Expert ESG strategist announced as speaker ahead of Sustainability Summit

Expert sustainability strategist Dr Kirstie McIntyre has been announced as the latest speaker to join The Caterer’s free expert-led Sustainability Summit on 11 September.

McIntyre has more than 30 years’ experience in developing sustainability programmes and advising leadership teams on how to create, implement and deliver on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

She has worked with global drinks business Diageo and its portfolio of brands, including Johnny Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff, and with Diageo Bar Academy, a network that helps train bar professionals to develop sustainability training courses. She has also spoken with hospitality and leisure business magnate Deborah Meaden on Meaden’s BBC podcast, Big Green Money Show, about sustainability and the drinks business.

McIntyre has also worked for information technology company Hewlett Packard and European retailer Pepco.

Ahead of the summit, sponsored by Compass UK & Ireland, McIntyre told The Caterer that “sustainability is a huge topic with a confusing alphabet soup of acronyms,” but that creating, developing and implementing a strategy is a “team sport”.

She added that her talk will focus on three main areas: “Where does a business start, how do you know what’s important and how do you build support across the organisation?”

Other confirmed speakers include Charmaine McHugo, co-owner of green-Michelin-starred Chapters in Hay-on-Wye in Powys. McHugo will take part in a panel discussion on how hospitality leaders can drive sustainability when facing ongoing operational pressures.

Joining McHugo will be Ed Walker, founder and chief executive at Fika Catering and winner of Boutique Caterer of the Year at the 2024 Foodservice Cateys, and Samantha Wilson, sustainability officer of Red Carnation Hotels.

Wherever your business is in its sustainability journey, join The Caterer’s free Sustainability Summit to gain strategies and insider insights to help take your business’s green goals to the next level.