REI Co-op
CEF Lead Executives
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MATTHEW THURSTON
Divisional Vice President of Sustainability
Matthew is a sustainability expert with extensive experience in product manufacturing and retail. He serves as the DVP of Sustainability at REI Co-op where his team guides sustainability, human rights, and sustainable chemistry. The co-op has industry-leading commitments on climate and zero waste, supported by a global team of sustainability experts. Matthew has degrees from Franklin & Marshall College and Yale University. An industrial ecologist at heart, he cut his teeth in the outdoor industry, working with product design and sourcing teams to integrate sustainability throughout the product lifecycle. Outside of work he is a parent and an avid runner, backpacker, reader, and mediocre cyclist.
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ROMA MCCAIG
VP, Public Affairs and Impact
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ANDREW DEMPSEY
Director, Climate
Andrew focuses on driving transformational change throughout the organization by leading the co-op’s climate, energy, and waste strategies. His work is centered on achieving impactful outcomes for REI’s business, employees, and broader community of members. Prior to REI, Andrew worked at Google, focusing on sustainable design and organizational strategy at the intersection of technology, experience and human health. Andrew holds a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Andrew lives in the University District of Seattle with his wife and two young daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys trail running, fly fishing and birding.
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MANDY LAM
Global Head of Supplier Sustainability
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SUE LONG
Sustainability Initiative Manager
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GREGORY GAUSEWITZ
Senior Manager, Product Sustainability
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JAY CREECH
Renewable Energy Strategy
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EVAN SCANDLING
Sustainability Manager - Supply Chain Renewable Energy
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DANIELLE FRASER
Merchandising Sustainability Manager
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BRENT KAWAMURA
Sustainability Program Manager
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GILLIAN LUI
Sustainability Manager
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JOSH PETRI
Manager, Impact Communications
Latest Sustainability Reporting
(April 2024)
Highlights
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions 6% in 2023 (2019 baseline), and reduced carbon intensity 9% over 2022.
- Sourced 100% of electricity from renewable sources for the 11th consecutive year.
- Increased percentage of operational waste diverted from landfill to 86%, up from 84% in 2022 (and 77% from 2019 baseline). This includes going shopping-bag free across all retail locations (which will save approximately 425 tons of paper waste).
- Joined with industry peers in establishing a recycling system for e-bike batteries in 2022, with nearly all retail stores serving as collection points.
- Increased BIPOC employee representation by 0.1% in 2023 to 25.2%.
- Has invested $4 million in 65 companies to empower founders of color since 2021.
- Invested $2.95 million in 2023 in Advocacy & Movement Building partners for climate action and a more just, equitable and inclusive outdoors.
- In 2023,
provided $6 million to community nonprofits through its public charity REI Cooperative Action Fund.
Recent News
2025
The Change Climate Project launched The Climate Label, which replaces its Climate Neutral Certified label. The Climate Label will certify companies that actively fund carbon-reducing projects based on an internalized carbon fee of at least $15 per ton of unabated carbon emissions. So far, more than 15 brands, including REI and Allbirds, have pledged to participate, according to reporting by Trellis. Fees will go toward abatement activities both within and beyond brands’ value chains. (Jan 2025)
2024
12 companies, including CEF members REI and Unilever, published a joint statement calling on policymakers in the Southeast U.S. to take actions to strengthen the electricity grid. Recognizing that “the grid is not equipped to meet forecasted load growth,” the companies offered several recommendations, including utilizing cost-effective grid upgrades, enabling voluntary customer investments, improving siting and permitting procedures, and requiring competitive procurement and regulatory approval of new generation resources and infrastructure. (Aug 2024)
Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA)
— Over a dozen ZEMBA members (including
CEF members Amazon, Meta, and REI Co-op)
have collectively committed to purchase the environmental attributes associated with
over one billion twenty-foot shipping container-miles of zero-emission shipping
on a route from Singapore to Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2025-2026,
which should collectively avoid at least 82,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This is ZEMBA’s
first tender for ocean shipping
that achieves at least a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a lifecycle basis relative to fossil fuel powered service. Container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd was selected as the winner of ZEMBA’s inaugural tender. (April 2024)
2023
Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) — Added 10 freight-buying companies to its ranks, bringing the total to over 35. The announcement is part of the Green Shipping Challenge, a US-Norway joint initiative to reduce emissions from shipping. Among the new members are CEF members Meta and REI Co-op. (Dec 2023)
Clean Energy Procurement Academy — This project aims to equip companies with the technical readiness to explore and adopt clean energy. The Academy will combine online and in-person training and educational resources to help accelerate the integration of clean energy into global supply chains (for example, how to boost supply chain companies’ capacity to invest in renewables). This project was initiated through the Clean Energy Buyers Institute and with support from Google.org, and is co-founded by CEF Members by Amazon, Apple, Meta, PepsiCo, and REI; and by Nike. (Oct 2023)
Announced the SBTi approved the co-op’s net zero targets of reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions 47% by 2030 (baseline 2019), as well as committing 41% of its suppliers (by emissions) to having science-based targets by 2025. The company signed a three-year clean energy agreement with Sol Systems alongside the co-op’s largest supplier Nester Hosiery to ensure this supplier gets 100% renewable electricity. The co-op is also purchasing 25,000 Renewable Energy Credits in four Southeast Asian countries through Powertrust and joined the Asia Clean Energy Coalition to help accelerate renewable energy adoption in Asia. (Oct 2023)
More than a dozen companies submitted letters calling on California lawmakers to finalize first-in-the-nation legislation that would require companies to provide standardized and consistent climate-related disclosures. This includes two laws, requiring companies to 1) report greenhouse gas emissions across operations and supply and value chains, and 2) report on their climate-related financial risks. CEF members Microsoft and REI Co-Op were signatories of these letters. And CEF member Salesforce submitted its own letter in support of reporting emissions. (Aug 2023)
Joined the CEF member network in July 2023!