Richard has spent his career working on ways of reducing our impact on the environment. A biochemist by training, he has a Masters in Environmental Fate of Agrochemicals and a Doctorate in Environmental Engineering. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in 2011.
He joined WRAP in 2004 where he led the team that created and delivered the innovative ‘Courtauld Commitment’. This was the first agreement of its kind between WRAP and all the main UK retailers to reduce packaging and food waste. His current remit is to lead WRAP’s Sustainable Food Systems team where he is responsible for driving improved product design, resilience in the food and drink supply chain and encouraging a more resource efficient circular economy.
This includes the Love Food Hate Waste campaign that has helped consumers reduce the amount of food waste they throw away (see www.lovefoodhatewaste.com) and WRAP’s work on encouraging the processing of food waste through anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting. This programme has helped consumers reduce avoidable food waste by 21% since the start of the programme in 2007.