The team responsible for supporting Scotland's food and drink businesses to reach Net Zero by 2045 has been strengthened with the appointment of senior sustainability figure, Louisa Coursey.

Louisa joins the Scotland Food & Drink's Net Zero Commitment as Programme Manager, bringing 17 years' experience in delivering sustainability programmes across renewable energy, logistics, manufacturing and food and drink.

In her previous role at Zero Waste Scotland she led on the circular economy business support programme for six years, providing practical support and guidance to businesses of all sizes to incorporate circular practises into their operations. 

In her new role, Louisa will be helping to support Scotland's 17,000 food and drink businesses to achieve the sector-wide target of reaching Net Zero by 2045. The £19 billion industry is comprised overwhelmingly of SMEs (96%) and external support is critical to unlock funding, share knowledge, and connect businesses with the expertise they need to operate more sustainably, protecting their longevity and commercial viability.

Louisa also worked on delivery of the Scottish Government's Food Waste Reduction target to cut food waste by 35%.

Prior to her time at Zero Waste Scotland, Louisa was the Small and Medium Wind Development Manager at RenewableUK, the leadership body for the country's renewable energy sector. 

Louisa Coursey, Programme Manager at the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's Net Zero Commitment, said: "Throughout my career I've delivered direct support on a broad range of sustainability-focused opportunities to SMEs, so I understand the common challenges they face – primarily around funding, resourcing and knowledge gaps. The food and drink sector is integral not only to the Scottish economy, but to every person in the country, so it's a real privilege to help tackle the climate emergency and to support our domestic producers in their mission to operate more sustainably."

Iain Clunie, Programme Director at the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's Net Zero Commitment, added: "Louisa has been at the forefront of many of Scotland's key sustainability initiatives and her expertise will be a vital resource for our food and drink businesses."

To find out more about the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's Net Zero Commitment, please visit: https://foodanddrink.scot/helping-business/services/net-zero-and-sustainability/