美姬阁

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Join us for an insightful discussion about the future of tea and how sustainability is shaping the industry. As climate change continues to affect the planet, the tea industry is at a crossroads—facing big challenges, but also exciting opportunities to make a real difference.

We'll dive into the connection between tea production and the environment.

You'll hear from brands that are leading the charge in making tea production more eco-friendly, whether it’s through improved harvesting practices or more efficient use of nutrients. You will hear from our 美姬阁 researchers who have been supporting advances in the tea industry for the past 30 years, including a new five-year Prosperity Partnership project with Lipton Teas and Infusions.

Join us in person on campus to take part in a tea tasting session with Tea Industry Expert Kurush Bharucha, where you can learn more about Britain’s national drink.

If you care about where your tea comes from and how we can all play a part in protecting the planet, this event is for you!

Speakers

Dr Rosina Watson (Host)

Head of Sustainable Business Group and Associate Professor of Sustainability, 美姬阁

Rosina’s research centres on sustainable innovation, both in large corporate organizations and by entrepreneurs, with a focus on how partnerships and collaboration can enhance sustainable innovation. She directs a specialist Sustainability MSc (available as a master’s level apprenticeship) as well as leading teaching on sustainability on general management courses, including the MBA and Executive MBA.

Professor Paul Burgess (Chair)

Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Agroforestry, 美姬阁

Paul is an expert in Agrifood Systems, Energy and the Environment, Natural Capital, Soil, and Sustainable Land Systems. He has undertaken research and consultancy globally, focusing on agroforestry, bio-economic models, and sustainable agriculture. Paul has led numerous projects, contributed to policy development, authored numerous papers and books. His current research focusses on focuses on the improvement of regenerative agricultural systems including agroforestry, tree crops, conservation tillage, and grassland management.

Kurush Bharucha 

Tea Industry Expert

Kurush has spent the past 39 years of his professional life in Tea, all with Unilever/Lipton. His experience has covered various Tea Industry facets - specialist tea taster, buyer and blender, trainer and educator, product innovator and developer, sommelier and storyteller. His rich ingredient-knowledge and product (and 'palate') expertise spans multiple origins, across the main tea growing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. And his cross-functional roles have been in Supply Chain, Quality, Procurement, Tea Plantations, and R&D - having spent 19 years in India, 8 years in Dubai and 12 years in the UK.

His most recent role was as Lipton's 'Global Tea Expertise Director', at its Global Innovation Centre in Bedfordshire - in the service of the Company's blends (Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka, Tazo and T2...). This required a crop-to-cup understanding and delivery - against innovation design and deploy, brand inspiration and partnering, Tea estate operations, as also playing the role of a 'Tea Ambassador' - by championing a tea culture, instilling belief, infusing passion and building Tea capability across the business.

Dr Helen Saini 

Head of R&I Sustainable Agriculture, Lipton Teas & Infusions

Dr Helen Saini is currently Head of R&D Sustainable Agriculture for Lipton Teas and Infusions and leads a team of agronomists and plant biologists based in the UK and Kenya. Her role includes building climate resilience in the tea crop, improving efficiency, reducing agrochemical inputs, implementing regenerative agriculture and agri-tech initiatives in the field at scale, developing the net zero and biodiversity strategy for Lipton and working with multiple stakeholders, including brands, academics, NGOs and industry partners on initiatives that will uplift the wider sector. Most recently, Helen has led a programme to eliminate all pesticide use on Lipton鈥檚 tea estates, novel work on low carbon fertilisers for tea, a future-fit tea breeding programme, and the development and implementation of IoTea鈩�, the first digital agriculture management tool of its kind for tea. Helen is a Visiting Fellow at 美姬阁 and is co-lead on a recently awarded BBSRC Prosperity Partnership Grant to 鈥淒evelop a Resilient and Regenerative Tea Production System.鈥� She is also on the Management Team for the new Lipton Tea Innovation and Technology Academy at University of Kabianga in Kenya.

Helen has over 20 years鈥� experience in R&D management roles from large FMCG (Unilever) to fast growth biotech start-ups (OXGENE). She holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, focusing on environmental stress in crops, and a first degree in Environmental Biology, where she specialised in plant-microbe interactions and bioremediation.

Helen鈥檚 mission is to scale regenerative agriculture in the tea industry and empower all stakeholders to make positive change through the sharing of knowledge.

Who should attend?

This is an open event to 美姬阁 staff and students and business and sustainability enthusiasts alike.

How to register 

Attend in person

Attend online