Brightly Appoints Karina Bautista as Senior Director of Food Systems Sustainability

Karina’s leadership will help us elevate our capabilities and further establish Brightly as a trusted partner for both food rescue organizations and corporations looking to achieve their impact goals.”

— Andy Levitt

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, February 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Brightly, a leading sustainability and carbon solutions provider focused on food systems, is proud to announce the appointment of Karina Bautista as Senior Director, Food Systems Sustainability. In

this role, Bautista will shape Brightly’s sustainability strategy, working with corporate partners and food rescue organizations to implement impactful emissions reduction solutions, enhance compliance with evolving regulations, and position Brightly as a leader in food systems innovation. She will also play a key role in expanding Brightly’s services—including insetting solutions, carbon accounting, and MRV offerings—while strengthening partnerships that drive measurable impact.

Bautista brings a wealth of expertise in climate finance, carbon markets, and food systems sustainability. Most recently, she served as Senior Program Officer, Nature-Based Innovation at Verra, where she was part of the team that developed the Methodology for Reducing Food Loss and Waste (VM0046), the very framework that Brightly follows to quantify and generate high-integrity carbon credits from food waste prevention. With a background in methodology development, greenhouse gas accounting, and sustainability program leadership, she has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of climate solutions for food systems.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Karina to Brightly,” said Andy Levitt, Founder & CEO of Brightly. “Her deep expertise in food systems, carbon markets, and sustainability strategy will be transformative for our company. As Brightly expands its work in corporate sustainability services such as carbon insetting and enhanced food waste data management, Karina’s leadership will help us elevate our capabilities and further establish Brightly as a trusted partner for both food rescue organizations and corporations looking to achieve their impact goals.”

Bautista’s career spans carbon project development, regenerative agriculture, and conservation research. In addition to her tenure at Verra, she has worked with Gold Standard, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Galápagos National Park, developing and implementing sustainability initiatives across diverse landscapes. She holds a Master’s in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and has completed specialized training in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I am excited to join Brightly, a company that is redefining how food waste is tackled as a climate solution,” said Karina Bautista. “Brightly’s innovative approach—bridging corporate sustainability with real-world food rescue efforts—represents a new frontier in climate action and food systems impact. I look forward to helping scale these solutions and driving meaningful change.”

About Brightly
Brightly works at the intersection of food systems and sustainability, driving measurable impact in the fight against food waste and climate change. Through technological innovation and meaningful collaboration, Brightly is advancing sustainable food systems for both people and the planet. Learn more at brightly.earth.