Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food and support services firm, is celebrating the recognition of Head of Environment Celena Fernandez for her Special Achievement and Contribution to the Foodservice industry at the annual Footprint Awards held in Central London on World Environment Day 2019.
Fernandez’s accolades since joining Compass Group UK & Ireland in 2013 include the development and management of a five-year environmental strategy and an innovative food & packaging waste strategy.
Due to the size and scale of Compass, Fernandez set up a network of 50+ environmental champions from across the business to ensure the new strategies were embedded efficiently and effectively.
Additionally, Fernandez has rolled out over 10,000 copies of the award-winning Environment Toolkit to implement our Environmental Management System at site-level and created a digital Single-Use Plastics Guide with the support of our Foodbuy procurement team and our suppliers/our supply chain.
Over the years Fernandez has and continues to work closely with external industry partners including WRAP, IGD, Foodservice Packaging Association, and DEFRA on the Food and Drink Sector Council’s packaging working group. Celena’s strategic and forward-thinking approach has propelled Compass into being industry leading in this space.
Prior to joining Compass, Fernandez spent 10 years in consultancy and supported a range of organisations on various projects into resource efficiency and sustainable product and packaging design and implemented environmental and sustainable procurement strategies across her portfolio.
Michael Hickman, Foodservice Director, Compass Group UK & Ireland, said, “Celena’s contribution to the industry is paramount, the work she has carried out during her career at Compass so far has been hugely impactful in many ways, supported by the positive supplier relationships she has built, which led to her being nominated for this award.
'We are extremely proud of her achievements and look forward to what is to come in the future.”
Fernandez commented, “I am incredibly honoured to be recognised for such a prestigious award on World Environment Day 2019 so early in my career and at such a challenging time for the industry.
'I would like to thank my colleagues, leaders and environmental champions at Compass for their continued support in driving our environmental agenda and engaging in numerous environmental initiatives and behaviour change campaigns.”