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.