McCormick taps one of its own for upcoming CSO vacancy

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Michael Okoroafor is set to retire from his position as chief sustainability officer at McCormick, a spice and herb manufacturer, after a ten-year tenure on July 1. Kathy Rostkowski, the current vice president of global sustainability at the company, will take over from him.

During Okoroafor’s time at McCormick, the company made significant strides towards achieving its climate goals, although not all have been fully realized.

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, McCormick has pledged to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 43 percent by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline, with a net-zero target by 2050, both of which have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.

In its latest report from 2023, McCormick disclosed a 40 percent decline in Scopes 1 and 2 emissions and an 11 percent reduction in Scope 3 emissions. Progress has also been made in sustainable ingredient sourcing and recycling, but there is a shortfall in reducing water consumption.

Rostkowski assumed her role at McCormick in 2021 to lead its ESG initiatives under the Purpose-led Performance Program. Prior to this, she spent eight years in various roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development focusing on projects, partnerships, and engagement.

With environmental engineering degrees from Yale (BS) and Stanford (MS, PhD), Rostkowski recently completed the Strategic Chief Sustainability Officer Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

McCormick, with nearly $7 billion in revenue and 14,000 employees across 29 countries, is a prominent player in the industry.