Dr Richard Swannell

It was while at Liverpool University doing a biochemistry degree that Richard really began to understand our impact on the environment and the damage man-made chemicals, pesticides and herbicides had on soil, lakes, and rivers and the resulting depletion in fish, insects and wildlife.

Further work for his PhD on oil spills brought home the idea that with help the natural environment can recover from pollution. It also highlighted that climate change, the result of a global rise in greenhouse gases emissions, posed a global threat to humanity and the natural world in a way that even huge oil spills didn’t. It was also impacting on the natural environment's ability to recover and bounce back.

"I realised just how serious climate change was at a global level and knew I had to get involved and do something to make a difference."

Richard joined WRAP in 2004, leading the team that created and delivered the innovative ‘Courtauld Commitment’ - the first voluntary agreement of its kind between WRAP and UK supermarkets, taking a collaborative approach to packaging and food waste reduction. He also helped develop and led the delivery of the renowned Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

"Helping businesses reduce waste has been such a driver for me. We are making a significant impact along supply chains, seeing reductions in packaging and food waste and facilitating genuine collaboration between organisations, governments and local authorities. We are now applying this model in multiple ways - with the priority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

The combination of Courtauld and LFHW have helped the UK reduce food loss and waste over the entire supply chain by 27% between 2007 and 2018, and Richard's work has seen him speak around the world to Governments and senior officials in Europe, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and Mexico, as well as the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Bank, the Green Climate Fund, WWF and the UN Environment Programme. He has also spoken at numerous international conferences and to captains of industry across many different countries.

"We need systemic change in reducing footprints - mobilising businesses towards a common good and working with governments to help make that change more rapid.

We are seeing a lot more investment in renewable energy around the world, so the next step is to drive businesses towards tipping points where the circular economy becomes inevitable within the supply chain. It's all about encouraging people to invest in new technologies so you get a less carbon-intensive system. The bottom line is that 45% of global emissions can only be tackled by changing the way we make and consume products and food."

As a key-note speaker Richard is determined to encourage businesses, governments and international organisations to focus their efforts on delivering more resource efficient and sustainable practices, tackling plastic pollution, reducing food loss and waste and increasing recycling. He has also contributed to a large number of key publications on food loss and waste.

"I'm really passionate about this. In everything I've done I'm always trying to be a motivator to inspire people to drive change. It's about advocacy and making change happen more rapidly."