Lorraine Smith is a New-York based Associate at SustainAbility as well as an independent consultant with the purpose of shifting business to be truly regenerative. She works with leaders and leading companies to inform strategy, shape stakeholder dialogue, and challenge mindsets.

Her work includes facilitation, writing, research and other forms of connecting the dots to generate decisions that get us closer to a flourishing future. She is the co-author of two reports published by SustainAbility that explore corporate transparency and integration: Sustainability Incorporated and See Change.

Along with her work as an Associate at SustainAbility, she currently works as a researcher on the Breakthrough agenda with Volans, and is writing a book that explores the relationship between trees and people through a series of essays that explore her journeys through the world’s forests from a personal and industrial perspective.

Since 2004, she has facilitated executive engagements and external dialogue with global corporations in many sectors including agriculture, forestry, food, apparel, mining and metals, finance, retail, consumer products, and manufacturing. Additionally, Lorraine’s expertise in sustainability reporting and transparency focuses on opportunities for transparency far beyond communications, to inform meaningful decisions that bring about change.

She has held senior positions at SustainAbility, and at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, where she currently sits on the Board; she also sits on the Review Council of the Future Fit Business Benchmark. Previously she worked with World Wildlife Fund (Canada) in fundraising and communications, Compuspec (New Zealand) in logistics and customer care, and Manulife Financial (Canada) in business analysis. Lorraine speaks fluent French, as well as conversational Portuguese, German and Spanish. She graduated with an Honours BA from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick (Canada).

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Jeanne-Marie is a British barrister who has lived and worked at the interface between China and the West for over 25 years. She is best known for her work on strategies for unfamiliar issues and territories, for her convening of dialogue across dimensions and divides, and for the very human perspective that she brings to complex global questions.

Resident in Beijing from 1989, and as founder of one of the earliest China-based advisory firms, Jeanne-Marie’s early work was a pioneering series of market entry mandates in some of China’s most policy-complex sectors – from the first internet communications and stock markets to healthcare, education, natural resources, energy and climate change. Client successes were grounded on both an informing of China’s emerging policy and regulatory framework, and on the re-shaping of Western client perspectives.

Across the 2000s, addressing the combined challenges of ‘mass, rapid everything’ of China’s distinctive political and policy systems, and of China’s globalization, Jeanne-Marie supported clients in developing effective strategies for long-term value creation, in designing responses for trouble-shooting, and in anticipating and managing the spectrum of opportunities and risks, commercial, political and geopolitical, which have accompanied China’s economic rise – both within China and in home and third markets.

Since 2010, and as an integral part of her focus on fundamentals, Jeanne-Marie has focused her attention on the development and delivery of robust knowledge tools for cross-cutting and actionable insight to support global corporate and institutional decision-making.

Jeanne-Marie has been Honorary Legal Advisor to successive British Ambassadors to the PRC since 1989; she is a twice-elected past chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China and is a longstanding advisor on China strategy to a number of businesses, business leaders, and non-governmental organisations. She is a principal associate at China Policy, a board member of China Dialogue, a Senior Fellow at SOAS, and, having been an early advisor to Leaders Quest, she is now a Leaders Quest Ambassador.

Her earlier career included professional practice with both the European Commission (DG IV, Competition) and the international law firm Clifford Chance (international law and China), advisory work with the UN (legal advisor to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, including early work with the Grameen Bank) and teaching and research at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies (where she created courses on law and development, specializing in India, Africa and China.

In 2002 Jeanne-Marie received an OBE for her work on China. Her first book (China, the Human Story) will be published by Bloomsbury in 2017.

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Based in New York, Jonathan works with a diverse range of clients to understand and realize the short- and long-term benefits of incorporating sustainability issues into business strategy.

His work includes supporting clients on assessment of material sustainability issues, benchmarking against peer companies, and engaging with key stakeholders.

With several years of experience in research and analysis, Jonathan has focused his career on using science-based and business-driven solutions to improve global environmental and social issues.

Prior to joining SustainAbility, Jonathan worked at a supply chain sustainability firm, EcoVadis, where he worked with leading companies (incl. Coca-Cola, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson) to manage supplier risk, while playing an important role in ensuring alignment of methodology with best available science and international standards. He also spent some time at a sustainability consulting firm, Context America, where he worked with large corporations (incl. Citi Group, FedEx, International Flavors & Fragrances) to implement communications strategies and publish annual sustainability reports.

Jonathan also brings with him many years of experience conducting laboratory and field research in marine biology and conservation, and teaching biological sciences as a tutor, teaching assistant, and aquarium educator. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara, and a Bachelor’s in Marine Biology from UCLA.

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Based in London, Alex is a Manager working with clients on sustainability strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and embedding sustainability into core business.

Alex also supports the Engaging Stakeholders Network. She has worked across mobility, infrastructure, technology, retail, and finance/professional services sectors.

Prior to joining SustainAbility, Alex worked at Business in the Community, where she advised corporate members on sustainability issues, including impact assessment, standards and benchmarking. She also designed and facilitated stakeholder engagements.   

Alex is fluent in French, Spanish, German and Polish. She also lived and worked in China. Alex has a BA (Hons) in European Studies with French and Spanish, and an MSc in International Relations from Bristol University.  

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Based in London, Kate works across a range of projects and sectors, leading research and analysis to help clients integrate sustainability into their business.

Kate joined SustainAbility after several years at Unilever working across brand development and innovation management. Most recently she worked as a global brand manager on Dove, one of Unilever’s sustainable living brands. In this role she lead a variety of projects on brand strategy and product development: unlocking consumer insights to integrate brand purpose into product innovation and communication.

She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Value Chains from the University of Cambridge where her research focussed on circular economy business models and embedding employee commitment to sustainability.

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Based in London, Franki works across multiple work-streams, supporting SustainAbility’s consulting work, think-tank research, and business development. 

Franki joined SustainAbility from Durham University, from which she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography. Here she gained experience in research and analysis in addition to knowledge on issues relating to sustainable development and gender equality in particular. 

Prior to SustainAbility, Franki held a temporary role at an international marketing company, working particularly on business development and outreach. 

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Emily is the Office Manager for the London team.

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Based in the San Francisco area in our Oakland office, Sarah works across a range of projects and sectors, leading research and analysis to help clients integrate sustainability into their business.

Sarah joined SustainAbility after several years as a market intelligence analyst at IHS Markit, focusing on the technology sector while also leading her office’s local sustainability efforts. Prior to that, she contributed to the sustainability program at ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment, working on the environmental initiatives of both the facilities management and food and beverage businesses.

Sarah holds a BA in Environmental Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver.

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Based in London, Julien works across a range of clients and sectors to understand and realise the short and long-term benefits of incorporating sustainability issues into business strategy.

Julien joined SustainAbility after three years working across the sustainable information landscape at Unilever, helping to unlock opportunities through better measurement, analysis and insights.

In his role as Information and Analytics Manager – Sustainable Business at Unilever, he led data and analytics aspects in multiple global projects around sustainability, from design and implementation, to support for reporting capabilities as well as setting up frameworks and end-to-end processes. He implemented continuous improvements to sustainability KPIs, driving maturity and robustness to reporting processes in preparation for external assurance, and provided SME guidance in the design of new and impactful sustainability metrics.

Julien holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London, with a focus on climate change and global environmental policy, as well as three years’ management consulting experience at Accenture UK where he worked on global technology transformation projects.

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Based in our New York office, Sarah works with our clients to leverage the power of business to align business goals with environmental and social progress.

Sarah has 10 years of diverse experience implementing programs, developing strategy, and researching sustainability topics for leading nonprofit and Fortune 100 companies. Prior to SustainAbility, she advised companies on CSR reporting, strategy, and communications at Context America.

Sarah has a background in the environmental nonprofit space, including outreach and communications for The Nature Conservancy and energy efficiency with EDF Climate Corps. She holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainability Management from the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

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Based in Zurich, Peter is an acknowledged international expert and boardroom campaigner on matters of business integrity and sustainability.

For the past 20 years he has advised, and been a valued partner, of many of the world’s best-known companies, as well as public and non-profit organizations.

Today, he is member of the founding team of Globalance Bank, an independent Swiss bank who are making sustainability an integral principle of their investment strategies across all asset classes. From 1999-2010 Peter played a key role in all aspects of SustainAbility’s work, including as its firstCEO from 2001-2006, and most recently as a Non-Executive Director.

His focus has always been on strategy and implementation, including emphasis on corporate governance, accountability and stakeholder engagement. Peter is a natural bridge-builder and effective guide for decision makers, as well as an exceptional writer, speaker and facilitator of engagement processes.

Prior to joining SustainAbility, Peter served Swiss industrialist Stephan Schmidheiny, founder of the Business Council for Sustainable Development (now WBCSD), for whom he was involved in venture capital investments, as well as in the creation of AVINA, an institution that invests in sustainability leadership and social entrepreneurs in Latin America.

He also spent two years at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, D.C., and served as Director of Strategic Development of FUNDES International, where he co-managed this network for small business development in nine countries of Latin America.

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For nearly 20 years, Michael Sadowski has worked with companies to create business value through a strategic approach to sustainability issues.

Michael has been a trusted advisor to senior executives, driven change from within companies, led research and authored reports and articles, facilitated multi-stakeholder collaborations, and managed organizations and teams.

As an independent consultant, Michael is currently leading work with the World Resources Institute to develop guidance for the apparel and footwear industry on science-based climate change targets. He is also advising Closed Loop Partners in a number of areas including their investments in the apparel sector.

Before this, Michael led strategy and managed external partnerships for Nike’s Sustainable Business & Innovation team. This included managing Nike’s relationships with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the We Mean Business coalition.

Prior to Nike, Michael was a Vice President at SustainAbility, Inc. where he was a member of the management team. His clients included Barclays, BMW, Brown-Forman, Gap, Goldman Sachs, Holcim, HP, Nike, and Walmart. He played a key role in developing multi-stakeholder collaborations including the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group and the Closed Loop Fund, and researched and wrote on topics including consumer interest in sustainability, ratings and rankings, the business case for sustainability, and investor engagement.

Michael holds a BA in Economics from Columbia University and an MBA with high distinction and an MS (Environmental Policy) from the University of Michigan. Michael currently serves on the External Advisory Board for the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan, and is a Board member of DendriFund, an environmental foundation established by Brown-Forman.

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Based in London, Matt supports SustainAbility’s consulting with a focus on benchmarking and research on sustainability trends that enable clearer thinking on strategy for clients.

Prior to working with SustainAbility, Matt spent time at John Lewis Partnership and De Beers Group to produce their sustainability reports, RELX Group where he led a project on financing WASH start-ups, and Context Group where he supported clients with sustainability communications.

Matt holds an MSc in CSR from Nottingham University which involved field research in Sierra Leone and has spent time working in the food industry in both Spain and Italy.

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Based in London, Ellie is a SustainAbility associate and leads work on stakeholder engagement, trends and reporting.

She’s a sustainability consultant, researcher and writer with 10 years’ experience advising global companies on sustainability reporting and leading complex research projects. She’s supported many major brands in the UK and Europe to communicate their sustainability performance, across sectors spanning apparel, consumer goods, mining, retail and telecoms.

She started her sustainability career at WWF and has since worked at the UK Green Building Council and the sustainability consultancy, Context. Most recently, she spent four years leading KPMG’s global thought leadership agenda from its Center of Excellence for Sustainability in London and Amsterdam. There she interviewed multiple sustainability and business leaders and authored reports on transparency and reporting trends, climate change and human rights.

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Penny Walker is an independent facilitator who helps people change their organisations and sectors for the better. Her main focus is facilitating conversations which lead to collaboration, organisational change and learning, in service of sustainable development.

She’s helped people: create a research road-map for UK photovoltaics; agree where to let the sea come in; work in their communities to bring in renewables and low-carbon energy; decide whether to live together in a commune; work out how to change their organisations.

She has worked with Unilever, Network Rail, the Environment Agency, Ofgem, Greenpeace, ISEAL Alliance, the European Commission, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, helping them to have more effective conversations with friends and foes about difficult, complex subjects.

She has been a long-time tutor on the acclaimed Post-Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business programme at the University of Cambridge. She writes regularly on how sustainability people can use insights from the world of change and interpersonal skills. A second edition of her first book, Change Management for Sustainable Development, was published in 2017. She also wrote Working Collaboratively: a practical guide to achieving more (Routledge/Greenleaf, 2013). A Fellow of IEMA, Chartered Environmentalist, qualified coach and a Certified Professional Facilitator, brings her process skills to the task of building the future we want.

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Based in London, Nicola works across a range of projects and sectors, leading research and analysis to help clients integrate sustainability into their business.

Nicola joined SustainAbility from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), where she worked to develop and deliver FDF’s sustainability strategy, ‘Ambition 2025’, bringing together businesses across the food and drink manufacturing sector to reduce their environmental impact.

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Chris Guenther is a Bay Area-based Associate with SustainAbility and a freelance consultant specializing in strategic insight and the development of high-impact businesses and programs to advance sustainability.​

​For nearly 15 years, Chris has led research, strategy, stakeholder dialogue and reporting engagements with leading companies in the automotive, energy, ICT, food & beverage and other industries, frequently maintaining client relationships for many years. He is an exceptional systems thinker and analyst, skilled at seeing the connections between micro- and macro-scale issues, understanding the perspectives of diverse stakeholders, evaluating strategic options, and crafting programs and approaches to unlock greater value for all concerned.

Chris was previously a senior consultant and Research Director at SustainAbility, where he helped to shape the field’s thinking on diverse topics including corporate sustainability leadership, transparency, business model innovation, multi-stakeholder collaboration, urbanization and more. Over the years, he has co-authored and/or played key roles in numerous SustainAbility publications and research series including The Social Intrapraneur, Rate the Raters, Citystates, Changing Tack, Model Behavior, The GlobeScan-SustainAbility Survey and Orchestrating Change.

He was also previously the US Director for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, where he was responsible for​ ​educating and catalyzing circular economy leaders across sectors in the US and enabling the Foundation to better leverage US stakeholders across its international programs. Chris also draws on previous experience as a grassroots campaign director and fundraiser, a systems administrator, web programmer, graphic designer and production manager. He graduated with ​a ​Master’s degrees in business and natural resources from the University of Michigan and ​has ​a Bachelor’s​ ​in English from Vassar College.

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Based in London, Kate works across a range of projects and sectors, leading research and analysis to help clients integrate sustainability into their business.

Kate joined SustainAbility after several years at Unilever working across brand development and innovation management. Most recently she worked as a global brand manager on Dove, one of Unilever’s sustainable living brands. In this role she lead a variety of projects on brand strategy and product development: unlocking consumer insights to integrate brand purpose into product innovation and communication.

She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Value Chains from the University of Cambridge where her research focussed on circular economy business models and embedding employee commitment to sustainability.

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Terry Nelidov serves as Managing Director of the Erb Institute, the business-sustainability partnership between the Ross School of Business and the School for Environment & Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan.

Erb Institute faculty, researchers, students and business partners work together to “create a sustainable world through the power of business”.

Terry came to the University of Michigan from BSR, where he worked with client companies to integrate sustainability into company strategy and operations across project in the US, Central America and Asia. Terry began his career in Business Marketing at Pacific Bell in San Francisco, and then went on to serve as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. He spent 15 years living and working across Central and South America, as Founding Director of INCAE Business School’s Business Leadership for Sustainable Development Network in Costa Rica, as General Manager for AmeriCasas (a land-development start-up in El Salvador), and then Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services in Peru.

Terry holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. His languages include native English, as well as Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani (Paraguay).

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Based in the San Francisco Area, Erika works on a diverse set of projects, leading research and analysis to help clients integrate sustainability into their business.

Prior to joining SustainAbility, Erika worked in corporate energy at Akamai Technologies developing energy efficiency projects across the company and supporting multi-stakeholder renewable energy procurement initiatives. As a consultant for General Electric, she created a framework to analyze GE’s freshwater impact and update its 2020 water goals and strategies.

Erika also has experience in environmental policy analysis and implementation as both a research analyst for NASA and a public policy think tank. She has a strong background in statistics and big data, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches in environmental problem-solving.

In her free time, Erika enjoys hiking, baking, painting, skiing and exploring museums.

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