Sustainability Expertise

I have a strong understanding of, and passion for, sustainability. My experience in sustainability includes the following:

Trustee, New Economics Foundation (March 2022-present)
As a trustee I sit on NEF’s board, with diverse responsibilities including: working effectively with other trustees and staff to ensure NEF is well governed, working to its charitable objectives and accountable to its stakeholders; supporting the other board members with key governance issues related to financial management; funding and fund-raising; and business engagement, relationship management and cross-sector partnerships. I chair the Communications and Campaigns Liaison Group, and I am a member of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Advisory board member, Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Inclusive Economies Advisory Group (July 2023-present) 
The Inclusive Economies Advisory Group advises, supports and advocates for Thomson Reuters Foundation with the goal of strengthening its inclusive economies offerings and maximising their impact

Advisory board member, Sustainable Brands Turkey Global Advisory Board (July 2023-present) 
For over 17 years, Sustainable Brands Worldwide has been the vanguard of brands enabling business and society to thrive in harmony with nature. I am part of the Global Advisory Board that advises SB Turkey, which is now in its 11th year as of 2023.

Judge, Reuters Events Responsible Business Awards (August 2023-present)
My categories included Social Impact; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Partnership of the Year.

Faculty member, “Food & Sustainability” Certificate Program, European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability (April 2021 – April 2023)
This course is designed for students and professionals who are passionate about food and sustainability. It is meant for people who are aware that if we continue to produce, distribute and consume food the way we currently do, there will be a devastating impact on our health and that of our planet.

Senior rapporteur, World Water Week (August/September 2022)
In addition to being a speaker at World Water Week, I provided advice to the junior rapporteurs on the key takeaways from the sessions and helped to review their final reports.

Advisory Committee Member, Global Environment Outlook for Business, UN Environment Programme (November 2019 – April 2022)
As member of the advisory committee I provided regular advice on the development of the publication and any related outreach products. This includes providing input into and guidance on the annotated outline of the GEO for Business as well as guidance on the work plan and timeline for the development of the publication.

Editorial Director, The Sustainability Project (September 2021-May 2023)
Economist Impact’s Sustainability Project is a platform for engagement, analysis and debate, convening and actively engaging global stakeholders with the power to effect real change. It has won a Webby Award for “Best Writing (Editorial)” in the People’s Voice awards (Websites and Mobile Sites category). Dubbed “The Oscars of the Internet”, the Webby Awards honour the Best of the Internet each year.

Project Director, Ending hunger: the role of agri-food financing (November 2022-May 2023)
Economist Impact study, sponsored by CGIAR, identifies strategies to increase the volume and impact of financing for agri-food systems, with the goal of accelerating progress towards zero hunger.

Project Director, Pushing back, moving forward (June 2022-December 2022)
Economist Impact study, supported by WTW, that aims to understand the criticisms of the concept of ESG and use them to improve and strengthen it and its application. 

Project Director, Progress and profit: How consumer companies will scale sustainability through collaboration (January 2022-October 2022)
A survey-based study by Economist Impact and supported by EY that explores the extent of collaboration among companies in the retail and consumer-products industries on collective challenges they face in implementing sustainability measures.

Project Director, Reimagining economics for a carbon-constrained world (March 2022-September 2022)
A series of articles and op-eds bringing the biggest debates on the role of sustainability in business and economic growth to life.

Project Director and Host, Inside the Circle (January-May 2022)
A podcast series supported by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, covering the transition to circular plastics, food, fashion and cities.

Project Director, Mobilising the global investment chain for social impact (January-June 2022)
Economist Impact study, supported by SIX Swiss Exchange, to explore the progress being made through corporate-investor collaboration, as well as revealing the challenges that remain and the other stakeholders whose participation is essential.

Project Director, The ESG conundrum: How investors and companies can find common purpose in ESG (June 2021-February 2022)
Economist Impact study, supported by Baillie Gifford, that is based on two global surveys—one of asset owners and one of companies.

Project Director, Food Sustainability Index (October 2017-January 2022)
Developed by Economist Impact with the support of the Barilla Foundation, the Food Sustainability Index examines how food systems are performing across three pillars: food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture, and nutritional challenges. The project won the “brand and media owner partnership” category at the World Media Awards 2018. As editorial lead I developed an editorial agenda to secure continued coverage of food-sustainability issues linked to key events, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, World Water Day and World Environment Day. As part of the influencer engagement I secured the contribution of thought leaders such as Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general; José Graziano da Silva, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN; and Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.

Project Director, Getting to Net-Zero (January-December 2021)
To assess the progress of companies towards net-zero, and to understand how they are tackling roadblocks along the way, I led Economist Impact’s team that conducted a survey of 500 global business leaders from a variety of sectors and from small, medium-sized and large companies in March 2021, conducted a literature review and in-depth interviews and convened an advisory board of experts to discuss the research. The study was sponsored by HSBC. It also includes a series of business leader blogs that allow leading companies share best practices in their endeavours to reach net-zero.

Project Director, rEV Index (June-December 2021)
Produced by Economist Impact and supported by bp, the rEV Index assesses 40 UK regions and subnations on their readiness for EVs, and compares the UK’s scores with those leading EV markets—including China and European countries. The findings show the progress that has been made, and highlight the key priorities to accelerate the next stages of the EV transition.

Project Director, Rethinking plastics in a circular economy (March-October 2021)
A research programme produced by Economist Impact and supported by Dow that assesses advanced plastic recycling technologies.

Project Director, 12 decarbonising technologies for cities (June-November 2021)
Produced by Economist Impact and sponsored by Osborne Clarke, this research identifies technologies that can help cities achieve their carbon-emission targets while also creating jobs, lowering energy costs for residents, and improving overall quality of life.

Project Director, Plant-based proteins: Building a sustainable future (October 2020-April 2021)
A research programme that identifies the most sustainable, nutritional and commercially viable plant-based proteins in three regions around the world over the next three to five years.

Project Director, Sustainable Infrastructure (July 2018–August 2019)
Developed for UNOPS, the project focused on the critical role of infrastructure for the Sustainable Development Goals. The research used three pillars—the economy, the environment and wider society—as well as the overarching theme of resilience through which to assess the role of infrastructure in meeting global social and environmental goals. The main output was a digital essay aimed at decision-makers and launched for Davos 2019. A series of blogs by influencers from the European Commission, World Bank, the private sector and civil society added context and amplified the research findings.

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