Leading through sustainability and purpose

Consumer goods business, Reckitt, confirms the appointment of 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.  

With a wealth of experience across the consumer goods industry internationally, Danielle’s appointment to Head of Sustainability & Purpose 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. 

Danielle 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 & Kraft Heinz.  

Commenting on her appointment, 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’s 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,” Ms Byrne said. 

“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 reducing our carbon and packaging footprints.”

Reckitt is addressing sustainability after establishing what matters most to its customers, consumers and communities.

In 2021, Reckitt made public its climate commitments, which include halving its carbon footprint and use of virgin plastic, reducing its chemical footprint by 65% and 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 Danielle 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 on multiple communities around Australia and our local environment,” Mr Tatlow said. 

“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 & environmentally sustainable future.” 

The team behind Reckitt’s hygiene portfolio have successfully executed award-winning purpose-led campaigns such as #FinishWaterWaste, which supported regional communities across Australia suffering from devastating drought by delivering millions of litres of water to those in need, in partnership with Rural Aid, and also #MakeTextileWasteVanish, which leveraged a strategic partnership with leading textile waste recovery and recycling organisation, Upparel, to educate Australians on how they can reduce clothing waste by keeping their garments in their wardrobes for longer. 

Danielle started in her position in June 2022 and is based in Sydney, Australia.