Europe

As an Implementation Officer, Manon works closely with ZWE network members, cities, and partners, providing them with the technical guidance and support needed to accelerate the implementation of zero waste strategies at the local level. This includes capturing, showcasing, and disseminating best practices and methods related to waste prevention and management, reuse systems, organics collection and recovery as well as financing opportunities.
A large part of her role focuses on the implementation of the LIFE BIOBEST project, which identifies, validates, and mainstreams best practices on bio-waste recycling in Europe.

As Alice, I oversee the effective day-to-day operations of the organization: HR, finance, and legal. With the operations team, she makes sure ZWE’s company culture and values are reflected throughout the organization and that we enable everyone to be successful in their roles.

As the Head of Policy, Aline is responsible for coordinating the policy team of ZWE and for representing the organization in policy discussions. She ensures strategic coherence and vision for the EU and global policy work, and supports ZWE’s policy team working on topics ranging from product design to waste disposal.
To sum up: bringing ZWE policy efforts together.

As a Waste Policy Officer, Theresa mainly acts within the EU institutional bubble, pushing for more ambitious legislation on waste management, food waste, or waste shipments. She also supports the Cities & Communities program by linking with European legislation and identifying good practices to be disseminated across Europe.

Stephanie coordinates the engagement of the network of 32 members in the work of ZWE and makes sure that members are supported and empowered to implement a joint vision of a zero waste Europe.

As a Communications Assistant, Nanna supports the implementation of all ZWE’s communication activities, including digital campaigns, newsletters, and content for social media.

As the Policy Officer on Chemicals Recycling and Plastic-to-Fuels, Lauriane engages with European institutions to develop ambitious, human-, and environmentally-friendly legislation focusing on the chemical treatment of waste. Before joining ZWE, she did a traineeship at the European Parliament, where she followed the IMCO Committee and focused on consumer protection.

Caroline focuses on the creation of new financing models for zero waste cities and businesses. Before joining ZWE she worked in many different and challenging environments, in different countries, on diverse topics –  from public to private sectors, building businesses from scratch, always driven by the necessity to ‘act for good’.

Desi ensures that ZWE runs smoothly and maintains a healthy financial state through compliance with financial procedures. She’s involved in payments, accounting, and budget follow-up; and is a contact point for any financial matters. Prior to joining the team, Desi had work experiences in the healthcare, aviation, and IT sectors. She completed a traineeship at the European Commission’s DG Trade and volunteered in an organization for health and drug prevention amongst the youth.

Mariel is currently driving the global work of Zero Waste Europe as Director of Global Strategy, building bridges and identifying opportunities for collaboration across borders to promote zero waste policies and practices with members worldwide. Prior to this role, between 2014-2019 she was the Managing Director of Zero Waste Europe, during its foundation and early development. Before 2014 she was the lead climate policy campaigner for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).

Larissa has a background in Law and she worked as a Legal Consultant on environment, health, and safety policies. She is passionate about environmental protection and sustainable development practices. She is a zero waster at heart, and enjoys running campaigns and empowering people towards sustainable consumption patterns. She also likes cooking and preparing her zero waste cosmetics and products, while fostering her creativity.

Kaisa leads the development of the Mission Zero Academy and its services; design, test and scale-up different training and consultancy concepts; as well as performance certifications that accelerate the transition to zero waste in municipalities and businesses. She scouts and forms partnerships with different organizations on a similar mission, and identifies the most pressing needs for us to solve.

Dorota works on toxic-free consumption and production to ensure safe and sustainable solutions. That means work on the presence of hazardous chemicals in products and packaging, promotion of non-toxic alternatives, and how this all impacts human health, the environment, and the achievement of a truly circular economy. Her advocacy work focuses on the revision of the EU food contact materials legislation.

Jack has an educational background in international relations having studied at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. For the past 5 years, he has worked for two different NGOs within the international development and sustainability sectors, helping to build movements and communities for change. He has led successful campaigns at the local level within the UK as well as at the global level at institutions such as the United Nations. Jack will be leading our work with municipalities, helping to connect members from across Europe to build and contribute towards the transition of cities towards zero waste strategies.

As Development and Policy Coordinator, Janek manages the relationship with Zero Waste Europe’s funders and leads on climate and energy policy advocacy work towards EU institutions. Previously, he worked for the Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) in Brussels where he coordinated fundraising efforts on behalf of FoEE and its 6 programmes. Prior to the FoEE, Janek worked for the Justice and Environment (J&E) where he provided leadership for the development of strategic partnerships.

Based in Brussels, Joan Marc has been a leading voice for Zero Waste in Europe since 2007 and he is a regular keynote speaker in many industry and NGO meetings in Brussels but also at local level as well as internationally. He is member of the Steering Committee of the Break Free from Plastics movement. Among many other publications he has authored the Zero Waste Masterplan for cities as well as the book “Zero Waste – How to reactivate the economy without trashing the planet”.

Ana’s previous work experiences include EU institutions, NGOs, and private sector communication companies, where she was responsible for strategic communications, business development, and project communications. Environmental topics have been a constant throughout her career, be it through the link between health and environment, sustainability in the building sector, and the promotion of eco-innovative business practices. Ana holds a BA in Communications Sciences from the University of Porto and a MA in European Studies from KU Leuven. She speaks Portuguese, English, Dutch, French, and Italian.

Alexandra has a background in International Relations and European Studies and a Master in Political Science from Université libre de Bruxelles. She has always been interested in topics such as sustainability, economics and development studies. She has previously worked for a company specialized in the production of organic, fair trade and sustainable ingredients from the Amazon Rainforest, and through this activity she has become more aware of the importance of climate protection and the necessity to adopt a much healthier and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Esra leads on the strategic development of Zero Waste Europe as a network and organisation, and manages the implementation of the vision with the team and member organisations. She coordinates the development of European campaigns in partnership with Zero Waste Europe’s members across the continent, and acts as the European Regional Coordinator towards GAIA International to further promote zero waste models worldwide.

Heli has a background in translation and literature and she has previously worked in the European Commission as Assistant in the Interpretation Directorate and Project Coordinator in the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Unit (DG ECHO). She first learned about Zero Waste Europe whilst volunteering for the Estonian NGO Let’s Do It. She loves nature and animals and has always been very vocal about environmental issues and animal rights.