The SAC Board of Directors Welcomes New Members and Discusses Strategic Plan and Next Steps

SAN FRANCISCO, AMSTERDAM, HONG KONG, December 12, 2022 /3BL Media/ - The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) Board of Directors held their fourth quarter meeting on October 31 in Singapore. During the meeting, the Board welcomed three new members and discussed developments on key issues impacting the organization’s efforts to transform the industry, share progress against the strategic plan and align on the key revisions needed to ensure the SAC continues to work towards its vision of a global consumer goods industry that gives more than it takes — to the planet and its people. The meeting took place ahead of the 2022 Annual Meeting in Singapore.

Under the chairmanship of Delman Lee, Vice Chair, TAL Apparel, the Board meeting kicked off by welcoming the new members, including one new external advisor. The new additions will work with the SAC by sharing their advice and counsel on specific topics to help drive progress and collective action across the industry. The new members are:

• Brand/Retailer Category: Dr. Rüdiger Fox, Director CEO/Chief Environmental Activist Sympatex
• Manufacturer Category: Krishna Manda, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, Lenzing AG
• Advisor, Expert Communications: Greg Rossiter, Corporate Communications Consultant

With a background as an aerospace engineer and business economist and a Ph.D. in “Corporate Happiness”, Dr. Rüdiger brings a unique perspective and approach to tackling the climate emergency we are living in. Dr. Rüdiger has served over 30 years as CEO of medium and large corporations in Aerospace, Telecom, Textile, and Engineering/Innovation.

“I am honored for the opportunity to join the SAC’s Board of Directors. I’m excited to serve alongside my peers and work with the SAC to drive change and ensure progress is made in our industry,” said Dr. Rüdiger.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to represent the SAC manufacturer members. I believe collaboration across the value chain and collective action is key to transforming the industry. I look forward to bringing my experience and contributing towards achieving that goal,” said Krishna Manda, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, at Lenzing AG.

Krishna has over 17 years of experience in sustainability with various stakeholders, brands, manufacturers, associations, academia and NGOs and deep passion for embedding sustainability into core business functions, to nurture culture change anchored in values, and to create holistic sustainability impact from raw materials to the final product.

Greg brings over 25 years of experience in advising business leaders and leading communications functions for several of the world’s top companies and brands. He has previously led corporate communications and issues management functions and served as a spokesperson for five other Fortune 500 companies, including Walmart, Gap Inc, and FedEx.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my expertise in external communications and issues management. I look forward to serving as a strategic thought partner for the SAC, providing advice and counsel to help steer the organization’s communications efforts in the right direction,” said Greg Rossiter, Corporate Communications Consultant.

In addition, incumbent Board members Sean Cady, Vice President, Global Supply Chain, and Responsible Sourcing at VF Corporation, and Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Advisor Sustainable Fashion, Solidaridad were re-elected for a second term following elections by the membership.

SAC CEO Amina Razvi said, “We’re excited to welcome all the elected and re-elected Board members and advisors. By combining their diverse perspectives and experience, they will support and guide the SAC’s efforts to accelerate our collective action efforts, deepening collaboration throughout the value chain to bring about the radical transformation of the apparel and footwear industry”.

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About the Sustainable Apparel Coalition:
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is an independent and impact-creating organization that aims to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability based upon a joint approach for measuring, evaluating, and improving performance.

As a non-profit organization, it has members from across the apparel, footwear, and textile sector, but exists independently outside any one company so that it can drive progress. The SAC’s collective action efforts bring more than 280 global brands, retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academics, and industry associations together. They represent about half of the apparel and footwear industry along the whole supply chain – from sustainability pioneers to organizations just getting started.

Before the SAC existed, companies worked in a siloed way, using their own programmes and measurements that lacked standardization and an ability to drive collective action. In 2009, Walmart and Patagonia identified this as a serious problem. Joining forces, they brought together peers and competitors from across the sector, to develop a universal approach to measuring sustainability performance and founded The Sustainable Apparel Coalition.