Netherlands’ ZDHC announces new appointments to board of directors

ZDHC’s aim was to set up a board that was based on a composition of 7 brand category seats, 2 chemical suppliers category seats, and 2 manufacturer category seats with a final seat for a candidate from academia.

Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Foundation (ZDHC) has announced new appointments to its board of directors following the Board Election and appointment process of 2022. The new appointments in the 2022 election have enabled ZDHC to achieve its aim of transitioning the board of directors to a more diverse and multi-stakeholder representation.

Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis has been appointed as the treasurer/brand category seat, while Abhishek Bansal has been elected for the second term to serve as a secretary/manufacturer seat. Dr Mark Sumner, who is a lecturer in sustainable fashion, School of Design, University of Leeds, has been given the academia seat. Mia Gunawan has also been given a brand category seat.

Along with seating new board members, there has been a change in the role of ZDHC’s board chair as well. Manuel Baigorri, who had been a valued member of ZDHC’s board since 2017, has resigned due to a change in his employment.

In light of Manuel’s departure, Francesco Pianca has been elected as the interim board chair until the new seating of the board committee chairs are seated in the coming year following commences after the next board election.

“I´m very pleased to announce that we have completed our transition to a multistakeholder board one year ahead of schedule. We are thrilled to welcome Mark and Mia to the board, whose diverse backgrounds and expertise will be very valuable as we continue to implement our plans for the future. We also congratulate Abhishek on his re-election to the board. With the addition of Mark, Mia, and Abhishek, along with the continued service of our current board members, our board is now well-balanced with a mix of business acumen, industry knowledge, and academic perspectives to support us as we move forward,” said Frank Michel, executive director, the ZDHC Foundation.

There will be four brand category seats up for election in the 2023 ZDHC board election process, which is expected to start in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)