NOVUS student named 2015 Sustainable Visionary

Ronan Keane, a logistics and supply chain management student on the University of Huddersfield NOVUS scheme, has won ReFood’s Sustainable Visionaries student scholarship competition. The leading food waste recycler awarded Ronan the title following a rigorous six-month judging process. He takes home a £5,000 bursary to further progress his studies.

ReFood’s panel of waste management experts was hugely impressed with Ronan’s industry knowledge, passion and highly creative ideas to integrate sustainability into the food waste recycling logistics process. Presenting a comprehensive proposal on implementing new techniques to close the food chain, Ronan epitomised the idea of a sustainable visionary and was presented with the industry’s very first student scholarship accordingly.

A student on the University of Huddersfield NOVUS scheme – the industry backed initiative designed to develop the next generation of supply chain professionals – Ronan said: “Taking the title of ReFood’s Sustainable Visionary is an absolute honour. The food waste recycling and anaerobic digestion (AD) sector is going from strength to strength, with sustainable logistics becoming an ever-important part. As a third year degree student, understanding how the logistics sector can embrace sustainability further is something I find really interesting and want to explore further – the key reason I submitted an application to ReFood’s student bursary.”

David Leach, NOVUS Programme Director, commented: “Improving sustainability is a key challenge for the logistics industry and lies at the heart of our teaching programme. We are really delighted with Ronan’s success – it is fantastic to have the 2015 ReFood Sustainable Visionary amongst the first cohort of NOVUS students; a testament to the quality of young people that we have within the scheme.”

Over the next 12 months, Ronan will work closely with the ReFood team, receiving in-depth industry mentoring from the company’s waste management experts throughout his third year studies. Alongside gaining unparalleled access to the company’s logistics data and processes, ReFood’s dedicated logistics team will be on hand to further assist his wider academic research and professional development.

Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood, commented: “With such comprehensive industry understanding, passion for sustainability and a pioneering approach to integrating new ideas into corporate logistics, we’re delighted to announce Ronan as our 2015 Sustainable Visionary. The judging panel was hugely impressed with his initial proposal, ideas and presentation, which demonstrated a completely new approach to sustainable logistics.

“Over the next 12 months, we will work closely with Ronan to support his studies and help him to share his insight with the next generation of sustainable logistics professionals from across the country. Ronan demonstrates exactly why we launched the competition – to find a highly talented student who could fly the flag for sustainability; not just for today, but for the future.”

To find out more about NOVUS, email: novus@hud.ac.uk or tel: 01536 740108

For more information about ReFood, or the company’s innovative food waste recycling services, visit www.refood.co.uk.

Image: (L-R) David Leach, NOVUS Programme Director; Dr Nick Hubbard, Head of Transport & Logistics at the University of Huddersfield; Dean Pearce, Commercial Manager, ReFood; and 2015 Sustainable Visionary, Ronan Keane