EcoVadis Sustainability Achievement Awards 2024
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Sarah O’Brien is CEO of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), a nonprofit organization that leads a global community of purchasers, suppliers, advocates and experts dedicated to driving positive environmental and social impact through the power of procurement. SPLC’s public sector and corporate members represent over $500B in annual purchasing power.

Ms O’Brien is a recognized expert on sustainable purchasing and more sustainable electronics. Just prior to joining SPLC she directed the multi-stakeholder Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN), where leading brands, NGOs, suppliers and chemical suppliers focused on elimination of worker exposure to toxic chemicals in electronics production. For more than a decade previously, Ms O’Brien led global stakeholder engagement with the EPEAT IT hardware sustainability rating tool (which she participated in developing through a US EPA-sponsored process) for the Green Electronics Council.

Earlier, Ms. O’Brien developed and led the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program of the nonprofit Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (now Practice Greenhealth), and served as a Senior Outreach Associate for INFORM’s PBT-free purchasing program, working with states across the US to reduce procurement of products containing mercury and other persistent toxics. Prior to entering the field of sustainable procurement, she worked as a state and regional legislative advocate and community organizer for the National Wildlife Federation and Vermont Public Interest Research Group, with a focus on toxics elimination, pesticide regulation, power plant pollution controls and other environmental health issues.

Ms O’Brien holds a BA from Yale University and an MA in anthropology from Temple University.

Schulte spent most of his professional career at Unilever. In his final role, he led the creation of the global Unilever procurement function.

Other roles include serving as head of the Personal Care supply chain for Europe; technical director for the Elida board; works manager of the Elida Gibbs Personal Care factory (in Germany); head of development and quality assurance of Lever Division Household Products and Personal Care (Sao Paulo, Brazil); head of production for detergent powders and liquids and product development (Lever Germany); and scientist/chemist in England and Germany.

Later he was executive director of the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre and leader of the Global Sustainability Centre at The Conference Board. In this role, he worked closely with the C-suite executives to help them better understand and identify sustainable business risks and opportunities and was the host to the Podcast Series ‘Let’s Talk Sustainable Business

Divya is the CEO & Co-Founder of GoodOps, a supply chain and sustainability consultancy that partners with high growth startups and global enterprises to architect, accelerate, and scale responsible operations.

Divya brings 19 years of experience as an operator, entrepreneur, executive, consultant, and advisor for internationally recognized startups and leading multinationals. She has driven innovative supply chain and logistics solutions for companies at various stages of growth, such as Walmart, Danone, Martin Brower/McDonald’s, Madison Reed, One Kings Lane, Westwing/Rocket Internet, ABLE, and Pricesmart. Throughout her career, Divya has built a vast global network of executives, investors, and entrepreneurs at the vanguard of today’s most disruptive industries. In 2021, she was named one of the Top 100 Women in Supply Chain globally by Supply Chain Digital; and in 2020, was a winner of Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s Women in Supply Chain Award.

As CEO of GoodOps, Divya brings a rigorous, dynamic, and collaborative approach in assessing complex value chains to identify unique opportunities that meaningfully address ESG impact goals. Consulting services include supply chain & sustainability strategy, operational audits & analysis, industry benchmarking, innovation strategy, and pilot development. In addition to client engagements, GoodOps produces custom content capturing the most recent trends, case studies, and technology in the space. GoodOps works across several key industries, including retail, food, and wellness. GoodOps’ work and thought leadership has been recognized in Forbes, Business Insider, Sourcing Journal, and Digital Trends Live.

Divya is an Advisor to Rethink Food VC and Radiant Ventures; a Mentor for Unreasonable Group; and is Chairwoman Emeritus for Nexus Global. Divya has spoken at industry leading supply chain and sustainability events such as EcoVadis SUSTAIN Conference, EcoVadis Asia Pacific B2B Sustainability Forum, Alcott Global’s Makers & Movers Summit, Global Sources Sustainable Sourcing, Ardent Partners CPO Rising, Techstars, Home Delivery World, Automated Vehicles Symposium, FASHINNOVATION, The NY Supply Chain Meetup, and Nexus Global. Divya is fluent in Spanish.