When you click on the button “Add to Cart” on Amazon’s website, you are most likely thinking about convenience, price, or shipping speed. But behind the curtain, one woman is rewriting how those products impact human health and the planet. Her name is Nneka Leiba, a scientist, environmental health expert, and the force behind Amazon’s mission to make shopping safer, smarter, and more sustainable for its consumers.

Nneka was born and grew up in Jamaica, and her root is connected to Nigeria. Based on her background, she is making use of a global perspective to cause significant changes in one of the largest retail ecosystems in the world. Growing up, from an island that achieves economic growth while being exposed to environmental vulnerability, she understood very early the interconnectedness of health and environment, and especially for communities vulnerable to climate change. As her own family home continues to grapple with record-breaking heat and raging storms, her mission is somewhat personal: reduce toxic exposures, empower smarter choices, and make sustainability something more than a buzzword.

Leiba started her career in 2006 at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a pioneering non-profit organisation renowned for championing consumer protection against toxic chemicals. Working for more than 15 years, she grew from a researcher to Director of Healthy Living Science and emerged as one of the organisation’s most respected voices. Whether deciphering the ingredients in your face cream or uncovering secret pollutants in your tap water, Leiba’s mission was to break down complex science into achievable, life-changing action.

She helped initiate the National Tap Water Database, an extensive public initiative that uncovered contaminant levels in water systems across the United States. Her team’s research was published by The New York Times and generated public discourse regarding the safety of drinking water. She also led trailblazing investigations into bottled water transparency and the chemical makeup of cosmetics. This endeavour earned Nneka Leiba national media appearances on CNN as well as the accolade of a “Green Game Changer” by O Magazine in 2009.

Leiba holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology and an M.Phil. in Aquatic Sciences from the University of the West Indies, along with a Master of Public Health from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has technical knowledge combined with the ability to simplify science without compromising on accuracy. This is a special ability that has made her the interface between research laboratories and real-world consumer decisions.

In 2023, Nneka Leiba brought the same enthusiasm and concision to Amazon, where she is now the Global Lead for Sustainable Selection Science. At its heart is Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program, a site that singles out goods which pass vetted sustainability certifications like USDA Organic or Pre-Owned Certified –Fashion. Of more than 500 sustainability certifications that were evaluated, only 60 passed Leiba’s vetting and received the badge.

The proof is in the pudding. Sales of Climate Pledge Friendly products rose to 12% high during the program’s first year. That suggests that if consumers are offered clear, trustworthy sustainability signals, they respond.

Her endeavour is building a legacy that redefines the system wherein people, regardless of geography or income, are provided with access to products that will not harm their health or environment. It ensures that a child in Lagos, Kingston, or Chicago is not exposed to toxins through something as ordinary an item as shampoo or a plastic bottle.

Nneka Leiba is not the loudest voice in the room, but she may be one of the most impactful. Her revolution is a quiet one, backed with science labels, of reforms that occur behind the scenes; of every safer product choice that is made possible by the systems she is creating.

As supply chains become more global and the climate clock continues to tick, Nneka Leiba’s leadership reminds us that progress does not always begin with protest, but sometimes it begins with precision, policy, and purpose. Thanks to her, the future of shopping just became a little greener, a little cleaner, and a lot more intentional.