Thomas Lingard is Global Sustainability Director – Climate & Environment at Unilever. He has 22 years’ broad based leadership, communications and commercial experience gained in executive and non-executive roles with leading organisations in both the private and NGO sector, including Unilever, Green Alliance and Oxfam.
Thomas led Unilever’s strategy and execution of our COP21 advocacy efforts, including collaboration with the main UN agencies, business advocacy groups such as WBCSD, Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and the B Team’s Net Zero by 2050 campaign, as well as with internal teams such as Unilever #brightFuture, Unilever’s consumer facing citizen engagement campaign.
Thomas also held the strategy brief for Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Office, developing our ‘theory of change’ to underpin our work to bring about transformational change in the issue areas that our business is are prioritising – Deforestation, Sustainable Agriculture, WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) and Women’s Empowerment.
Areas of special expertise include: sustainability, public policy and communications; climate change; cross-sector partnerships; global food systems & food security; water, sanitation & hygiene; post 2015 development agenda; global governance, including sustainability certification schemes; team leadership and organisational development; strategies for achieving change; sustainable development & environment policy; business and development.