Jessica Sansom is the former head of sustainability at innocent drinks, the number one smoothie brand in the UK. The business was started in May 1999 by three friends, and turned over £100m in 2009 selling over two million smoothies a week in the UK and Europe. The innocent story shows that with a non-corporate attitude, a fantastic product and creative thinking it is possible to create a fast growing, profitable company that acts responsibly. Jessica was responsible for the company's commitment to become a model of sustainable capitalism - working not only to negate the business’ major impact areas through ethical purchasing, resource efficiency and sustainable packaging but also to develop a future business model that will ensure the long term viability of the business whilst bringing value to meeting global sustainability challenges. In addition to this role, she was also Company Secretary for the Innocent Foundation which funds sustainable agriculture projects in developing countries. Prior to joining innocent Jessica was Environment Manager for McDonald's UK, and also worked as an environmental consultant for a range of public and private sector clients in her home country of Australia. In 2008 Jessica was named as one of Ethical Corporation’s Ethical Leaders of 2008 alongside Barack Obama and Bill Gates. She has also recently been featured in Rebecca Harrell Tickell’s new book, “Hot Rich and Green”, a book highlighting 50 successful women in green business. Jessica has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science and a Masters in Environmental Law. "As a business we want to make it easy for people to do themselves some good. And we want to leave the planet a little bit better than we found it. This is reflected in everything from our use of green electricity at Fruit Towers, to sourcing fruit from places that go the extra mile in terms of looking after the people that work on the farms, and the environment. All our bananas come from Rainforest Alliance accredited farms. Every year we donate 10% of our profits to charity, the majority of which goes to the innocent foundation, which funds sustainable agriculture projects in countries where we source our fruit." Since March 2021 she is sustainability director at Huel, responsible for the design and implementation of a sustainable nutrition strategy.
Jessica Sansom
Former Head of Sustainability at innocent drinks
Jessica Sansom
Former Head of Sustainability at innocent drinksAbout Jessica Sansom
Jessica Sansom is the former head of sustainability at innocent drinks, the number one smoothie brand in the UK. The business was started in May 1999 by three friends, and turned over £100m in 2009 selling over two million smoothies a week in the UK and Europe. The innocent story shows that with a non-corporate attitude, a fantastic product and creative thinking it is possible to create a fast growing, profitable company that acts responsibly.Jessica was responsible for the company's commitment to become a model of sustainable capitalism - working not only to negate the business’ major impact areas through ethical purchasing, resource efficiency and sustainable packaging but also to develop a future business model that will ensure the long term viability of the business whilst bringing value to meeting global sustainability challenges. In addition to this role, she was also Company Secretary for the Innocent Foundation which funds sustainable agriculture projects in developing countries. Prior to joining innocent Jessica was Environment Manager for McDonald's UK, and also worked as an environmental consultant for a range of public and private sector clients in her home country of Australia.
In 2008 Jessica was named as one of Ethical Corporation’s Ethical Leaders of 2008 alongside Barack Obama and Bill Gates. She has also recently been featured in Rebecca Harrell Tickell’s new book, “Hot Rich and Green”, a book highlighting 50 successful women in green business. Jessica has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science and a Masters in Environmental Law.
"As a business we want to make it easy for people to do themselves some good. And we want to leave the planet a little bit better than we found it. This is reflected in everything from our use of green electricity at Fruit Towers, to sourcing fruit from places that go the extra mile in terms of looking after the people that work on the farms, and the environment. All our bananas come from Rainforest Alliance accredited farms. Every year we donate 10% of our profits to charity, the majority of which goes to the innocent foundation, which funds sustainable agriculture projects in countries where we source our fruit."
Since March 2021 she is sustainability director at Huel, responsible for the design and implementation of a sustainable nutrition strategy.
Topics
- Power of purpose
- The importance of Why to build a sustainable business
- Why sustainability should be at the heart of any business model
- Consumer led or lead the consumer
- Consumer engagement in sustainability
- Covid versus climate change
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