Leading meat-free food brand Quorn has appointed Tongwen Zhao as the new director of people and plant for the company to help boost their sustainability goals.

Formerly of Unilever, Ms Zhao brings nearly 20 years of HR experience to Quorn, including leading positions in multiple APAC markets, most recently as group HR director for The Dairy Farm Group in Hong Kong.

Quorn said that the role has been created to accelerate the company’s status as a business of the future with an environmental mission at its core.

Marco Bertacca, CEO of Quorn said: “I am super excited to welcome Tongwen to the Quorn team as she brings such a wealth of global experience and passion for our sustainability purpose.”

He added: “The products we make at Quorn are all made with the clear purpose to provide healthy food for people and the planet, and our purpose must run through everything we do.

“We have created this new role to build an integrated culture, across our global operations and within our people, that will drive progress towards Quorn’s goals across the next decade and beyond.”

As part of this latest announcement, Quorn is also setting the following targets against which it will measure its progress in HR and sustainability moving forward:

· To become a net positive company by 2030
· To achieve net zero emissions within its own operations by 2030
· To achieve net zero emissions across its whole supply chain by 2050
· To serve 8 billion meals a year worldwide by 2030 – one for every person on the planet

Over the past six-years, Quorn reduced its carbon emissions by 38% and its water usage by 16%, with all electricity used at the company’s Stokesley and Methwold factories now100% renewable.

Tongwen Zhao, director of people and planet at Quorn Foods, said: “It is an honour to join Quorn Foods and become the first person to undertake this new role. Living in Asia for much of my life, I have seen the damaging impacts of the climate crisis first-hand and, by encouraging more people to eat sustainable protein, we can help improve people’s lives.”

“My HR experience has taught me that people are inspired by a shared purpose, and to achieve true, sustainable progress we must prioritise the engagement of our team.

“The Covid-19 pandemic poses serious challenges to the Quorn family, but the way our people are tackling the situation with bravery and dedication has shown me that I have arrived at a special company that is well set to make a difference to the future of our planet.”