By Liz Payne, Head of Environment, Greencore
I’ve spent over 35 years in the environmental field, from environmental testing and analysis in heavy industry, to environmental R&D, managing sustainability in construction, facilities Management, heavy industry, logistics and now food. My current role at Greencore, one of the UK’s leading convenience food manufacturers, brings all of that experience together as I help shape our environmental strategy across everything from ready meals to sandwiches, soups and sauces.
At the Water Matters > event next month, I’ll be sharing how we’re approaching water management as part of our Better Future Plan, our company-wide sustainability strategy.
I lead on the water aspect of this plan, which means I’m focused not only on reducing water use, but on changing the way we think about water as a business.
One of the ways we’re doing that is through employee engagement, and that’s where Roi* the Penguin comes in. Roi is our environmental mascot and has become something of a celebrity across Greencore. He’s been a brilliant way to spark conversations, run internal campaigns, and get teams on board with water-saving initiatives. I’ll be talking about Roi and the power of creative engagement in my upcoming session at the event.
*Roi = ‘reduce our impact
Driving meaningful change also involves some harder conversations, like the business case for water efficiency. Many of the savings we’d like to make require capital investment, yet with current water prices, the payback often isn’t compelling. That’s why we’re starting to shift the narrative toward resilience, ensuring our operations are future-proofed in the face of water scarcity and climate change.
I’ll also touch on the importance of targets and incentives. This year, our water target is linked to performance bonuses, which has helped sharpen focus and accelerate progress.
I’m looking forward to sharing a number of real-life case studies from our sites, practical examples of what’s worked (and what hasn’t) in our journey to reduce water use and embed a culture of sustainability.
Ultimately, effective water management is about combining people, pragmatism, and a bit of creativity to make real change happen. I’m looking forward to connecting with others tackling similar challenges and learning more about how we can all move faster, together.
Join Liz on the 19th of June at Water Matters for her Action Matters session “Water strategy implementation: Successes, challenges and the importance of employee engagement.”
