It has been announced that Dr. Roberta McDonald, a 2016 Nuffield scholar, has been appointed sustainability manager of Aurivo’s dairy businesses.

In the newly-created role, Dr. McDonald will be responsible for developing and implementing Aurivo’s new sustainability strategy across several areas of the business – including Aurivo Consumer Foods, Aurivo Dairy Ingredients and My Goodness Ltd.

Aurivo – the globally-focused agribusiness, which is headquartered in the north-west of Ireland – is a verified member of Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme.

Sustainability is a key focus of Aurivo’s recently launched five-year growth plan, Engage 2022, which aims to add value and deliver growth for its members.

The “ambitious strategy” aims to increase shareholder funds in Aurivo by 45% to €89 million by 2022.

After graduating from University College Dublin (UCD), Dr. McDonald went on to complete a PhD at UCD and Teagasc Moorepark in 2013. She was awarded a Nuffield scholarship in 2016, studying the topic: ‘Innovative Disruption of Farmer Development Programmes’.

The newly appointed sustainability manager is a member of the Agricultural Science Association (ASA), a board member of Nuffield Ireland and a member of the Ceres Network.

She will be replaced as manager of the Farm Profitability Programme by Dr. Vincent Griffith, who joined Aurivo in 2014 as a Farm Profitability Programme specialist.

He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Science from UCD, specialising in animal and crop production. Following this, Dr. Griffith was awarded a PhD in grassland science from Queens University Belfast in 2013.

Commenting on the appointments, Aurivo CEO Aaron Forde said: “I would like to congratulate both Roberta and Vincent on their appointments to these roles.

“Both bring an impressive wealth of expertise, which I am confident will deliver for Aurivo’s growth strategy and in doing so, respect the environment and support local communities and suppliers more effectively.”