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 I
was brought up in
Somerset and moved back in 1994. My husband, Ed and I rented
Tintinhull House from the National Trust until 2004. During
this time we had three children - all boys - two of whom were born
in one of the upstairs bedrooms at the house. From
Tintinhull I
worked independently as a sustainability consultant and author, as
well as being a District Councillor in South Somerset between 1999
and 2003.
Other things I did
during this time include:
Jupiter Global Green: Appointed Non-Executive
Director of Jupiter Global Green Investment Trust, run by Jupiter
Asset Management.
Procter
& Gamble: On-going consultancy for Procter & Gamble
on nappies, detergents and cleaning products.
Marks & Spencer: In 2002 I did a major strategic review of M&S's
food division,
identifying priority issues and advising on ways
forward. M&S subsequently acknowledged that my
recommendations helped get them started on Plan A.
ACCPE (the
Advisory Committee on Consumer Products & The
Environment): I was Vice-Chair of this government quango run
by DEFRA (Department of Food & Rural Affairs), working to get
market forces pushing for positive environmental change.
Commodity
Crops: Through
ACCPE I took the lead in initiating a A
Feasibility Study for a Generic Supply Chain Initiative for
Sustainable Commodity Crops, which was carried out by IIED
(International Institute on Environment and Development) and Pro
Forest. The report was published in September 2003.
Out of this World: Non-Executive Director of this alternative chain of
supermarkets between 1994 and 2000.
Race to the Top: This initiative was set up by IIED (International
Institute for Environment & Development) to benchmark
supermarkets on their sustainability performance. I advised
them on communications issues.
Food
Writing: Wrote a regular column for BBC online (Planet Food)
and for the Western Daily Press (Food for thought) covering issues
associated with different food ingredients from salmon to
strawberries and bananas to prawns.
Haller Foundation: In 2003 I co-founded a this new charity and have
become a Trustee. It was inspired by Dr. Rene Haller's work in
Kenya. He has rehabilitated wasteland, quarried landscapes
and transformed them into living and working eco-systems.
Since then the Haller Foundation has built an environmental
education centre, runs training courses in sustainable agriculture
and set up a mobile medical clinic, amongst other things.
Historic Futures: Worked with this company on traceability in supply
chains demonstrating the benefits - including improved efficiency
and cost-saving - of knowing where and how products have been
grown and made.
MBE - NEW YEARS
HONOURS 1999
Having been awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List 1999,
I went to collect it at an award ceremony at Buckingham Palace,
with the Queen presiding. I was allowed to take three people
with me but an exception was made for my youngest son Monty, who
was still breast feeding. The other three were my mother,
Minker Hailes (now Minker Soames), my husband Edward de Courcy
Bryant and a good friend, Nilufer von Bismarck.
I don't know who put me forward for an MBE, but I can take this
opportunity to thank them if they ever happen to look at my
website!
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