LEADERSHIP
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Wood , Chief Executive at Adnams and Professor of Corporate Leadership at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ). “ Back then , it started the Adnams Charity , latterly known as the Adnams Charitable Trust , whereby it donates 1 % of its profits to that charitable trust . That ’ s distributed by a separate board of trustees to deserving causes within a 25-mile radius of Southwold .” The seaside town with which Adnams has become synonymous has also served as inspiration for its rigorous sustainability initiatives . “ It ’ s perched right on the east coast , almost as far east as you can get in the UK , and it ’ s very elemental ,” explains Wood . “ We see the rise and fall of the North Sea every day ; if rising sea levels coincide with a North Sea surge and a spring tide , some of our pubs get flooded , beach huts get washed away on the seafront . That ’ s what connects us with the environment , really .”
As consumers increasingly demand and seek out products manufactured sustainably , companies with a head start in this area are in a prime position to marry environmental and social ethics with profitability . Wood says Adnams is reaping the benefits of its
NOVEMBER 2019