By Claire Manuel with thanks to Miriam Heale, Allen & York Recruitment

Appointment of the month

Fox says: “Sustainability sits at the intersection between business and ethics. The environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment landscape is a natural fit for how I see the world. If you think about the past decade, sustainability has moved from the fringe to the centre of investor policy agenda. The structural challenges and opportunities presented by climate change, water scarcity and other ESG considerations matter to investors. 

“When starting out, I spent two months as Generation Investment Management’s first intern, which was an extraordinary opportunity to learn from thought leaders focused on integrating sustainability within the investment process. I then joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst to develop GS Sustain, a framework for integrating ESG analysis with fundamental equity research. I moved to New York to establish the product in North America, travelling across the US and Canada to advise investors on integrating sustainability. Along the way, I served on the advisory council to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

“In my new role, I hope to galvanise the financial community by raising awareness and broadening investor participation in CDP programmes. The ultimate goal is to raise sustainability to the CEO and board level of the 600-plus financial institutions from across the globe that have signed up.”

The International Sustainability Alliance (ISA) has appointed Markus Reinert as an ISA director and member of its board. Reinert is a partner and head of property and asset management and investor services at Cushman & Wakefield EMEA, the global property consultant. 

Marion Birnstill is to join the CSR department of Johnson & Johnson. She was formerly a consultant with Hill and Knowlton.  

Twickenham Stadium has boosted its sustainability programme by appointing a full-time sustainability manager, Dru Morton, and launching a three-year strategy. Morton was formerly an energy and sustainability consultant for Johnson Controls, where he worked with a range of clients including IBM, Barclays and the BBC. 

Morton says: “My first full-time job was as an operational support grade at Shepton Mallet Prison, supervising contractors around the prison, ensuring all health and safety, security and work waste management procedures were adhered to. I was then accepted onto Johnson Controls’ European graduate scheme and given a placement in Global Workplace Solutions’ IBM account to learn about facilities management.

“Energy management and environmental reporting were becoming a significant aspect of the account and I was asked to take on a role developing our environmental management plans across the portfolio. After three years, I moved to its new global energy solutions division, where I was involved in several contracts to manage energy-saving plans and deliver retrofit projects.

“I was attracted to this sector because of the problem-solving nature of sustainability – trying to find ways to cut demand, reduce waste while growing your business. I enjoy the challenges and the range of opportunities sustainable development presents.

“When the opportunity to work for the RFU at Twickenham Stadium arose, I jumped at the chance to work in a field I’ve always dreamed of working in. I want to make the RFU a sustainability leader among sporting bodies. We will do this by driving down the environmental impact of the stadium by implementing an environmental management system that fosters innovation and continuous improvement, engaging with our suppliers, partners and fans to get them involved in the process. And, importantly, as a governing body, I want to help our community clubs to follow our example by providing advice and guidance.”

Dr Ignacio Campino will join the board of directors of the Desertec Foundation in August. Campino was formerly head of sustainability and climate protection at Deutsche Telekom.

New Zealand-based company carboNZero Holdings, a provider of internationally accredited carbon footprint certifications, has hired Chris Rook as marketing manager. Prior to his appointment, Rook worked for Vodafone Group and Vodafone UK.

Sir Alasdair Breckenridge has been confirmed as chair of the newly established Emerging Science and Bioethics Advisory Committee at the UK’s Department of Health. The committee will be responsible for providing advice to UK health departments on emerging healthcare scientific developments and their ethical, legal, social and economic implications. Breckenridge is also chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Bas Ruter is now director of sustainability at Rabobank Netherlands. The former Dutch politician founded Dutch Sustainability Research, which evolved into ESG research firm Sustainalytics. He was also managing director of Triodos Investment Management.

Lord Smith of Kelvin will be the new chair of UK Green Investment Bank (GIB). He is currently chair of SSE and The Weir Group. Sir Adrian Montague has been appointed as deputy chair and senior independent director. He is chair of several companies, including 3i and Anglian Water Group, has been chairing the GIB Advisory Group and has been closely involved with the development of the bank. 

The Climate Markets and Investment Association (CMIA) has appointed new regional representatives in Australia and North America. Australian carbon market expert Jennifer Lauber Patterson is head of Australia and New Zealand and John Wunderlin is associate – North America. Lauber Patterson is co-founder and executive director of Frontier Carbon, a non-executive director of Yarra Energy Foundation and on the advisory board of the Australia Carbon Market Institute. Wunderlin recently graduated from NYU Law School and has extensive policy and regulatory experience.

Bernie Ross has joined CH2M Hill as global leader for social assessment. Ross has worked as a policy consultant for the World Bank, UNDP, UNHCR, GTZ and as project manager for NGOs such as the Red Cross and Save the Children across developing countries in Africa and Asia. Latterly he worked for global consultancy RSK as their principal social economic consultant. 

Ross says: “After graduating, my first jobs were with NGOs in various African countries – Save the Children and the Red Cross, in east and central Africa. The work gave me invaluable experience of the ‘muddy boots’ end of the business, an appreciation of the complexities of poverty in developing countries and the communities that can be on the receiving end (both good and bad) of the impacts created by businesses. 

“Since then I’ve worked on development policy issues with various United Nations agencies and the World Bank, before moving into the private sector, largely in the oil and gas sector, and still with a focus on developing countries. In my new role, I’m hoping to assist more companies that genuinely want to operate responsibly, benefiting society as a whole, and with a view to enhancing socially sustainable and ethical investment and development in deprived communities.”

James Whale is the new director of advisory services at Thomas Reuters Point Carbon. Whale has held multiple directorships, including roles as chairman and CEO of the Sustainable Growth Group.

Climate Change Capital has been acquired by agribusiness giant Bunge. Alfred Evans, chief investment officer for the Bunge Emissions Group, will become the CEO of the London-based environmental asset manager.

Prof Terry Dawson, SAGES chair in global environmental change at the University of Dundee, has been appointed to a new national panel representing the UK on matters of biodiversity. He is one of 15 scientists and geographers from across the country selected for the UK National Committee for Biodiversity, which will advise on matters related to biodiversity and represent the UK in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems and other international biodiversity initiatives.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has appointed Naomi Baum as chief operating officer and Ethan Rogers as senior manager. Baum has more than 20 years of experience in the US Senate, working on a wide range of policy issues – most recently as executive director of the congressional oversight panel. Rogers joins ACEEE from the Purdue University technical assistance programme in Indiana.

US biomass company Cool Planet Energy Systems has appointed Howard Janzen as president and CEO, with Michael Bukowski stepping into the role of vice-president of fuel production. Janzen was most recently CEO of One Communications while Bukowski spent 14 years at Sunoco.

FTSE Group has established an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Service Unit and made two senior appointments: Kevin Bourne and Gordon Morrison. Bourne will be managing director of the newly structured unit, which will comprise the existing Responsible Investment team headed by David Harris, as well as a new ESG Analytics team to be headed by Morrison. Previously Bourne and Morrison were the founders of LCE Risk, an ESG research firm that pioneered the development of quantitative tools to measure and model the global economic transition to a low carbon economy.