Melissa leads the advocacy work for Unilever’s forests agenda. Together with others in the industry, Unilever has committed to achieving zero net deforestation associated with four commodities – palm oil, soy, paper and board, and beef – no later than 2020. Melissa works with partners and through the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 and the Consumer Goods Forum to ensure this is a reality in Unilever’s supply chain.
In December 2015 at the COP 21 Paris climate agreement, Unilever signalled an intent to preferentially source from jurisdictions that take a ‘Produce Protect’ approach and this is a current area of focus for Melissa.
Before this, Melissa led the external communications for Unilever’s global supply chain, covering sustainable sourcing of Unilever’s top 10 commodities and sustainable manufacturing.
Prior to this Melissa was Sustainability Communications Manager at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. And before this she worked for one of the UK’s leading communications’ agencies operating at a strategic level on sustainability communications campaigns to position clients such as WWF, HSBC, The Woodland Trust and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Additional experience includes working with the Green Party in New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, New Zealand.
