Navico, parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad Yachting, B&G and C-MAP brands, said it has hired Tara Norton as its first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer, as the company has made sustainability one of its core strategic pillars globally across its brands, products, operations and production.
Norton joins the marine electronics company from French multinational Engie Impact, where she worked with its corporate and government clients to accelerate their energy transition to cleaner energies.
“We are dedicated to being an environmentally-responsible company,” said Knut Frostad, CEO of Navico Group. “We believe there is a common mutual interest within the marine industry and our consumers to drive this forward, and we care deeply about protecting the very environment in which we all work and play. With the hiring of Tara, Navico is poised to be a leader in this ongoing paradigm shift as our industry moves towards more sustainable practices.”
Norton’s expertise includes driving sustainable procurement and supply chain projects on issues including supply chain traceability and transparency, supplier engagement, climate change, human rights, labor rights, and supply chain finance.
“We have made sustainability one of our company’s core pillars going forward and made some strides with our sustainable packaging initiative this past year, but we know that commitment needs to be matched by action company-wide,” Frostad said. “Tara’s expertise will no doubt help formalize Navico’s strategy and drive initiatives forward at a global level.”
Norton said, “In many ways, Navico has sustainability already in its DNA, so it’s a matter of building on the successes and enthusiasm to date to contribute to sustainable development for ourselves and the planet.”
All four of Navico’s brands have already begun integrating sustainability into their go-forward strategies and plans, while Norton will help create vertically-integrated policies across the company.