 I’LL BE HONEST - I DON’T LIKE THE TERM SUSTAINABILITY. 
    
    It’s too narrow to capture the breadth of what being a better business is really about. But I love the win-win it now means - the commercial success to be had from behaving responsibly towards people and the environment over the long term. It’s what I’ve been working on for over 15 years.   

   I believe most leaders want to grow oak trees -   
  businesses that can weather storms, adapt to change, support life and outlast the competition. Businesses that are simply better.  

  I know from experience how hard it can be to juggle short and long term priorities and make trade offs between commercial pressures. Making the right ethical choices can appear complex and expensive.  
 
  But   sustainability doesn’t need to be complicated.     It’s tough to do well because it covers every subject, expectations change fast, it cuts across team structures, and you can never say ‘job done’. 
 
     It needs leadership from the top, but as a leader in a successful business it’s impossible to be across all the detail. You need sound advice, clear direction, and practical plans that bring your team, customers and influencers on board to make progress, one step at a time. 
 
 That’s why I set up Acorn. To make it easier to do better.

I have been fortunate to work with many passionate, capable and dedicated people over the years - and Tor is simply one of the best. I would highly recommend Tor to any CEO or executive.

Grant F. Reid, Chair of SMI Agribusiness Taskforce and former CEO Mars Incorporated 2014 - 2022

Tor’s extensive knowledge of the food and farming sector is particularly impressive as is the way in which she always keeps the customer front and centre of all that she does.

Rob Collins, Managing Director, Waitrose & Partners, 2016-2020

Tor connects with people in business from the Boardroom to shop floor, from professionals to sceptics, cuts through noise and technical complexity to get to the action point and make things happen.

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, Vice President, Business in the Community

Tor excelled in overhauling the Waitrose CSR Strategy. She immediately gained the confidence of the whole Board.

Bishop James Jones KBE, Chair, Waitrose CSR Committee 2013-2019

Tor brought along not only a deep understanding and passion to our deliberations but also a sound understanding about how best to make things relevant to the corporate environment within the UK.

Chris Mack, Chairman, Fresca Group

Why acorn?

Whether you’re leading a mature tree, a sapling or just planting the seed of sustainability in your business we can help you achieve your goals with an approach built on extensive experience, rooted in pragmatism and focused on action.

BESPOKE & TRULY PERSONAL

No two businesses are the same. My first priority is to truly understand your goals so I can support your unique business with a fully tailored offering.

EXPERT KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

I’ve spent over 15 years at the coalface advising, developing strategy and - most importantly - getting my hands dirty delivering it with some of the world’s best businesses and not-for-profits.

PRACTICAL APPROACH

There’s no point having a grand strategy that can’t be implemented! Ambition is important, but everything I do is rooted in real world pragmatism.

NO JARGON GUARANTEE

I’m here to make sustainability simple and cut to the chase, not blind you with complexity. Expect straight talking founded on friendly honesty.

RELATABILITY AT ALL LEVELS

I’ve worked with CEOs and board directors, shop floor staff, one man bands and everything in between in the private, public and not for profit sector. I’ll get where you’re coming from and work effectively with your teams.

FOOD AND FARMING PASSION

While I’ve been lucky to work with a wide range of sectors from banking to utilities to retail, my real love is food and farming and I’m never happier than at home on the farm.

Get in touch

Credentials

I’ve been working in sustainability for over 15 years. It’s been my passion since graduating from Cambridge University with an MA in Geography. After an internship at global consulting and standards firm, Accountability, I spent six years at Business in the Community, The Prince of Wales’s Responsible Business Network. There I worked with senior business leaders on projects as varied as regenerating disadvantaged communities to galvanising business to tackle climate change - long before it was on trend!

As Director of The Prince’s Rural Action Programme I set up The Prince’s Countryside Fund, and worked closely with businesses from a range of sectors - banking, utilities, retail and more - to help regenerate rural communities and British farming. I was awarded Member of the Royal Victorian Order by The Queen for this work in 2014.

My in-house corporate experience comes from seven years at premium UK retailer, Waitrose & Partners. Here I led the Sustainability, Agriculture and Health teams through a period of major strategic and structural change, leading to improved impact, as well as spending time in senior Executive Communications and Project Management roles.

Most recently I’ve been leading the Sustainable Markets Initiative Agribusiness Taskforce, helping a consortium of CEOs of the world’s largest and most progressive food and agriculture businesses accelerate the transition to regenerative farming in partnership with the finance sector.

Through Acorn I bring this varied experience to benefit a wide range of organisations while also spending time in my other role as a farmer’s wife on a tenanted arable farm in Cambridgeshire.