Susannah leads the Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability strategy and programmes at the Cobalt Institute.  She represents the Cobalt Institute on several prominent platforms, including the Global Battery Alliance, ICMM Responsible Sourcing Working Group, PEF Batteries Technical Secretariat, and Eurometaux Sustainability and Trade Committees.   Susannah is an expert in human rights and sustainability, with over 18 years’ in-house and advisory experience across numerous sectors – including mining & metals, oil & gas, renewables, FMCG, ICT and the built environment. She has held positions with Shift and the LBMA where she acquired an intimate knowledge of the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Responsible Supply Chains.

Susannah also spent ten years employed with a global engineering contractor, latterly as the Head of Social Sustainability. Susannah has previously held roles on the CRAFT Code Committee, the Advisory Group of the UN Global Compact Network UK, the Board of the United Nations Association of the UK and as Vice-Chair of Building Responsibly, an industry-led initiative to safeguard the rights and welfare of workers. She has a Masters in Environment & Business from the University of Leeds and a degree in Accountancy from the University of Malta.

Tom manages the Sustainability strategy and programs at the Cobalt Institute. He oversees core areas of supply chain decarbonization, circular economy, and recycling, with a particular focus on the growth of e-mobility.

Holding a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle University, Tom began his career as a metallurgist on large extractives projects from which he progressed to management of change, training and business development roles. To combine industry experience with a desire to achieve energy transition in a sustainable manner, he also completed a Masters in Global Energy and Climate Policy from the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London.

We are looking forward to welcoming Fritjof Schubert from PowerCo, the battery subsidiary of Volkswagen, to our panel. Fritjof is an expert in Life Cycle Assessment, having started his career working on the LCA modelling of batteries at Porsche AG. He spent a year working on LCAs at BASF, before moving to PowerCo in 2023.

Daniella Savic is the Head of International ESG Compliance at the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), and brings to the panel 11 years of experience working in the field of corporate social responsibility. Daniella posesses a MBA in Sustainable Business Development form the University of St. Gallen, and spent six years working for UNICEF managing corporate partnerships.

Daniella is now at ERG, where she manages their ESG programme, ensures compliance therewith, oversees the execution of ERG’s ESG strategies, and undertakes peer learning through partnership with likeminded companies. She is a regular at CI events, and we are delighted to have her with us for the launch of this report.

Gert Van Hoof is the Manager, LCA and Recycling, in the ESG Department at Umicore. He comes with a wealth of experience in sustainability and environmental science. Before joining Umicore, he spent two decades at Procter & Gamble, where he specialised in life-cycle assessments, decarbonisation, and sustainability, before leaving to join Umicore in 2018. He is currently Co-Chair of CI’s Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Committee.

Gert is the co-author of the 2023 paper Towards Sustainable Battery Recycling: A Carbon Footprint Comparison between Pyrometallurgical and Hydrometallurgical Battery Recycling Flowsheets, possesses considerable expertise on all things sustainable and circular, and we are delighted to have him join us for the Launch.

We are delighted to welcome Anna Triponel, founder of the business and human rights advisory firm Human Level, to our panel. After training as a lawyer and a number of years working as a lawyer, Anna joined the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, advising Professor John Ruggie, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, on the development of the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. During this time, she also opeend the New York office of the Public International Law & Policy Group, adivising a vast array of global stakeholders on human rights and constitutional reform.

Anna also worked for the Shift Project, one of the leading centers of expertise on business and human rights, before leaving to start her own consultancy. In 2022, she founded Human Level, and now offers her considerable expertise to companies interested in improving their human rights performance. We are looking forward to Anna joining us to offer her perspective on the key issue of decarbonisation and the just transition.