Beyond Growth

Anthony Abbotts has been leading ROCKWOOL’s global sustainability agenda since 2016. As a strategic priority, ROCKWOOL has committed to 10 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with the overarching goal being to maximise the positive impact of the Group’s products and minimise the negative impact of its operations worldwide.

Anthony has broad global experience within sustainability, working in this field for 30+ years. He has held various sustainability positions within both private and public sector before joining ROCKWOOL 2008. He serves on the Board of the European Mineral Wool Association and is an External Lecturer at Copenhagen Business School.

Anthony holds a BA (Hons) in Urban Planning from University of West of England and a MSc in Environmental Planning from Roskilde University.

Wouter de Groot is VP Sustainability, HSE and External Affairs at FLSmidth—a global leader in providing sustainability solutions to the mining and mineral industries.

He leads the company’s ‘MissionZero’ programme, which aims to enable zero emission mining processes by 2030. Recently, the company introduced the MissionZero Mine—which presents the technology vision for the future flowsheet in copper, lithium and gold processing. Prior to joining FLSmidth, Wouter held leadership positions in the brewing and beverage industry. He previously led the environmental work on a mineral sands titanium mine.

Wouter has a Master’s in Economics and a minor in Hydrology and Industrial Water Resource Management.

Annette Lendal is a Danish sustainability expert, public speaker, juror, and writer. After studying political science and economics, she has spent the past 10 years specializing in systems thinking working for renowned strategy consultancies, NGOs and think tanks internationally. To disseminate her expertise on circular economy she has written several books on upstream innovation for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and acts as an expert adviser to the Earth Shoot Prize on zero waste solutions. Annette leads the innovation consultancy Lab21st and is a co-founder of Planetarium Expeditions.

Katherine Ricardson is a professor in biological oceanography at the University of Copenhagen, leader of the Sustainability Science Centre, a principle investigator in the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, and Leader of the Queen Margrethe’s and Vigdís Finnbogadóttir´s Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ocean, Climate, and Society.

Her research focuses on the importance of biological processes in the ocean for the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere and how ocean biology, including diversity, contributes to ocean function in the Earth System. Katherine is also a core developer of the Planetary Boundaries framework that attempts to identify a safe operating space for humanity in its impact on global resources.

Katherine was Chairman of the Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy that reported in 2010 and presented a roadmap for how Denmark can become independent of fossil fuels by 2050. She is at present a member of the Government appointed Danish Climate Council and was a member of the 15 person Independent Group of Scientists appointed by Ban Ki Moon to draft the 2019 UN Global Sustainable Development Report.

She is Co-Editor in Chief of the Marine Ecology Progress Series and a member of the editorial board for Global Sustainability. Authorship of books includes Our Threatened Oceans (2008) and Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions (2014). She is currently co-chair of the Northern European Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

Giulio leads BSR’s climate work in the EMEA region. BSR works globally on value chain decarbonization across consulting, collaborative initiatives, and grants. Giulio brings expertise in Scope 3 supplier engagement, reverse sourcing, and commodities decarbonization, as well as helping companies implement their net zero and environmental targets. He also works across sectors on implementing the TCFD recommendations and climate scenario analysis.

Prior to joining BSR, Giulio worked for climate change consulting firm EcoAct in both France and Kenya. His work focused on climate targets, carbon neutrality, and project implementation, as well climate risk assessments. He speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Giulio holds an M.S. in Sustainability from HEC Paris School of Management. He also holds a double degree M.S. in Management and Industrial Engineering and a double degree B.S. in Technology and International Business from Politecnico di Torino and UIC Barcelona

Renata leads BSR’s Nordic practice, working with a diverse range of sectors by helping Nordic companies as well as other BSR members and collaborative partners to adopt and develop progressive sustainability management practices.

Renata brings over 20 years of experience in innovation and sustainability in global value chains. Prior to joining BSR, Renata worked in A.P. Møller - Mærsk, Coloplast, Danske Bank, and The Conference Board, helping companies improve their sustainability practices, strategic impact, ESG reporting, and human rights policies and practices. She has served on various boards, including Maersk, IKEA Industry, Organic Basics, and the Danish Initiative for Ethical Trade. She was a long-term member of the UN Global Compact Advisory Group on Supply Chain Sustainability and participated in the shaping of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Renata is a First Mover Fellow with the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society. She holds a professional degree in global shipping and logistics; a BSc in Philosophy and Rhetoric from the University of Copenhagen; a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Organisational Leadership from SAID Business School, University of Oxford; and a Diploma from the Executive Board Programme from INSEAD. She speaks English, Danish, Russian, and some French.