THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
Rowan Adams has spent almost 25 years at Tate & Lyle, the global food ingredients and solutions business supplying customers in around 120 countries. Over that time, he has watched the company evolve from a traditional sugar business into a partner helping brands reduce sugar, calories and environmental impact in their products.
Today, Rowan is the company’ s Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, a dual role that puts him at the nexus of strategy, reputation and climate action. “ What’ s really important is that sustainability is part of the company’ s purpose – and it is one of our core pillars,” Rowan says.
Developing the sustainability function at Tate & Lyle The sustainability function at Tate & Lyle today was born out of a“ futureback” leadership exercise asking what the world, and the business, should look like in 2030 and what it would take to succeed responsibly. Climate change was recognised as a critical risk and opportunity, particularly given Tate & Lyle’ s heavy reliance on agricultural supply chains.
Tate & Lyle has since secured 1.5 degrees aligned science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets from the Science Based Targets initiative. The business has also set public targets for waste and water and, crucially, embedded those ambitions into capital planning, innovation and M & A decisions. “ The thing I’ m most proud of is that sustainability is now a core part of our strategy and everything we do,” Rowan says.
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