Zero Waste Scotland has today (13 December) announced a number of new appointments and reappointments to its Board.
Vic Emery has been reappointed as Chair of the Board, a role he has held since the inception of the organisation as a separate entity in 2014, while John Watt retains the role of non-executive director
Joining Emery and Watt as new non-executive directors are Morag MacDonald, Gerard O’Sullivan, Janet Swadling and Helen Wollaston. Iain Gulland continues as an executive member of the Board.
The new appointees bring with them a host of experience. MacDonald is a successful business leader and chartered account with a 30-year career in senior roles in industry, private practice and the not-for-profit sector, while O’Sullivan worked most recently as Director of Corporate Operations with Stirling Council.
Swadling is a Chartered Secretary/Governance Professional, serving as a director of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and as its Acting Principal and Chief Executive and Accountable Officer between 2013 and 2016, while Wollaston is Chief Executive of WISE a campaign group for gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Three of the appointments are for three-year terms (Emery, MacDonald and O’Sullivan) and three are four-year terms (Swadling, Watt and Wollaston) starting as of today.
The Board oversees the governance of Zero Waste Scotland and is accountable to Scottish Ministers, although political activity plays no part in the selection process, although all appointees’ political activity within the last five years is required to be made public. There was no political activity amongst the appointees to declare this time around.
Following the announcement, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham, welcomed the appointments, saying: “Scotland is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading nations for the circular economy and the unique expertise of Zero Waste Scotland is a key factor in that global track record.
“That’s why I’m delighted that Vic Emery will continue his work as Chair of Zero Waste Scotland. He has led the organisation with vision and commitment since its creation in 2014 and his strong leadership and wealth of strategic relationships are tremendous assets.
“In also announcing four new appointments and one reappointment, I am confident that Zero Waste Scotland has the breadth of skills and experience it needs at Board level to deliver on our ambitions for a circular economy.
“I’m also pleased that the new non-executive team will be gender balanced ahead of the Scottish Government introducing legislation on this in the current Parliament.”
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