Sustainability Matters: HR is More Than Just the ‘S’ of ESG

Jo Mortimer, People & Culture Practice, and Ella McCorquodale, Sustainability Lead, met Rob Bray, Wildfarmed’s Chief People & Sustainability Officer in their London office, complete with its onsite bakery for product development.

Rob joined Wildfarmed from Nando’s, where he was Chief People Officer for the UK & Ireland, having previously been a People Director at Tesco. We asked him about his journey from corporate life to purpose-led start up, and how he has brought a passion for sustainability into his professional life. 

Why did you move from your HR Executive role at Nando’s to a Sustainability-focused role? 

At Nando’s, my interest for environmental issues grew significantly. However, I became convinced that the changes within larger corporations alone, were not sufficient to address the urgent pace required to combat the climate crisis. Given my experience and interests, I wanted to be part of transforming the food system and help drive meaningful environmental change.  Through my network, I was fortunate enough to meet the brilliant team at Wildfarmed. I was immediately drawn to their ambitious mission and the passionate people behind it. 

What attracted you to join Wildfarmed and focus on Sustainability? 

Simply, I joined because I believe in Wildfarmed’s powerful mission to transform landscapes at scale; showcasing the opportunity to not only have meaningful impact, but also build a pioneering business. Unlike other brands, Wildfarmed is a vertically integrated, regenerative food company that collaborates directly with both farmers and consumers to transition to biologically based farming. It’s a very unusual and powerful combination.  

How did you transition from an HR specialist to CSO?

Within HR, I have led a lot of ESG work and helped businesses think deeply about their impact, especially around how to embed social inclusion.  As I did more environmental work, it became clear that the leadership required to mobilise organisational change in this space is similar to the work I was doing leading people and culture more broadly. 

One key difference at Wildfarmed is there’s a deeper level of scientific knowledge required, so it’s been a steep learning curve.

Making the case for the benefits of regenerative farming to soil health, biodiversity, carbon emissions, and water pollution. I have had to immerse myself in those areas and learn quickly. Resetting the way our food system works is a big mountain to climb.

We know that 30% of global emissions are from the food system. My passion for the planet has made the transition into sustainability a rewarding challenge. I am working towards becoming a thought leader in my own right on sustainable agriculture and have approached this as an exciting opportunity to reskill myself. To be a successful people leader, you need to understand the sustainability of the future. I firmly believe that HR is more than just the S of ESG. 

How have you approached Talent Management in a high growth SME?

I am a qualified leadership coach, so I coach the leadership team both as a whole and on an individual level. At Wildfarmed, we have an interesting mix of backgrounds hailing from the city to farms. Pace and agility matters, so we tend to bring in people around projects, rather than build heavy teams. The talent processes I have introduced give us a clear sense of what support people need. 

What does the company’s future growth look like?

We have doubled sales in a year, and we are on track to double next year, as well as entering new markets. We’ve got a high-calibre team. Our superpower is that there is no conflict between purpose and profit; every loaf of bread we sell means more land is being farmed regeneratively.

How would you advise HR professionals who want to lead on sustainability in their organisations? 

People and sustainability are inextricably linked. In order to be an effective, commercial leader one has to look outwards and try to identify future trends which affect both the customer and your employees. In larger businesses, it’s easy to become inward-looking. Having spent 20 years working in consumer businesses, I am convinced that customers will prioritise sustainable and responsibly sourced products in the near future.

People working in this area are, in my experience, very positive and generous with their time. Fixing the planet is going to need a lot of teamwork.

Increasingly Chief People Officers are leading on sustainability. The global breadth and depth of Odgers Berndtson’s network identifies and develops versatile leaders who navigate the complexities of managing changing sustainability narratives and requirements in conjunction with their commercial strategies. Explore more of our Sustainability Matters series.

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