Helen Ireland leads Veris Strategies, the advisory sister business to Future Food Movement. A key part of our extended team, Helen brings deep expertise, fresh energy and sharp thinking to help businesses move from ambition to action – working closely with members and non-members alike.
We caught up with Helen to explore what drives her, what she’s learned from working across the food system, and what advice she’d offer to the next generation of change agents.
What’s your ultimate go-to food?
Poached egg on toast – fresh, simple, and fills me up.
What’s the best part of your job that keeps you coming back every day?
I love working collaboratively with clients to help identify and solve challenges at whatever stage of the sustainability journey they are on. Also working with a great team who are passionate about making a difference.
Who or what fuels your passion to keep pushing for change?
I’m fueled by a deep belief in our collective capacity to create a sustainable food system, through a just transition, and the role of business in delivering the change. I’m also inspired by the power of shared learning—exchanging insights, experiences, and stories with others who are committed to transformation. It’s in these moments of connection and co-creation that I find energy, perspective, and hope.
What skills do you think will define the leaders of tomorrow? Where should businesses focus when it comes to nurturing the next generation of trailblazers?
Future leaders will need to embody adaptive thinking, emotional intelligence, systems awareness, and the ability to hold complexity with clarity. The trailblazers of tomorrow won’t just lead with their heads, but with empathy, purpose and deepening relationships. Businesses need to focus on cultivating curiosity, resilience, and regenerative thinking – creating cultures that welcome experimentation, multiple ways of knowing, and collaborative learning.
If you could offer one game-changing piece of advice to the future leaders of the food industry, what would it be?
Fall in love with the problem, not the product. Build deep relationships with your ecosystem – from soil to suppliers to consumers, and keep listening, learning, and iterating. That’s where real innovation lives and ensures resilient businesses.
What’s the toughest hurdle you’re facing in your business, and what broader challenges do you see for the industry?
One of the toughest hurdles is supporting clients to shift mindsets fast enough to match the urgency of the moment. Many organisations still operate in silos, with short-term metrics and legacy systems holding back transformation. The broader challenge is to move from performative sustainability to embedded, cross-functional action – making ESG part of business DNA, not just a side strategy.
Reflecting on your sustainability journey, what have been the most pivotal decisions – both the wins and the lessons learned?
I’ve been lucky enough to work in lots of types of organisations and with clients facing similar challenges. A pivotal decision across my career has been treating sustainability not as a parallel agenda, but as a catalyst for organisational change and commercial ambitions. For example, at Sainsbury’s, bringing the finance team into early sustainability planning unlocked investment and ensured sustainability decision-making was integrated into the financial cycle. At Costa, working closely with the strategy team helped integrate climate goals into core decision-making, while aligning product, brand, and supply chain teams to co-create climate-positive roadmaps. And at Cafédirect, experimenting with alternative business models taught me the power of community-led approaches and value chain innovation.
Some of the biggest wins have come from identifying quick wins that build momentum—while activating key teams who can influence across the business. One of the most important lessons? Sustainability is ultimately a human journey. People need to connect with the change emotionally and practically. That means aligning narrative, leadership and accountability, so that sustainability becomes everyone’s business, not just a function.
What impact does upskilling have on the organisations you’re working with?
It’s a game-changer. Upskilling isn’t just about knowledge it’s about shifting mindsets, building internal champions and creating a shared language for change. We don’t want to create a plan that sits in a drawer but is owned and driven by teams and suppliers. Upskilling is a key part of ensuring that everyone is inspired, empowered and knows their role in delivering the strategy.
What climate actions are you most proud of?
One of the most impactful experiences was co-leading Costa Coffee’s sustainability transformation and getting SBTis signed off and embedded across the business. Helping the business understand its key climate hotspots, working with different teams to identify practical actions and piloting some hero projects to test and learn.
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Who are Veris Strategies?
Future Food Movement was launched in 2021, building on two decades of deep industry experience from Veris Strategies. While Veris Strategies works directly with food and drink businesses to develop and implement sustainability strategy, FFM focuses on closing the climate and health skills gap across the wider industry. We are part of the same team and share the same belief that people are the key to transformation.
We work with food and drink businesses, retailers and manufacturers that are just starting out on their sustainability journey and those serious about making sustainability core to how they operate. From established global brands to retailers to food manufacturers to fast-growing innovators, our clients want to move from ambition to action – and make it stick.
Together, Veris and FFM equip leaders and teams across the food system with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to take meaningful action. Whether it’s strategic support through Veris Strategies or practical upskilling through FFM, our shared goal is simple: future-proofing businesses for long-term, sustainable growth.
What drives Veris Strategies?
The Veris team are passionate about helping food businesses connect sustainability strategy with commercial growth and operational reality. Helping our clients build long-term business resilience while transitioning the food system to a regenerative system that benefits people and planet. Our superpower lies in cutting through complexity, blending deep food sector expertise with sustainability, communications and design to equip leaders with the confidence and skills to build better businesses.
How businesses work with Veris Strategies: We offer a range of advisory services across all sustainability themes including climate, nature, healthy sustainability diets, including:
- Insights and horizon scanning including board papers and commercial team briefings
- Strategy development and implementation including roadmaps and governance
- Supply chain and Scope 3 engagement including LCAs
- Communications and engagement from the board room to factory floor
- Monitoring and evaluation including ESG reporting
What’s it like to work at Veris Strategies?
We have a core team of people from diverse backgrounds and work with a partner network to ensure we bring the right expertise to every project. We bring curiosity to work every day – speaking to clients, developing and sharing insights, delivering workshops. Every day is different, and that’s exactly how we like it.
Connect with us: hello@veris-strategies.co.uk or Helen on LinkedIn or find out more: www.veris-strategies.co.uk
