--- description: Find out why Andrew Dempsey is on TIME's 2025 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action. title: Andrew Dempsey: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9dbad713053d422e/6998cb031500fb2302aa6b6d/Leaders-Andrew-Dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2025 # Andrew Dempsey Director of Sustainability, REI by [Jay Bouchard](/author/jay-bouchard/) ## Jay Bouchard Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Courtesy Photo) When REI hit its [zero-waste target](https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/news/rei-coop-zero-waste-2024-recycling-landfill-diversion-retail/ "undefined") in 2024—which according to the standard industry definition means it diverted at least 90% of waste across its operation away from landfills—it became the first major retailer in the U.S. to do so. It was the culmination of decades of work, which in recent years has been led by director of sustainability Andrew Dempsey. “Our mission is to connect every person to the power of the outdoors and engage them in the fight to protect it,” Dempsey says. “That engagement is really our north star as we think about sustainability.” Dempsey and his team have implemented a multi-pronged approach across the organization to curtail waste. Those efforts include reducing plastic from its own packaging and training staff to divert plastic materials to partners like Trex, which turns it into [decking](https://www.trex.com/deck-ideas/trex-rei-nurturing-natural-connection/ "undefined") (2.5 million pounds of plastic have been recycled through this partnership since 2020). REI has also emerged as a leader in recycling e-bike batteries and fuel canisters, as well as bike tubes and tires. And the company has made serious strides in repairing textiles and selling upcycled gear. Taken together, those efforts have made REI one of the outdoor industry’s most sustainable brands. In 2025, REI was among the first companies to achieve [the Climate Label ](https://www.changeclimate.org/blog/behind-the-label-how-rei-is-funding-real-climate-action "undefined")certification from the Climate Change Project, which means it directs a significant and dedicated part of its annual budget to projects that reduce emissions within its operation. As Dempsey says: “Right now is the critical time to be doing this work.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/"},"headline":"Andrew Dempsey","datePublished":"2025-10-30T11:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:01:01.869Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/","keywords":["TIME100 Climate 2025","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9dbad713053d422e/6998cb031500fb2302aa6b6d/Leaders-Andrew-Dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jay Bouchard","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jay-bouchard/"}],"creator":"Jay Bouchard","articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9dbad713053d422e/6998cb031500fb2302aa6b6d/Leaders-Andrew-Dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-climate-2025/","name":"TIME100 Climate 2025"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/","name":"Andrew Dempsey"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 Climate 2025 | Leaders Compilation","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qIdHTBY3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-10-30T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qIdHTBY3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/","duration":"PT7M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326539/andrew-dempsey/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```