Building a Better Food System

Driving Impact from Strategy to Execution

As Head of Sustainability for Kerry North America, my role centers on driving our sustainability strategy across the region in alignment with our global commitments. That means working cross-functionally and end-to-end with operations, procurement, R&D and commercial teams to embed sustainability into decision-making at every level. My focus areas include reducing our environmental footprint—particularly in emissions, water and waste—while advancing sustainable sourcing and supporting our customers in achieving their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. It’s about creating shared value: delivering nutrition in a better way for people, the planet and society.

Making Eco-Efficiency the New Operational Benchmark

Sustainable operations mean being eco-efficient, consistent and resilient. Often, it starts with getting the fundamentals right before pursuing transformational change. First and foremost, we prioritize people's safety and food safety. From there, we focus on optimizing operations for eco-efficiency and driving continuous improvement. This involves evaluating key metrics like energy and water intensity, waste generation and emissions per production unit. Through internal benchmarking, we identify performance hotspots and uncover opportunities for improvement. Some of the most effective strategies I’ve seen include optimizing heat recovery systems, investing in water reduction technologies and leveraging automation to minimize material loss. In many cases, sustainability and cost-effectiveness go hand in hand—reducing waste or improving energy efficiency often leads to measurable financial benefits.

Where Food Tech Meets Sustainability Goals

These technologies are transforming the food landscape and are essential to the broader sustainability conversation. Innovations like cellular agriculture, plant-based proteins and lab-grown foods offer promising pathways to reduce the environmental footprint of traditional animal agriculture, particularly in terms of land use, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. At Kerry, we see our role as enabling innovation, whether through delivering taste and texture solutions for plant-based products or supporting clean-label development in emerging categories. The key is ensuring these solutions are scalable, accessible and aligned with evolving consumer health, nutrition and sustainability expectations. At the same time, we recognize the importance of supporting the regenerative transition of conventional agricultural systems. While we can’t predict the exact shape of the future, a resilient and sustainable food system will likely require a thoughtful blend of regenerative agriculture and cellular innovation.

From CarbonGuide to Carbon Smart

Data and science are at the core of everything we do. We continue to invest in and integrate systems that track energy and water usage, apply predictive analytics and leverage digital tools to model our energy consumption and the carbon footprint of our products. One particularly impactful advancement has been embedding sustainability metrics directly into our R&D formulation tools, including developing our CarbonGuide. These tools provide detailed product-level carbon footprints and quantify the environmental impact of different ingredients and processes. The ability to quantify impact has significantly enhanced how we collaborate with customers and evaluate our technology portfolio, enabling us to optimize for sustainability, reduce costs and improve nutritional outcomes.

Lessons in Purpose, Partnership, and Practicality

Sustainability professionals are the business leaders of the future. This field sits at the intersection of science, policy and commerce and those who can connect the dots across disciplines will be best positioned to lead.

First, stay curious and open to learning—sustainability is evolving rapidly, and continuous learning is essential.

Second, build strong relationships. Sustainability is a team sport, and your ability to influence, collaborate and bring others along the journey is just as important as your technical expertise.

Third, please keep it simple. The most effective solutions are often straightforward; clarity is key when communicating complex ideas.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of data and storytelling. Quantifying impact and communicating it is critical to driving change, securing buy-in and delivering meaningful results. The future of business will be shaped by those who can lead with purpose, grounded in insight and action.