Continuing to expand its expertise and knowledge base in sustainable sourcing, DuPont Nutrition & Health has announced the addition of a new member to its sustainability team with experience in sustainable sourcing.

Marta Maireles Gonzalez has joined the organization as sustainable sourcing coordinator. Maireles’ work will focus on helping DuPont Nutrition & Health execute its sustainability strategy with special focus on sourcing of bio-based raw materials, including palm oil, soy, guar, seaweed, LBG kernels and wood. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Maireles will develop a roadmap for new and impactful sustainable sourcing initiatives as the company moves toward 2020 and beyond.

“We have come a long way with regard to our 2020 sustainable sourcing targets,” said Mikkel Thrane, global sustainability lead, DuPont Nutrition & Health. “To go the extra mile and fulfil our ambitions, we need to work hand-in-hand with our business units, sourcing and sales teams – as well as our key customers to further leverage sustainable sourcing. We have the vital support from the senior leadership team and an excellent network of raw material experts in-house. Marta will help us capitalize on this to support our company’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That is why it is paramount that we create and maintain a network with key internal and external stakeholders to make sustainable sourcing an integral part of our business.”

Prior to joining DuPont Nutrition & Health, Maireles worked for ISEAL for nearly seven years. ISEAL is the global membership association for sustainability standards, which is one of the tools that many companies use to manage their supply chains. In fact, RSPO, which is key for the implementation of DuPont Nutrition & Health’s sustainable sourcing efforts in palm oil, is a member of ISEAL. In her role as manager in the Impacts and Innovation team, Maireles supported sustainability standards and other actors to improve their ability to define and measure their sustainability outcomes.

She also was responsible for coordinating the work of the Living Income Community of Practice, a collaborative platform for companies, civil society, sustainability standards and governments. The Community of Practice, which is co-facilitated by ISEAL, Sustainable Food Lab and GIZ, supports activities and learnings to improve the income of smallholders linked to global agricultural supply chains.

“Sustainability is a journey and we need to engage our key suppliers and customers,” Maireles said. “Because of that, we are going to increase our participation in key roundtables and sustainability platforms. These are great avenues to show our commitment, learn with peers and test innovative solutions. Innovation is a core tenet of DuPont Nutrition & Health and that also is reflected in our sustainable sourcing work. In the next three years, we will launch a series of new sustainable sourcing projects that will be conducted jointly with our suppliers while focusing on customers’ goals.”

In 2010, Maireles obtained her M.Sc. Business and Development Studies in Corporate Sustainability in global supply chains from Copenhagen Business School. In 2007, she achieved her Licentiate in Business Administration from Loyola University in Córdoba, Spain with a distinction in business ethics, business organization and administration, occupational psychology in 2007.

For more information about DuPont Nutrition & Health sustainability efforts, visit http://www.danisco.com/sustainability/.