Chris Harrop OBE : An Award winning Sustainability Leader.
Chris Harrop is Sustainability Director at Marshalls plc. An accomplished marketer with a proven global track record, Chris’ persistent contribution has ensured that Marshalls not only leads the hard landscaping sector but is also a world-class sustainable business. He drives the organisation to leverage its United Nations Global Compact signatory status for competitive advantage by working to uphold the principles of human rights, labour rights, Environment and Governance. Under Chris’ guidance, the business has won numerous awards for commitment to the environment and supply chain ethics, including BITC, Business in the Community Awards for Excellence and the PLC Awards on 3 occasions.
Chris was Chairman of the United Nations Global Compact UK Network for 4 years from January 2013 and he has remained a Non-Executive Director of the Ethical Trade Initiative since his appointment in January 2011. In addition, in June 2017 Chris became Chairman of Made in Britain and more recently joined the board of the Fairtax Mark as a Non Executive Director.
Chris was rated 5th in Ethical Corporation’s Heroes of Sustainability in 2007 and named a Business Game Changer’ by BITC in 2012 and was named as one of the Top 100 Modern Slavery Business Influencers in 2018. Chris rounded off 2018 by being named BtB Marketer of the Year by BtB International.
One of Chris’s proudest moments can in the 2019 New Year Honours List, when Her Majesty the Queen appointed Chris as an Officer of the British Empire, OBE for services to the Prevention of Modern Slavery and Exploitation.
The strategic combination of experience allows Chris to fully understand the dynamic complexities of ethical trade, supply chains and international commerce. Its potent combination affords him great insights which he is then able to recognise and activate in practical terms within his own organisation; he doesn’t just say it he does it.
As a small example, Chris made a personal journey to the North Pole in April 2017 to see the effects of climate change himself and to become a better advocate for action on climate change. This led to Chris steering Marshalls to become the first company in its sector to have an approved Science Based Target for carbon reduction with the SBTi.
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