Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook tapped Lisa Jackson to lead the firm’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Since she joined Apple in 2013, Jackson has helped the technology company become an environmental leader and a pioneer in clean energy, recycling, and green technology.

Under her leadership, Apple reached carbon neutrality for its corporate emissions and now powers its operations worldwide with 100 percent renewable energy.

This year, the company announced its most ambitious target yet, pledging that every Apple device will be produced with net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

As vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, Jackson has led the company’s environmental initiatives, community education programs, product accessibility work, community investment, racial equity, justice efforts, and worldwide government affairs.

Before joining Apple, Jackson was administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. She was the first African American in that position. While an administrator, she prioritized reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination, and championing environmental justice by expanding environmental outreach to underserved communities and communities of color. She holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University.

Below are excerpts of an interview that Jackson did with Women of Color (WOC) magazine's Gale Horton Gay. The article is the cover story for the upcoming issue.

Jackson: There is no question we need to do more and to rededicate ourselves to these efforts. This is something I care deeply about, and I feel so lucky that our CEO and colleagues across Apple share that commitment to putting in the work to address systemic issues of racial equity and justice. At Apple, we believe we have a responsibility to leave the world better than we found it. Part of that work means investing in our communities and ensuring all people—regardless of race or zip code—have equal access to the tools, resources, and opportunities to succeed. Inequity cannot be ignored. And at Apple, we are committed to helping create the positive outcomes communities of color deserve.

Jackson: The events of the past year have made it abundantly clear that the work to achieve racial equity and justice is urgent and unfinished. Our collective future relies on every American has an equal shot at opportunity, success, and of course, health. Last year’s killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others reinforced the critical importance of this work and the urgency with which we all must commit ourselves to tackle systemic racism. And while there is a new urgency in this moment, this work is not new to Apple. We have been working with partners in this space for several years, including Ed Farm and the HBCU community.

"So, when our CEO Tim Cook committed $100 million to our Racial Equity and Justice Initiative this past summer, it was in recognition that this was a moment that called for leadership and required us all to come to the table in new ways. It was a call for Apple to build on our existing work and use our voice and resources to knock down the systemic barriers for people of color in this country."

We have expanded and focused our existing work—in everything from education to the environment to the economy—in service of advancing equality and creating new opportunities for underrepresented communities. And it is that focus on equity that will help our work have the greatest possible impact.

Jackson: Racial equity and justice mean dismantling systemic barriers to opportunity and combating injustices faced by communities of color. It means every student has access to high-quality education, and every family can live in a community with clean air to breathe and fresh water to drink. It means Black and brown entrepreneurs have the same access to funding as their peers and that people of color are treated with fairness and humanity under the law. Like our work on the environment, we believe racial equity and justice are issues where Apple can make a lasting and sustained difference. We have deep roots in education, so we are committed to bringing our support to HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions. Unfortunately, so much of a young person’s educational outcomes are dictated by where he or she lives. Working alongside our partners, there is so much we can achieve together to address educational equity. If you look at economic empowerment, as a company, Apple has a lot of buying power and works with a lot of suppliers. There is an opportunity for us to invest in minority- and women-owned businesses and include them in our supply chain, building wealth through equitable spending. Equity is about all these things and more. But the key to creating meaningful and lasting change is for people with power, who have benefited from an unjust system, to use that power to make a more just world.

Jackson: We set big goals for ourselves because we know that long-term commitments are key to making a dent in longstanding racial inequities. So is accountability. Across each of our commitments, we have specific criteria we will be assessing to ensure we are achieving the kind of progress we expect. Whether it is the number of students we have supported, entrepreneurs who have learned new skills, or started new businesses—we want to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Jackson: We are so thrilled to start offering programming through the Apple Developer Academy later this year, starting with virtual learning before the program transitions to in-person instruction. There is ongoing work across the HBCU community to bring coding and creativity opportunities to three dozen campuses, and the Propel Center will build on that. We expect the Propel Center to begin construction on its physical campus toward the end of this year, and HBCUs will have access to extensive virtual programming before then.

Jackson: There is nothing more urgent than our planet and making sure future generations have clean air, clean water, and a safe environment to live in. I have dedicated my career to this mission and am proud to carry on that work here at Apple. Apple has dedicated our resources—and our best thinking—to considering the environment in everything we do: the energy that powers our operations, the materials in our devices, the companies we do business with, and the health and safety of those who make and use our products. We have led our industry in reducing our environmental footprint for years, but we know there is more to do. So, we have set a groundbreaking new goal to further reduce our impact on the planet we share. By 2030, we are committing to total carbon neutrality. We are already carbon neutral for our corporate emissions—we use 100 percent renewable electricity for our facilities, and we are investing in projects that protect and restore forests, wetlands, and grasslands. And we are well on our way in our supply chain, bringing more clean energy sources online and innovating to reduce emissions at every stage of the process. But we are going further to cover our entire, end-to-end footprint—down to the shipping that moves our products worldwide and the energy used to power our customers’ devices.

Jackson: Start with “I”—be mindful of what you eat, how you get around, where you live, and your at-home routines. For Apple, this means focusing on the areas where we can have the most impact: reducing our carbon footprint and the footprint of our suppliers, creating a circular economy for our products where we create new ones without taking from the Earth, and advancing smart chemistry.

Stay informed. Your readers can tap into resources to understand how companies are taking action to protect the planet. We know it can be confusing for consumers to evaluate which companies have effective programs and policies to better protect the planet. It is why we think it is so important to share what exactly we are doing. Each year, we put out detailed environmental reporting on our full impact, including the lifecycle of our products.

Empower your network—use your voice, your platform to raise awareness and challenge your leaders. Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing our planet. This is why Apple is using its voice to advocate for strong climate policies that promote decarbonizing our economy and support renewable energy. As part of this work, we regularly meet with leaders and policymakers worldwide to push for smart environmental policies and join groups like RE100 to support these efforts. You probably recently saw our CEO Tim Cook speaking about these issues at the UN Climate Ambition Summit last December. It is important to show up.

Climate change is a universal challenge that impacts all of us. But its impacts are not felt evenly. And we can use our voices and amplify others to make sure equity is always a part of the conversation. We all need to understand that there is no justice without environmental justice.

Jackson: We recognize that climate change is one of the greatest threats of our time and that we have a responsibility to take urgent action to address it. For well over a decade, Apple has taken robust action to reduce our carbon footprint and drive energy efficiency in our products and processes.

"We announced this past July that by 2030—so ten years from now—Apple will be carbon-neutral. Not just for our operations, because we are already carbon-neutral the way a lot of companies measure carbon neutrality. Our stores, our data centers, our offices all run on 100 percent clean energy right now."

Our goal is to extend that progress to our entire supply chain. We have hundreds of suppliers. And so, the challenge will be, in 10 years, to move all those suppliers over to clean energy. That will be huge. And we have gone one step further and said by 2030; we also want our customers to be able to charge their devices on clean energy, as well.

And so, we committed that, by 2030, our customers will be able to do that. So obviously, that is not something we can do all alone. It is something that we can help with. We have sponsored clean-energy projects around the world. But we also want to work with governments to make sure that there is more and more access to clean energy on grids around the world, especially in areas that, right now, have been under-invested in terms of clean energy.

Jackson: Apple has an incredible culture of collaboration, innovation, and creativity. People here feel empowered to speak their minds and lead with their values—and you see that reflected in the products we make. My goal has never been to change any of those things. But what we have done is harness that energy and innovation as a force for good in our environmental work, our advocacy for equity and justice, in our support for students and teachers.

Apple was doing this kind of work long before I got here. But over the last few years, we have renewed and accelerated our progress—and that has meant drawing on Apple’s culture and our people, drawing on that innovative spirit, and tackling challenges like climate change in ways only Apple can.

Jackson: Donna Brazile is a good friend who is said this a lot over the years— “Open the door and leave it open wide enough for somebody to follow behind you.” Whatever your field, wherever your curiosity takes you, to break down barriers and make a difference, you have to bring other people with you. I have had great mentors during my career who have challenged and encouraged me. Now I am trying to be a mentor and a cheerleader for young people striving to break down barriers and to carry the baton even further.

Jackson: I have had a bit of a winding career path. I have worked in government for most of my life on environmental issues, and with Apple, I took on a new challenge. But for me, the common thread has always been trying to make a positive impact on people—whether in environmental justice, public health, technology, or what have you. The best way to prepare is to find your common thread and find mentors who can teach you. The learning does not end when you graduate from school—and the best way to prepare yourself is to follow your curiosity and find a great group of people to share the road ahead.

"When I was a little girl, I wrote a letter to President (Richard) Nixon imploring him to move forward with establishing the EPA to protect the health of people and the environment. That same year, we celebrated Earth Day in the U.S. for the very first time. And by the end of 1970, the EPA officially opened its doors. At the time, I had no idea I would go on to work at the EPA and one day lead it, or that I would one day be at Apple working on these issues. But I did know that at the heart of my concern for the planet was the health of people. Communities. Families. Everyone deserves a healthy place to live, clean water to drink, and clean air to breathe."

Today’s 8-year-olds are facing some of the same challenges and some new ones. But they also know a thing or two about the urgent work that lies ahead—and that the health of our planet and neighbors is a cause worth fighting for.

Something I have found inspiring over the past year has been how young people have stepped up to speak out for what is right. It gives me a lot of hope about what our young future leaders, inventors, educators, and beyond will do to leave the world better than they found it.