in 29 countries.