THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
Making sustainability a boardroom growth agenda Tate & Lyle’ s validated sciencebased targets on greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water and regenerative agriculture are backed by a detailed pathway showing how it will be delivered, including the required capital investment and operational changes. While those pathways are flexible enough to adjust as technologies, markets and regulations evolve, they are robust enough to give the board confidence.
“ Board buy-in is about having credible, economically beneficial projects that are clearly part of your strategy,” Rowan says.
At a pectin plant near Copenhagen, one project has already cut emissions and energy use by 6 %, with another multimillion-dollar investment set to reduce energy consumption and emissions by a further 20 %.
The sustainability projects that make it into Tate & Lyle’ s five-year capital plan are those that also improve efficiency, strengthen supply chain resilience and, in many cases, deliver attractive returns on investment.
That integrated thinking extends to acquisitions. When Tate & Lyle acquired CP Kelco, a leading hydrocolloids producer sourcing from citrus peel, seaweed and other crops, sustainability performance formed a core part of due diligence. “ We look at the sustainability strategy and programme of any business we buy, just as closely as the financials,” Rowan explains.
“Companies know that if they are not serious about sustainability, in 10 or 20 years they may no longer have a viable business”
Rowan Adams, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer Tate & Lyle
22 February 2026