Sandra Taylor
Former Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, Starbucks and Founder and CEO of Sustainable Business International
- Contributed to the development of Responsible Care in the chemical industry and led the development of Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices, alongside sourcing standards for coffee, cocoa, tea, and manufactured goods.
- Former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and international trade counsel in the U.S. Senate, with senior corporate leadership experience at Eastman Kodak.
- Oversaw corporate responsibility programs at Starbucks and helped maintain them through the 2007–2009 economic downturn.
- Organized the La Pietra Coalition and its campaign to put women’s economic participation and access to finance on the G20 agenda.
* This specific fee falls within this range. Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact your Leading Authorities representative.
Check fees and availability for Sandra Taylor
About Sandra Taylor
Download ProfileSandra E. Taylor is a sustainability strategist, international trade lawyer, author, and former senior corporate executive who helps businesses turn sustainability commitments into practical decisions that strengthen supply chains, manage risk, and create long-term value.
As Founder and CEO of Sustainable Business International LLC, launched in 2008, she advises organizations on sustainability strategy, responsible sourcing, and implementation across complex supply chains, with particular expertise in food, beverage, and wine.
Taylor served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Starbucks from 2003 to 2008, reporting directly to the CEO. She led global corporate responsibility programs and the development of C.A.F.E. Practices, the company’s coffee sourcing program created in collaboration with Conservation International. She also oversaw sustainable procurement standards covering cocoa, tea, and manufactured goods. Her work offers a practical perspective on how companies can translate sustainability principles into sourcing requirements, supplier relationships, and operational decisions. The Aspen Institute selected her as a First Movers Fellow for her work developing innovations in sustainable supply chains.
Her experience in supply chain accountability began before Starbucks. At ICI Americas, she helped shape the company’s response to scrutiny of the fertilizer supply chain following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and contributed to the development of Responsible Care, the chemical industry’s initiative for improving accountability and responsible chemical management in the US and EU. At Eastman Kodak, she held senior responsibilities spanning public affairs, international trade policy, and corporate citizenship, including work on the company’s international trade dispute with Japan and its return to post-apartheid South Africa.
Earlier in her career, Taylor served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, worked as an analyst at the United Nations, and served as international trade counsel in the U.S. Senate. She later organized the La Pietra Coalition, which advocated for women’s economic participation and access to finance on the G20 agenda in 2011 and 2012.
Her corporate and nonprofit board service includes Capella Education Company, DE Master Blenders 1753, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Island Press, and LIVE Certified. She has also held academic and leadership fellowships, including the Falk Professorship of Socially Responsible Business at Chatham University, and received the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnson Institute 2015 Exemplary Leadership Award.
Taylor brings this cross-industry experience to her work on sustainable wine. She holds an MBA in Wine Management from the Bordeaux School of Management and is the author of The Business of Sustainable Wine: How to Build Brand Equity in a 21st Century Wine Industry and Vines and Values: A Consumer’s Guide to Sustainable Wine.
As a speaker, Taylor connects sustainability to the decisions leaders face every day: where to source, how to manage risk, what standards to trust, and how to maintain progress when business conditions change. Her approach combines executive experience, international policy knowledge, and practical lessons from building sustainability programs inside major companies.
Speech Topics
Download TopicsNew regulations, climate disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty are changing what companies need to know about the origins of their products and the resilience of their suppliers. But collecting more supply chain data does not automatically create a more responsible or resilient business.
Drawing on her experience across the chemical and consumer goods industries, including the development of Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices, Sandra E. Taylor examines how companies can build stronger sourcing standards, improve supplier accountability, and turn information into better purchasing decisions.
Audiences will learn how to:
- Connect traceability and verification to practical sourcing decisions.
- Build supplier relationships that support long-term resilience.
- Balance sustainability requirements with commercial realities and supply chain risk.
Best suited for: Supply chain and procurement conferences, corporate sustainability events, food and beverage industry gatherings, and business leadership forums.
Regulations and reporting expectations may shift, but companies still face material risks involving climate, water, labor, and supply chain disruption. The challenge for business leaders is determining which sustainability investments remain strategically important when budgets tighten or external pressure changes.
Drawing on her experience leading corporate responsibility at Starbucks through the 2007–2009 downturn, Sandra explores how businesses can distinguish meaningful investments from initiatives that are difficult to justify, connect sustainability to business performance, and maintain progress through periods of uncertainty.
Audiences will learn how to:
- Identify sustainability investments that protect long-term business value.
- Evaluate the role of boards and executives in managing environmental and social risks.
- Make a business case for responsible practices when budgets and priorities are under pressure.
Best suited for: Corporate leadership and board forums, ESG conferences, executive education programs, and business strategy events.
Wine businesses face a complex mix of climate pressures, environmental standards, packaging decisions, producer economics, and changing consumer expectations. Yet the growing number of sustainability programs can make it difficult for buyers and consumers to understand what different claims actually mean.
Drawing on her work in sustainable business and wine, including her books The Business of Sustainable Wine and Vines and Values, Sandra examines how the wine industry can make sustainability more credible, commercially relevant, and useful to producers, retailers, and guidance to consumers.
Audiences will learn how to:
- Navigate sustainability standards and understand what they measure.
- Connect climate and environmental challenges to business and sourcing decisions.
- Communicate sustainability claims in ways that build trust with consumers.
Best suited for: Wine and beverage conferences, hospitality and retail events, sustainable agriculture forums, and industry leadership programs.
Business leaders increasingly have to navigate challenges that cross the boundaries between commerce, public policy, communities, and corporate responsibility. Sandra E. Taylor’s career has taken her from the U.S. Foreign Service and international trade policy to senior leadership roles at ICI, Eastman Kodak, and Starbucks.
Through experiences involving supply chain scrutiny, international market development, and corporate sustainability, she explores how leaders can respond to complex problems, build relationships across competing interests, and make responsibility part of business strategy rather than an isolated initiative.
Audiences will learn how to:
- Navigate complex stakeholder relationships and competing priorities.
- Respond to reputational and operational challenges with a broader business perspective.
- Embed responsibility into leadership decisions and long-term strategy.
Best suited for: Leadership conferences, corporate retreats, international business forums, and executive development programs.
Big Ideas in 24 Hours
Our veteran team is standing by to help with big ideas and real perspective. Call us at (855) 827-9635, email us at [email protected], or click below for a custom speaker proposal.
Similar Speakers
LAI Exclusive
Susan Desmond-Hellmann
Former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Tim Sanders
Vice President of Research Insights at G2, Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and NY Times Best Selling Author
LAI Exclusive
Jim Donald
Co-Chairman of Albertsons, Former CEO of Starbucks, Former CEO of Extended Stay Hotels, & Former CEO of Pathmark Supermarkets
