Tam, originally from Canada, has joined Vacherin from Business in the Community and prior to that, environmental action group, Greenpeace International. Her new role will see her develop the company’s CSR and sustainability initiatives to the next level, supporting clients and managers with expert advice in the process, and manage Vacherin’s quality systems, ISO 9001 and 14001.
According to Tam, she is working in her ideal job: “ I developed a keen interest in the links between business and sustainability while I worked at Greenpeace and I really believe that engagement is the route forward. All stakeholders need to be involved via creative communications and the development of ambitious programmes that help businesses achieve long-term prosperity and sustainability.
“It’s been very encouraging to join a company that clearly believes in their corporate responsibility and I’m taking over some excellent initiatives that have been in place at Vacherin for several years now. As someone who loves food and is passionate about sustainability, I feel that Vacherin has really presented all of our clients and staff with the opportunity to combine these two areas – food is something that speaks to all of us and we have the choice to eat better and live well – all while minimising our impacts on the environment.”
Phil Roker, owner & commercial director, Vacherin, explained the rationale for the appointment: “We’ve been working actively on measurable sustainability initiatives for over eight years now and have won several awards for it along the way, with a committed team looking after sustainability in addition to their full-time roles.
"We’ve reached the size now where we can invest in specialist expertise to make CSR and sustainability even more central to our company, so it’s now time for us to take on some even bigger CSR challenges. We’ve always aimed to run our business to a high level of social responsibility and with this significant investment in Hilary’s international expertise, we will be taking our strategy and actions in this area to the next level.”