Apple Inc. confirmed a major leadership transition in December 2025 as Lisa Jackson, its longtime vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, announced plans to retire at the end of January 2026. Jackson, who joined Apple in 2013 after serving as the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has spent more than a decade at the helm of Apple’s environmental and social strategy, helping transform the company’s public image and internal practices around sustainability, corporate responsibility, and equity. Her departure marks the end of a significant era for Apple’s ESG leadership and prompts a broader restructuring of how the company will approach these functions moving forward.
During her tenure, Jackson led Apple’s efforts to dramatically reduce its environmental footprint. Under her leadership, Apple committed to and made progress toward transitioning its entire global operations to renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across its product lifecycle, and achieving ambitious goals for the use of recycled and low-carbon materials. The company also advanced environmental innovation, including carbon removal projects, improved supply chain sustainability, and its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across its supply chain and products by 2030. These efforts not only bolstered Apple’s environmental credentials but also set new standards for the broader tech industry, where companies increasingly face pressure from regulators and consumers to show measurable progress on climate goals.
Beyond environmental sustainability, Jackson also played a vital role in Apple’s broader social initiatives. She helped spearhead the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, an ambitious program launched in 2020 in response to national calls for racial justice. The initiative funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into education, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment projects, particularly in underserved communities. Jackson’s role was instrumental in shaping Apple’s identity not just as a technology company, but as a corporation with a clear social conscience and global influence. Her dual focus on environmental and social impact made her one of the most prominent and respected ESG executives in corporate America.
Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly praised Jackson for her transformative leadership, citing her role in cutting the company’s global emissions by more than 60 percent from 2015 levels and establishing Apple as a pioneer in corporate environmental stewardship. He acknowledged her success in building lasting relationships with governments, NGOs, and global institutions, as well as her ability to integrate sustainability into Apple’s business strategy in a way that aligned with long-term innovation and growth.
Rather than replacing Jackson with a single executive, Apple will distribute her responsibilities across its senior leadership team. The Environment and Social Initiatives group will now report to Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan, who has been deeply involved in Apple’s supply chain decarbonization efforts. Meanwhile, Apple’s government affairs and policy responsibilities will transition into the Legal organization. General Counsel Kate Adams will initially oversee the policy team before handing off those duties to Jennifer Newstead, who is set to become Apple’s General Counsel and head of Government Affairs in March 2026 following Adams’ own planned retirement. This restructuring reflects Apple’s broader effort to integrate environmental and social priorities into its core operations, rather than keeping them siloed within a single executive function.
The decision to decentralize Jackson’s role comes at a time of growing scrutiny of ESG leadership across the corporate sector. Companies are rethinking how sustainability is managed amid increasing demands for climate accountability, social equity, and transparent governance. While some firms have elevated chief sustainability officers to report directly to CEOs, others have folded ESG priorities into operational or legal departments, suggesting a shift toward embedding responsibility across multiple areas of decision-making. Apple’s restructuring suggests a belief that the company’s environmental and social values are now deeply ingrained enough to be sustained through cross-functional management.
However, Jackson’s departure is not without its challenges. As one of the most high-profile Black female executives in Silicon Valley, her presence at Apple represented both leadership in action and diversity at the highest levels of tech. Her absence raises important questions about representation, particularly as diversity in executive roles across the industry remains limited. Advocates for inclusion and equity will likely be watching Apple’s next steps closely, particularly in how the company continues her legacy and whether it maintains a commitment to advancing diverse leadership in ESG and beyond.
The timing of Jackson’s retirement also coincides with a rapidly changing policy and regulatory environment. With new global climate disclosure rules, increasing expectations from institutional investors, and expanding geopolitical complexity, Apple’s leadership transition will test how seamlessly ESG priorities can be integrated into operations and legal strategy. By situating environmental oversight within the COO’s office and aligning policy with legal affairs, Apple appears to be preparing for a future where corporate responsibility intersects with risk management and compliance on an even deeper level.
As the tech industry continues to face challenges related to climate impact, digital equity, data privacy, and geopolitical engagement, Apple’s new leadership structure will play a critical role in how the company navigates the evolving ESG landscape. Lisa Jackson’s departure marks a turning point, but her influence will likely continue to shape Apple’s approach to sustainability, equity, and governance for years to come.