Navigating the Sustainable Path

Verity Lawson is a highly skilled sustainability leader with over 16 years’ experience in corporate sustainability in multinational food and consumer-goods companies. She is Group Head of Sustainability for SSP Group plc, where she leads the global sustainability strategy across 36 countries and more than 550 brands focused on addressing the Group’s impacts and working in collaboration to drive positive change across the food travel sector.

Verity is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS) with specialist expertise in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues across global business operations, brands and supply chains. She has a deep understanding of ESG best practice, international standards and frameworks and emerging trends, with a proven track record of developing and embedding sustainability strategies and initiatives that deliver business results, and meet the expectations of investors, customers, clients and other key stakeholders.

1. Could you provide an overview of your role and responsibilities within the company?

I am the Group Head of Sustainability for SSP Group plc - a leading operator of restaurants, bars, cafes and other food and beverage outlets in travel locations across 36 countries.

I am responsible for leading and coordinating the management and delivery of our sustainability strategy, focused on three key pillars of product, planet and people, across our global business. Needless to say this is a pretty big remit! It covers a wide breadth of issues - from reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, food waste and plastic packaging; to promoting human rights, diversity and inclusion, and safety and wellbeing. It also extends across many different geographies, from North America, the UK and Europe, to Asia and the Middle East, each of which have their own unique local circumstances.

2. What are some of the key challenges you face?

Sustainability can be a complex and constantly evolving discipline. I have worked in the field for over 16-years, and have seen it move from a ‘niche’ area that was often seen as a cost of doing business, to a mainstream strategic priority that is key to long-term business success.

The pace of change is rapid, with new issues, standards, regulations and best practices continually emerging. It’s a big challenge and quite overwhelming to keep on top of all these changes and to keep my knowledge and capabilities up-to-date. Luckily, I’m a bit of a geek, who loves research, immersing myself in a whole new topic and learning new skills.

I’ve spent the last year working on developing our plan to achieve SSP’s ambitious target for net zero GHG emissions across its value chain (Scopes 1,2 and 3) by 2040. Making sure this is in line with the latest climate scienceand goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C is vital. So, I’m particularly proud that SSP’s net zero target has recently been verified by the ScienceBased Targets initiative.

Undergoing that process was a big challenge in itself, but now we are facing the even bigger challenge of making it happen. With nearly 90% of our total footprint sitting in our Scope 3 value chain, where we don’t have direct control, this is a massive undertaking. So, catalysing the whole organisation around our net zero mission is crucial – from how we source our ingredients and design our menus, to working in collaboration with our suppliers, clients and brand partners.

3. What would you say are some of the futuristic trends that will have an impact in the next 18-24 months?

There’s so much happening in this space currently, it’s hard to predict.

We are certainly seeing more innovation and investment than ever before in finding solutions to some of the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. There’s alsoa growing body of evidence on the inter-relation between different issues and how they can be addressed holistically. For example, a shift to diets that are rich in plants and wholegrains, with fewer and better animal proteins, can deliver a triple-win for climate, nature and people’s health.

“Sustainability can be a complex and constantly evolving discipline. I have worked in the field for over 16-years, and have seen it move from a ‘niche’ area that was often seen as a cost of doing business, to a mainstream strategic priority that is key to long-term business success.”

I’ve no doubt emerging technologies will play a crucial role too in enabling a shift to net zero and nature-positive farming and food production. I’m personally very excited about the potential for AI and blockchains to give us full traceability and transparency across food supply chains. Having the ability totrace the journey of all our food from farm to fork will be a game-changer in supporting livelihoods, ensuring ethical and sustainable practices, reducing food waste and enhancing efficiency.

4. What advice would you give to young professionals who are interested in pursuing a similar career, and what qualities do you think are essential for success in this field?

There’s no standard career path when it comes to sustainability or even role within it. The profession is as diverse as the many topics it covers, creating a wealth of opportunities in different specialisms, sectors and working environments. What’s common is that you need to have a genuine passion and curiosity for what you’re doing, and be open to taking risks, trying something new and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.

Being part of a wider sustainability community is the single most important thing that’s helped me throughout my career. Whether that’s team members in your organisation; a professional network, such as the Institute of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability; or informal catch-ups with people working in similar roles for other organisations. And, yes, that includes people working for your competitors too.

Whether you’re contemporaries, a mentee or mentor, I can’t emphasise enough the value of having fellow sustainability-geeks to talk to, learn from, and bounce-off ideas with. The challenges we’re dealing with are far too big to address in isolation!