SUMMARY CV
Dr Simon Lord has 35 years management experience in the agricultural and oil palm sector. For 20 of those years he has occupied senior management positions and been advisor to various corporate Boards.
He has held positions as Biotechnology and Business development manager with Unilever with whom he worked for 10 years. In 1995 he moved to Papua New Guinea to work for New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL). As Head of Research he ran Dami Oil Palm Research Station in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 13 years before being seconded to work in Malaysia for Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad and subsequently for New Britain Plantation Services in Singapore.
He has been involved in sustainable Palm Oil since 2000. For 15 of those years he has spearheaded NBPOL’s initiatives in sustainability as Group Director of Sustainability, NBPOL. Responsible for all sustainability programs across the group’s holdings in PNG and Solomon Islands. He was also Director of Global Sustainability Associates (GSA), providing third party independent advice to the agricultural sector across the world on matters relating to production, efficiency and sustainability. He also held the position of Director of the NBPOL Foundation, a registered charity seeking to improve health and educational provisions for the citizens of PNG.
In 2015 NBPOL was bought by Sime Darby Berhad and Dr Lord became the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of Sime Darby Berhad. He led Sime Darby's Sustainability, Operational Excellence and Quality initiatives across all Group Divisions (Plantations, Motors, Property, Industrial and Energy & Utilities). Implementing systems to promote responsible and ethical production across the Group holdings and taking responsibility for disclosure on all matters relating to Governance and Environmental and Social accountability.
In 2017 Sime Darby Berhad split into 3 separate entities and Dr Lord moved to join the newly formed Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (the world’s largest plantation company) as CSO. In this role he had direct responsibility for all Sustainability, Operational Excellence and Quality initiatives across 17 countries, 600,000 ha of agriculture and the groups, 78 mills and 12 refineries.
In January 2020 Simon moved back to the UK to lead an oil palm alliance and to begin a mentoring program for the next generation of sustainability leaders within Sime Darby. In September of that year he relinquished his position as CSO, in favour of his successor and took up the position as Independent Advisor to Management whilst starting his own consulting business.
In 2019 Dr Lord was made Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at The National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and in November 2019 Simon was named as one of the 10 most influential Corporate Sustainability Practitioners in the Asia – Pacific by Eco-Business
Simon has been Involved with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) commodity standard initiative since 2002 as an executive board member representing all producer countries outside of Indonesia and Malaysia. He has served as Vice President (2006-2008), Chair of the Standards and Certification sub group (2008), Member of the Criteria, Verification, New Planting, Green House Gas and Smallholder working Groups (2003 – 2009). He has also facilitated in the National Interpretation of the RSPO standards in PNG, Solomon Islands and Malaysia and advised on the Thai and Ghanaian interpretation process.
Simon is a regular presenter at sustainability and responsible sourcing conferences on a wide variety of subject ranging from sustainable finance to child / worker rights and conservation. He has a Doctorate in Environmental Effects of Pesticides, a Degree in Applied Biology including Agronomy, Pathology and Ecology and is a Qualified RSPO and ISO 14001 lead auditor, Accredited “AgSafe” practitioner and has additional qualifications in Occupational Health and Safety and agricultural chemical handling.
He has held positions as Biotechnology and Business development manager with Unilever with whom he worked for 10 years. In 1995 he moved to Papua New Guinea to work for New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL). As Head of Research he ran Dami Oil Palm Research Station in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 13 years before being seconded to work in Malaysia for Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad and subsequently for New Britain Plantation Services in Singapore.
He has been involved in sustainable Palm Oil since 2000. For 15 of those years he has spearheaded NBPOL’s initiatives in sustainability as Group Director of Sustainability, NBPOL. Responsible for all sustainability programs across the group’s holdings in PNG and Solomon Islands. He was also Director of Global Sustainability Associates (GSA), providing third party independent advice to the agricultural sector across the world on matters relating to production, efficiency and sustainability. He also held the position of Director of the NBPOL Foundation, a registered charity seeking to improve health and educational provisions for the citizens of PNG.
In 2015 NBPOL was bought by Sime Darby Berhad and Dr Lord became the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of Sime Darby Berhad. He led Sime Darby's Sustainability, Operational Excellence and Quality initiatives across all Group Divisions (Plantations, Motors, Property, Industrial and Energy & Utilities). Implementing systems to promote responsible and ethical production across the Group holdings and taking responsibility for disclosure on all matters relating to Governance and Environmental and Social accountability.
In 2017 Sime Darby Berhad split into 3 separate entities and Dr Lord moved to join the newly formed Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (the world’s largest plantation company) as CSO. In this role he had direct responsibility for all Sustainability, Operational Excellence and Quality initiatives across 17 countries, 600,000 ha of agriculture and the groups, 78 mills and 12 refineries.
In January 2020 Simon moved back to the UK to lead an oil palm alliance and to begin a mentoring program for the next generation of sustainability leaders within Sime Darby. In September of that year he relinquished his position as CSO, in favour of his successor and took up the position as Independent Advisor to Management whilst starting his own consulting business.
In 2019 Dr Lord was made Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at The National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and in November 2019 Simon was named as one of the 10 most influential Corporate Sustainability Practitioners in the Asia – Pacific by Eco-Business
Simon has been Involved with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) commodity standard initiative since 2002 as an executive board member representing all producer countries outside of Indonesia and Malaysia. He has served as Vice President (2006-2008), Chair of the Standards and Certification sub group (2008), Member of the Criteria, Verification, New Planting, Green House Gas and Smallholder working Groups (2003 – 2009). He has also facilitated in the National Interpretation of the RSPO standards in PNG, Solomon Islands and Malaysia and advised on the Thai and Ghanaian interpretation process.
Simon is a regular presenter at sustainability and responsible sourcing conferences on a wide variety of subject ranging from sustainable finance to child / worker rights and conservation. He has a Doctorate in Environmental Effects of Pesticides, a Degree in Applied Biology including Agronomy, Pathology and Ecology and is a Qualified RSPO and ISO 14001 lead auditor, Accredited “AgSafe” practitioner and has additional qualifications in Occupational Health and Safety and agricultural chemical handling.
