Leading consumer goods business, Reckitt, has appointed Danielle Byrne as Head of Sustainability & Purpose for Australia, in a newly created leadership role which will see her direct the development and execution of the sustainability agenda for major consumer household brands including Finish, Vanish, Glen 20 and Pine O Cleen. Ms Byrne started in her position in June 2022 and is based in Sydney, Australia.
“With a wealth of experience across the consumer goods industry internationally, Ms Byrne’s appointment will accelerate the organisation’s vision to become a leader in sustainability within the local industry, furthering the pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world, and building on the FMCG company’s award-winning work in the community, particularly the globally renowned #FinishWaterWaste campaign first launched in 2019.”
Ms Byrne joined Reckitt in 2018, managing several of their most strategic customers, most recently Woolworths. Before joining Reckitt, Ms Byrne spent the prior decade building her experience in the UK, where she worked within commercial roles for multiple CPG businesses including Unilever and Kraft Heinz.
Ms Byrne believes her passion and solution-focus will enable her to drive the changes required to bring sustainability to the forefront of the business’ operations. “Australians are becoming increasingly climate aware following the devastating extreme weather events from recent years. Communities are looking for governments and organisations to lead the required change by innovating and improving access to more sustainable solutions. Here in Australia, Reckitt has already taken meaningful action by supporting local communities and the environment through multiple brand purpose campaigns, but we recognise there is still much more to be done. We will expand our focus to drive more sustainable solutions through our product offering while simultaneously focusing on the reduction of our carbon and packaging footprints.”
Reckitt is addressing sustainability after establishing what matters most to its customers, consumers and communities. In 2021, Reckitt announced its climate commitments, which include halving it’s carbon footprint and use of virgin plastic, reducing its chemical footprint by 65% as well as moving to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Alongside driving Reckitt’s environmental sustainability agenda, Ms Byrne is also focused internally on supporting the organisation in delivering its target to reach gender balance across all levels of management by 2030, through the launch earlier this year of Women@Reckitt. Women@Reckitt is an Employee Resource Group focused on shining a light on the everyday experiences of women in the workplace by creating a network of support and education to drive positive change.
Reckitt Hygiene ANZ Regional Director Oliver Tatlow says Ms Byrne is already playing a critical role in helping Reckitt bring to life its sustainability strategy.
“We are a company focused on performance, but we’re also focused on people and purpose. Through our brand purpose campaigns, run in tandem with our charity partners, we have made a positive and lasting impact to multiple communities around Australia as well as our local environment. However, we recognise that there is more to be done which is why we’ve appointed Danielle Byrne to this newly created role. Danielle brings great energy, drive and focus to the areas where we can make the biggest impact, and her appointment reinforces Reckitt’s commitment to work towards a more socially conscious and environmentally sustainable future.”