Emma Bourne OBE, director of circular economy at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is speaking at this year’s Sustainable Supply Chain Conference, returning to 30 Euston Square in London on 24 June 2025.
With nearly 20 years in the civil service, Bourne has led major government programmes, including a nationwide initiative for families with complex needs and Defra’s EU exit strategy. As the UK’s lead negotiator on agrifood for the Windsor Framework, she played a key role in shaping trade agreements.
Now, she oversees Defra’s circular economy portfolio, including packaging reforms and strategy development. She is also the Defra group honours and parenting network champion and was awarded an OBE for services to public administration.
Session title: The transition to a circular economy
- Sharing the UK government’s current priorities in the transition to a circular economy
- Discussing the potential economic benefits, with a particular focus on sustainable and resilient supply chains
- Sharing work in relation to draft circular economy roadmaps for initial priority sectors
The conference, which will be held at 30 Euston Square, is a one-day face-to-face event where delegates can hear directly from industry-leading speakers about how business sustainability can influence their bottom line.
Innovation will continue to drive supply chain sustainability in the years to come. At the Sustainable Supply Chain Conference, delegates will learn how to ‘go green’ throughout their end-to-end operations, discussing topics such as the decarbonisation of road freight transport, the importance of industry collaboration to meet sustainability goals and how sustainable practises can actually be used to drive sales. Overall, the conference will consider the environmental and human impact of products, from cradle to grave.
From raw materials sourcing, production, storage and delivery to every transportation link in-between, the journey is not easy – the complexity of many supplier relationships and border crossings makes supply chain sustainability extremely challenging. But the payback for getting it right is priceless, delivering on the three ‘P’s of the bottom line – people, profits and the planet.
Amongst the list of speakers already announced for the conference are representatives of organisations such as NHS England, Bidfood, Haleon and OLPRO, as well as sponsors of the conference Descartes, Springpack, Wincanton, Mer Fleet Services and Aurora Insights. Keep an eye out on the Logistics Manager website, as well as on Twitter and LinkedIn, for more information on the event’s speakers as the conference draws closer.
Click here to find out more and register for this unmissable event!
The Sustainable Supply Chain Conference is part of London Climate Action Week, taking place from 21-29 June this year.
