Sustainability Seminar 2025

Amy Blackwell is a seasoned sustainability professional with over eight years of experience driving environmental and operational change across major FMCG and retail organisations. Currently leading sustainability efforts across EMEA and APAC for Molson Coors, Amy focuses on embedding sustainable practices into supply chain operations and enhancing customer collaboration to meet shared environmental goals.

Her career spans roles a where she led initiatives in carbon reporting, water stewardship, energy compliance, and environmental engagement. Amy brings a systems-thinking approach to sustainability, combining data-driven insights with stakeholder engagement to deliver measurable progress. She is particularly passionate about the role of packaging in sustainability—recognising it as a critical lever for reducing environmental impact, improving circularity, and meeting evolving consumer expectations.

At this event, Amy will explore the evolving landscape of packaging sustainability, focusing on the implications of Deposit Return Schemes (DRS), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and upcoming packaging reforms. She will share insights on how these regulatory shifts are reshaping supply chains, driving innovation, and challenging businesses to rethink packaging design, recovery, and accountability across global markets.

With a career spanning more than 20 years in pivotal customer-facing roles in the UK’s recycling and waste management industry, sustainability is at the heart of everything Carla does.

After several years at SUEZ, Carla joined Biffa in January 2020, to drive project development related to the Resources & Waste Strategy.

More recently, Carla has taken a prominent position leading Biffa’s involvement in major legislative changes designed to enable the UK circular economy.

This includes consulting with the government on policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility, Deposit Return Scheme, Digital Waste Tracking and Simpler Recycling, while helping businesses and local authorities understand the changes and their impact.

Carla is also heavily involved in Biffa’s innovation projects and trials, with a particular focus on the re-use of materials, and emerging technologies.

Carla's unwavering commitment inspires greener resource management, making her a driving force in reshaping industry perspectives.

Chris White is Energy Manager at Marston’s PLC, where he leads the Group’s energy strategy and sustainability initiatives across a diverse estate of over 1,300 pubs. With a background in energy and a passion for sustainability and practical innovation, Chris has played a central role in delivering some of the pub company’s most ambitious environmental programmes, from achieving zero waste to landfill across the business, to spearheading the UK’s largest private network of rapid EV chargers in the UK hospitality industry.

Chris White is Energy Manager at Marston’s PLC, where he leads the Group’s energy strategy and sustainability initiatives across a diverse estate of over 1,300 pubs. With a background in energy and a passion for sustainability and practical innovation, Chris has played a central role in delivering some of the pub company’s most ambitious environmental programmes, from achieving zero waste to landfill across the business, to spearheading the UK’s largest private network of rapid EV chargers in the UK hospitality industry.

Karl Chessell is CGA by Nielsen IQ’s Director for Hospitality Operators, EMEA. He has worked in the eating and drinking out sector for over 25 years, leading teams at businesses including Experian and TransUnion. He and his team support the leading pub, bar, restaurant operators and trade bodies across the hospitality sector. They support board level decision making, using rich data and insight to understand market performance, analyse the key issues affecting the sector and highlight the key consumer trends to embrace.

Nick is Director of Acquisitions and Estate Planning for Mitchells & Butlers and manages the investment and expansion programme across an estate of over 1,600 assets. He has over 35 years’ experience in leisure retail, having worked in operations, strategic planning and for the last 25 years in property. In recent years he has been heavily involved in M&B’s sustainability activity, specifically in the decarbonisation of the company’s real estate and the development of its net zero strategy, helping M&B to become the Publican’s Best Sustainable Pub Company for two out of the last three years.

Sermet leads procurement and sustainability for Haven and joined the group in 2018. Since joining Sermet has led its transformation bringing significant improvement to EBITDA, working capital and service. Previously, Sermet held supply chain roles with Carnival UK and Unilever.

Tim chairs the Sustainability Committee of the Hospitality Sector Council with the objective of co-creating solutions with Government to the sustainability challenges facing the hospitality sector. Tim also sits on the Advisory Board of UKHospitality and is Chair of its Sustainability Committee. Tim is also a member of the Visitor and Commercial Advisory Committee for Kew Gardens.

Tim has significant experience with private equity backed businesses including M&A and debt transactions. He has a successful record of creating and implementing strategies and change management, including growth, operational improvement and ESG.

Tim is part of the team that in 2017 acquired the master franchisee and development agreement for the UK from Burger King Europe. Tim has led the establishment of the business infrastructure, an imbedded ESG strategy and the acquisition of franchisees that has grown the business to revenues of circa £400m. Tim has over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality sector, operating at board level across a range of businesses including pubs, hotels, contract and concession catering and casual dining.

Tony joined Travelodge in 1998 and has been UK Development Director since 2007. Since then, Travelodge has more than doubled in size opening over 350 hotels taking Travelodge past 600 locations in the UK, Northern Ireland and Spain.

James brings over two decades of industry experience across I&C consultancy and licensed supply. He specialises in renewables , operations, and commercial strategy within a rapidly evolving utilities landscape. As Chief Operating Officer, James draws on a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams, optimising operational performance and product innovation within a complex retail landscape. His specialisms include technical sales and Corporate Account Management, with a particular focus on Structured Trading Agreements and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). James’ depth of industry knowledge and hands-on experience across consultancy and licensed supply make him a trusted advisor for clients seeking commercial clarity, efficiency, and the integration of renewable energy into their supply position.

Julia is the Head of Sustainability and Corporate Communications at Nestlé Professional. Dedicated to making a positive impact, this role enables Julia to drive the business towards implementing sustainable practices that prioritise the long-term health and sustainability of people, planet and communities. As a firm believer in collaborative efforts she is passionate about Nestlé’s work with farmer communities and Nestlé Professional's unwavering commitment to youth employment through initiatives like Toque D’Or and the Choose Hospitality Pledge.

Julia has been at Nestlé for 20 years, serving in a multitude of roles across Marketing, Sales, Category and Digital, both Retail and B2B in Nestlé Waters, Nespresso and since 2020, Nestlé Professional.

Julia holds a BA in Economics from Durham University. With a passion for the food & beverage industry she spent her early career in Marketing Consultancy and Category Management, before joining Nestlé in 2005.

As a mother of two older children Julia enjoys family travel, an active lifestyle, cooking and eating out and socialising with her friends.

Nicola has over 13 years of experience in the retail and hospitality sectors, with roles spanning strategy, analytics and sustainability. Currently Director of Commercial Planning & ESG at Burger King UK, Nicola plays a key role in shaping company growth, working with the wider executive team to define and deliver the business strategy and directly leading key cross-functional initiatives. Nicola has been responsible for instilling key business processes around strategic planning, risk management and market insight.

She also leads Burger King UK’s sustainability agenda, having created and publicly launched the responsible business framework, Burger King for Good; making the UK the first Burger King market globally to take this significant step. As part of this, Nicola ensures business governance and compliance, as well as delivering progress against environmental and social goals.

Mark Chapman is the founder and CEO of Zero Carbon Services and Zero Carbon Forum.

He first launched Zero Carbon Services as one of the UK’s earliest climate-tech and advisory businesses. Beginning with hospitality clients, he pioneered an approach to measure and reduce emissions by combining data analysis with behaviour change to cut carbon and costs. Inspired by watching An Inconvenient Truth in 2008, Mark believes the solutions to climate change will be led through business sectors collaborating to decarbonise together at pace.

The Zero Carbon Forum is a non-profit collaboration Mark established in 2020 with the support of UKH, BBPA and the sectors leading operators. It now works over 70 UK hospitality operators across 35,000 locations to build resilient, efficient brands – and to shift the sector as a whole - through credible climate action by sharing data, tools and best practice.