Our Board

Paul has over 40 years of practical experience in environmental management, policy development and regulation.Paul joined Cranfield in 2015 as Professor of Environmental Assessment. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and before that had been Executive Director of Operations and Executive Director of Environment and Business at the EA. Paul worked in the private sector for over 20 years, before joining the EA, for companies including SmithKline Beecham, BP and Schering Agrochemicals.

He has a particular interest in translating research into effective policy, regulatory, operational and governance measures and in natural capital and ecosystem service approaches to environmental management.

He chairs the bpha housing association and the Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership. He is a member of the government’s Natural Capital Committee and a non-executive director of Flood Re, Delphic HSE and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Paul has a BSc in chemistry and a PhD in environmental engineering both from Imperial College, London and an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management.He is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and of the Royal Society of Chemistry and is a chartered environmentalist and a chartered chemist.

Louise is Managing Director of Human Rights and Sustainability consultancy Suseco.org. Previously she worked for M&S, most recently as Corporate Head of Human Rights, Food sustainability and Food Packaging. She led M&S Corporate Human Rights programme for over 18 years from inception to their approach being consistently recognised for its leadership; Top of UK FTSE 100 modern slavery statements 2016, 2017, 2018 see Business and Human Rights Resource centre commentary and in global Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. She brings a broad breadth of understanding on modern slavery, from realities of supply chain implementation, to awareness raising from board to shop floor and in driving stakeholder coalitions, having played a key role in the development of UK licencing Authority; Gangmaster Licensing Abuse Authority (GLAA) and in championing for the UK modern slavery Act.

Louise is a fellow of Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and was also been part of M&S Food technology leadership team for over 26 years where she leads a fantastic team of Food sustainability and Award winning Packaging experts supporting buying teams and supply chain on a day to day basis with issues as diverse as Plastics, Food waste, Water stewardship, Fairtrade, Lean manufacturing and sustainable raw material procurement. She was instrumental in development of Sedex sitting on the board for 16 years and chairing Sedex stakeholder forum (SSF) establishing SMETA, globally the most widely used ethical trade audit methodology. In addition Louise has held Board positions at the Ethical Trading Initiative, LOCOG Stakeholder oversight board, Consumer Goods Forum and is currently a trustee of the Bread and Butter thing and a director of IEMA.

Ian has considerable experience of working at a senior director level (both Executive and Non-Executive) in a wide range of organisations, including Leading Multinationals, Small Businesses, Start Ups and Universities.

In the past 20 years he has sat on the UK management teams of Dell and Bull Informations Systems where he reported to the CEO.

He is also the founder and director of a USA based services business and the founder and principal consultant of two businesses working with companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Xerox and Hewlett Packard, where he advised on strategic marketing and sales activities.

He has also had responsibility for the full range of business performance activities including financial management, leadership and governance

Ian has a long standing interest in environmental issues and has a full time leadership position at the Centre of Industrial Sustainability which was founded in 2011.

Teach and research on Environmental Technology and sustainability with particular reference to waste (circular economy) and energy management, and the use of environmental management systems and regulation.

Director of the Environmental Technologies iNet

Lead £2.4m European joint programme with other universities and partners to support enterprising businesses develop innovative environmental technologies in the construction, transport, waste and energy industries.

Develop strategy for the largest UK environmental professional body, providing environmental practitioners with the knowledge, skills and tools to ensure sound environmental performance delivers real business benefit. IEMA has over 15,000 individual and corporate members based in 83 countries in the public, private and non-governmental sectors.

Director and Chair of Evaluation Group, Bristol Green Capital Partnership

Chair of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership from November 2011 to December 2013 and part of the team and wider community which secured and delivered the title of European Green Capital 2015 for the City of Bristol. Committed to achieving a successful Bristol Green Capital 2015 and the benefits and changes for many years after. The Partnership is a network of over 750 business, community groups, universities and other organisations committed to making Bristol a low carbon sustainable city with a high quality of life for all.

Project Lead, World Bank Programme

Worked with governments, local authorities and communities in the Middle East and Central Asia on environmental issues and regulation.

Previously Head of Industry and Waste Regulation, Environment Agency, England and Wales

Provided vision, policies, national business leadership, strategic direction and delivered regulation of the manufacturing, energy and waste industries in England and Wales. Worked with UK and EU governments to develop policies and guidance for the EU Industrial Emissions Directive and Environmental Permitting. Responsible for the direction and competency of 500 staff and £75m budget, targets and performance.

Richard is a lecturer in accounting and finance at West Suffolk College with a primary interest in the business case for sustainability. Previously, he was head of finance and sustainability at Adnams plc, the award-winning brewery and distillery based in Southwold, famous for its eco-distribution centre, its energy efficient brewhouse and its 240,000 honey bees. Under Richard's tenure, Adnams won 15 major awards for their sustainability achievements, all of which were linked to clear financial business cases.

Richard holds a first class accounting degree from the University of Wales and is a chartered management accountant. He held a series of commercial finance and controller roles at BT before joining Adnams.

Outside of work, Richard is on the board of the National Trust / Ashden's Fit for the Future network and the ICAEW's sustainability committee.

Simon has been involved in the energy recovery, recycling and waste industry for over 25 years, originally joining Blue Circle Waste Management in 1991. Since the acquisition by what is now Viridor in 1995, Simon led all the Human Resources, Health & Safety, Environmental Compliance, Training & Development and Sustainability processes of the business thus positioning it as one of the leading UK companies in the sector. He was appointed to the Viridor Board in 2010 and held the position of HR and Regulatory Director. Simon retired from Viridor at the end of 2016 and is now an independent HR Consultant.

He was also a Trustee Director on two Pension Trustee Boards and the Chairman and Trustee of a third scheme.

Simon was the industry spokesperson on skills, development and sector attractiveness and a non-executive director of Energy and Utility Skills Ltd. He also chaired the Waste Management, Recycling & Resource Recovery Industry Skills Initiative (WRRISKI), is a Trustee Director for Viridor Credits (an Environmental Body).

Before his time at Blue Circle Simon spent many years with ICI, primarily in their Plant Protection Division, prior to which he worked in private, small to medium sized enterprises.

Simon is Master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators and is a Freeman of the City of London. He is married with two daughters and lives in Hampshire.

Eileen began her career in communications and marketing, very quickly moved from the world of consumer branding and FMCG to the not-for-profit sector. During her ten years in the sector she not only used her skills to raise large sums of money for national charities, but she also worked on the sector’s largest corporate accounts (e.g. BAE Systems and Tesco) and events (e.g. London Marathon).

She later joined the Virgin Group and set up their Global Sustainability function. Over the six years at Virgin, Eileen developed an appropriate approach for a celebrity-led, global superbrand and its operating companies, balancing sufficient policy direction with the flexibility needed for companies operating in diverse sectors and different geographical territories globally. She advised the board on a wide range of sustainability issues and was responsible for the Virgin Group’s first awarding winning sustainability report.

Eileen then spread her wings, taking head of roles at Anglian Water, Tomorrow’s Company and the John Lewis Partnership.

She then returned to the world of FMCG in her role as Director of Sustainability and Communications at PZ Cussons International where she created and implemented a sustainability strategy appropriate for a multinational business operating in both mature and emerging markets. She had a particular focus on creating and launching a palm oil strategy, including supply chain mapping, smallholder investment, NGO and investor engagement. Not only did she write the corporate narrative on palm oil, she the company's sustainability spokesperson on 'hot topics'.

Safia has worked on Senior Executive Teams including working as Director of Transformation and retains a comprehensive understanding around transformative change.

Safia had also trained and practised as a Barrister for around 10 years. She has previously advised and advocated for organisations from a variety of public and private sectors and is currently an Honorary Door Tenant at 23 Essex Street Chambers, focussing on her work with GCM.

Safia is founder of GCM a global advisory group working to increase conscious capability and excellence in organisations and society. Working with those seeking a deeper understanding around social impact, connectivity, purpose and those committed to transformative organisational change. GCM also promotes awareness and seeks to improve conscious capability through collaboration, dialogue and uniquely curated events.

Shaun McCarthy is an independent advisor, author and speaker in the field of sustainable business policy and practice.

He has been a leader in sustainable supply chain management for 20+ years; having instigated much of today’s best practice.

He also pioneered a unique assurance programme over the sustainability of the London 2012 Olympics.

He was awarded an OBE, for services to sustainability and the London Olympics, by Her Majesty the Queen in her 2013 birthday honours list.

His current and recent portfolio includes:

• Director, Action Sustainability (2006 -), a niche consultancy business with a social enterprise mission to inspire sustainable supply chain management www.actionsustainability.com
• Chair, Supply Chain School (2012-), a collaborative initiative in the UK and Australian construction industry to build competence of the supply chain www.supplychainschool.co.uk www.offsiteschool.co.uk www.supplychainschool.org.au
• Advisor, Transport for London (2007-16), expert advisor to the non-executive Safety and Sustainability panel,
• Advisor – Rail Safety Standards Board and Department for Transport (2015-15), advising on incorporation of sustainable standards in national rail franchises
• Advisor, Tarmac (2013-), part of an expert panel advising the executive team on long term sustainability issues
• Director, Greenshoots Foundation (2010-), an innovative charity mitigating the carbon emissions of a major corporation and delivering local social benefits
• Chair, Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (2006-13), a ground breaking assurance body directly advising the Mayor of London and Olympics Minister www.cslondon.org

Shaun has over 20 years senior management experience with large companies and 10 years’ experience as an independent advisor to a wide variety of corporations and governments around the world.

Tim Balcon is Chief Executive of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). With considerable expertise in education and professional skills and leading organisations, Tim is leading IEMA towards achieving its global ambitions.

Tim joined IEMA in 2013 and since then has created a new vision for IEMA (transforming the world to sustainability), and has implemented many changes, leading to both greater value for IEMA’s members and a stronger more influential market position for the organisation.

He is an experienced Chief Executive and has led previous organisations from start-up, to rapid growth and through to high performance, in multiple sectors including energy, utility and education.

His previous appointments include Chief Executive of Energy and Utility Skills (EU Skills Group) which encompasses the National Skills Academy for Power and Chief Executive of GWINTO (Gas and Water Industries Training Organisation).

He recently completed a 6-year tenure as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Ofqual.

He has also held numerous other Non-Executive positions and is a past President of the Institute of Water.

Martin Baxter leads on IEMA's policy and external engagement activity. He works in the UK, and internationally, to support the transition to a low carbon, resource efficient, and sustainable economy.

Martin is a regular media spokesperson on a range of business sustainability topic areas. He has extensive experience of networking and communicating at all levels, including with senior parliamentarians, Government officials, business leaders, and academia.

Martin has national and international experience in developing and negotiating global and European standards and developing capacity for effective and widespread implementation. He is chair of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) sub-committee on environmental management systems and head of the UK delegation. Martin represents the UK on the European Commission Eco-Management and Audit Scheme regulatory committee.

Martin is a board member of IEMA and also the Society for the Environment (SocEnv), where he chairs the SocEnv Registration Authority. He is a Fellow of IEMA and the RSA, and a Chartered Environmentalist.