The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced that Marc Stephens has been appointed to its board of trustees as it looks to develop its international reach.
Stephens is an economist and management consultant focusing on sustainable development, specifically climate change, environmental management, and economic growth.
He becomes the third new trustee to join the charity’s board in just over a month, after Sophie Thomas and Sue Corbett were appointed in March.
Stephens founded OpenCities, a management consultancy that focuses on sustainable development and organisational change, in 2006 and has spent time as an external consultant for McKinsey & Company. He has worked with organisations including the World Bank, the Department for International Development, the private sector and international NGOs. He was previously Executive Director for the Mayor’s London Development Agency. He has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
Stephens holds a PhD in economics from New York University, an MSc in Climate Change Management from Birkbeck College, London, a history degree from University of York and is a qualified barrister.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “The economic case for transforming the way resources are used is overwhelming. WRAP’s work shows that the global economy could save over $300 billion (£205 billion) per year from reducing food waste, and in the UK, we could see over 200,000 jobs created from continued uptake of the circular economy to use just two examples.
“I look forward to helping WRAP accelerate the transition to a more resilient, resource-efficient and sustainable economy in the UK.”
International reach
Both Stephens and Corbett (who has worked for INASP, a charity that uses research to address international development challenges, and is currently a strategic advisor to a research, training and development farm in India that carries out research on interactive ecosystems and sustainable farming techniques) have experience of global sustainability issues. Liz Goodwin, who will step down as Chief Executive of WRAP in June, says this will help WRAP to extend its reach.
She said: “Marc Stephens will be a real asset to WRAP’s board of trustees, as his knowledge of the environment, economy and society is well aligned to WRAP’s own mission. His impressive and wide-ranging skill set will help us develop our growing international reach and champion our work on the benefits of a sustainable circular economy.”
Julie Hill, WRAP’s Chair, added: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Marc to the board of Trustees, and I look forward to working with him to achieve our goals. Marc adds a completely new layer of expertise to our board, and I know that his international experience and knowledge of the financial sector will be of great importance to WRAP.”
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