Laxmikant is the Regional Lead for South Asia at the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii). In this role, he is responsible for creating and implementing a decarbonization strategy for the apparel sector within the South Asia region. Laxmikant’s primary focus is aligning Aii’s Carbon Leadership Programs methodology to drive facility-level impact and cultivate best practices and market insights tailored to the region. He actively participates in managing and executing Aii’s recruitment efforts and ongoing partnership initiatives with apparel brands, manufacturers, and service providers throughout the South Asia region. Additionally, Laxmikant takes charge of program management for the Climate Solutions Portfolio within the same geographic area. He has wide experience of audits, consultancy and providing bespoke training in South Asia and Southeast Asia Region. Laxmikant holds a Ph.D. (Tech) in Fibres & Textile Processing Technology from the University of Mumbai, India.

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Mousumi joined Fair Wear in 2017. She is responsible for the Gender Equality and Inclusion programme in Asia and Country management in India. She has over 17 years of experience in managing gender & inclusion programmes in South Asia. She focuses on stakeholder engagement and offers strategic support to Fair Wear in cooperation pertaining to India. She is liaising the supplier engagement work of all Fair Wear active production countries.

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Taking the lead in collaboration of facility programmes between ZDHC and like-minded organisations and manages and accelerates the collaboration with the apparel alliance. Besides running the day-to-day operations, she is involved in developing strategies to advance the collaborations. Working closely with the rest of the team and contributors, all from varying walks of life, and from diverse backgrounds, driving the translation of the vision and strategy into concrete results. What Janne does, in research, goes into action in reality. With over a decade of experience at brands, prior to joining ZDHC, she worked at Mexx as the Quality, Trim & Colour Coordinator, G-Star RAW supporting where she supported the first Raw Organic Collections and moved later to Tommy Hilfiger (PVH) as a Quality Assurance and Technical Support Manager. Her last position before joining the team was the British Burberry, as part of Sustainable Manufacturing.

Yashinth Wijerathne is the Environmental Sustainability Manager at Hirdaramani Apparel. He overlooks environmental performance across Hirdaramani manufacturing in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. He is a sustainability professional with a background in climate science, energy management and renewable energy. Yashinth has successfully consulted and facilitated environmental programs & projects such as energy audits, cleaner production audits, green building certifications, and various environmental certifications for multiple organizations.Yashinth holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degree in project management as well as in energy management. Further he is an associate member of Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (SLEMA).

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Jeremy Lardeau is the VP of the Higg Index at Cascale. As part of the leadership team, he oversees the strategic direction and development of the Higg Index suite of tools. Jeremy is based in Barcelona, Spain.

Before joining Cascale team, Jeremy was Senior Director of Sustainability Analytics, at Nike, Inc. where he led sustainability reporting, performance management, data products, and reporting. Prior to Nike, Jeremy was a manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ sustainability practice, successively working out of the Paris, Mexico City, and San Francisco offices.

Jeremy holds a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the Ecole Centrale Paris. In his free time he is known to love travelling, running and alpine climbing, but actually enjoys most horseplaying with his three young boys.

Deepak Kashyap is the Senior Manager, Higg Facility Tools at Cascale. His key responsibilities include: project management of the Higg FEM and FSLM, collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders, and facilitation and coordination of Cascale members’ involvement. This role will also continue the development of adoption resources that support the global scaling of the Higg Facility Module, QA testing in cooperation with technical teams, and coordination of communications and case studies. He is based in New Delhi, India.

Prior to joining Cascale team, Deepak was a senior member of the sustainability compliance team at IKEA, India, where he led the development and maintenance of Social & Environment requirements and more sustainable agenda at South Asia supply chain. He has been a key contributor to sustainability projects and Supplier Sustainability Index for textile supplier at South Asia level working together with business partners. Deepak was also responsible for tools related to risk mapping, planning, supplier review at South Asia level and a tool related to supply chain traceability and impact assessment at the global level in IKEA. He studied Environment Law and Policy at National Law University, Delhi.

In his free time Deepak enjoys watching movies and exploring sustainability initiatives around the world.

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Demith Gooneratne is the Senior Manager – Higg Facility Tools at Cascale. His Key Responsibilities include; Project Management of the Higg FEM and FSLM, in collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders, and facilitation and coordination of Cascale members’ involvement. This role also continues the development of adoption resources that support the global scaling of the Higg Facility Module and QA testing in cooperation with technical teams and coordination of communications and case studies. He is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Prior to joining Cascale team, Demith was the Senior Manager – Environmental Sustainability at Hirdaramani International Exports (Pvt) Ltd; Sri Lanka , where he was largely responsible for the development of their Environmental Sustainability Department, and managing the environmental sustainability initiatives primarily in Sri Lanka for more than a decade and overlooking strategy level implementation in Bangladesh and Vietnam. He Holds a BSc Degree in Physical Science and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Colombo (Sri Lanka).

In his free time Demith enjoys swimming, watching Sci-Fi Movies and reading articles on new technologies and research findings related to Environment, Renewable Energy and Space Science.

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Sudalaimuthu is the Head- sustainability chemical, Environmental programs at the Bureau Veritas, Bangalore. He is responsible for maintaining & driving Sustainability services such as ZDHC WWT, Higg Index, BVE3 the tool which suites for chemical inventory management, MRSL testing & training consultations, etc.

• Approved ZDHC Accredited Training provider
• Qualified Cascale HIGG FEM Trainer and Higg Index FEM
• Approved Amfori BEPI Auditor in Environmental and Chemical Management system
• Certified professional in Life Cycle Assessment
• Certified professional of GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESG Reporting)
• Act as Speaker and panelist on subjects like sustainability, sustainable chemical management, product stewardship (product safety)

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Yashinth Wijerathne is the Environmental Sustainability Manager at Hirdaramani Apparel. He overlooks environmental performance across Hirdaramani manufacturing in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. He is a sustainability professional with a background in climate science, energy management and renewable energy. Yashinth has successfully consulted and facilitated environmental programs & projects such as energy audits, cleaner production audits, green building certifications, and various environmental certifications for multiple organizations.Yashinth holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degree in project management as well as in energy management. Further he is an associate member of Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (SLEMA).

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Joyce Tsoi is the Director of the Decarbonization Program at Cascale. She is based in Hong Kong. She manages all Cascale’s Collective Action programs and activities, support members and EcoSystem partners to prioritize actions, accelerate sustainable environmental and social impacts and transform our industry into one that gives more than it takes- to the people and the planet. Through building strong industry partnership and collaboration with our Ecosystem and strategic partners from all sectors across our value chain, our aspirational goals could be achieved together: 45% GHG emissions reduction in line with Science Based Targets by 2030 against a 2020 baseline to combat climate change; supports workers’ rights, safety and livelihoods by 2025.

Before joining Cascale team, Joyce was the Senior Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability at VF Corporation where she spearheaded the key supply chain sustainability program. She’s actively involved in driving corporate and industry sustainability strategies and efforts through the adoption and verification of Higg Index FEM environmental impact measurement activities, Global Wastewater Compliance program, Science Based Targets (SBTs), energy efficiency and renewable energy program aiming to improve the environment, workers and communities and build climate resilience. In addition, she brings over 16 years of diverse global experience across multiple industry sectors including apparel and footwear, electronics, hardgoods, home goods, food and beverage, home goods and toys industries in Europe, US and Asia.

Joyce graduated from University College London, U.K. with a B.Eng. (Hons) degree in Chemical Engineering. She holds a Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London, U.K. and a PhD. in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the University of Hong Kong.

She is a passionate supporter of education, she believes a love of learning should be encouraged where students are inspired and empowered to make a difference. As a working mum with 3 kids, Joyce has served as a parent representative of Quarry Bay School, Hong Kong for the past 9 years. As an alumnus of the University of Hong Kong, she continues to practice teaching on “environmental management systems and audits” course and supply chain resource management course of the Sustainability Leadership and  Governance Program. She enjoys spending time with family and kids, cooking different types of local cuisines, hiking, and swimming on Big Wave beach.

Ringo Yu is the Manager of Manufacturer Climate Action Program at Cascale. He is responsible for building, implementing, maintaining, and improving this capacity building program to accelerate the efforts of apparel, footwear and textile manufacturing companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As one of Cascale’s key climate action drivers, Ringo delivers crucial support directly working with manufacturers on setting and validating science-aligned targets (SATs) for commitment and disclosure. He is based in Hong Kong.

Prior to joining Cascale, Ringo was the Senior Manager of Sustainability at Concept4 Limited, where she worked on science-aligned targets (SATs) application for verification, B Corp Certification and EcoVadis assessment and Climate Disclosure Project (CDP)’s climate change survey. He got substantial working experience in sustainability compliance, supply chain sustainability, climate resilience and mitigation, net zero strategy formulation, complex stakeholders collaboration, marketing the sustainability initiatives from various industry sectors, substantial consultancy involvement of sustainability reporting covering the businesses in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Asia Pacific Countries.

Ringo holds a MSc in occupational safety and health from University of Greenwich. He is an ISSP Sustainability Excellence Associate certified by International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), a Professional Member of World Institute of Sustainable Development Planners (WISDP), an EFFAS certified Environmental Social and Governance Analyst (CESGA®) certified by the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies and a Chartered Sustainable Supply Chain and Logistics Professional (CSSCLP™) certified by Chartered Institute of Professional Certifications.

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Yasotharan Manivel is the Manager of the Decarbonization Program at Cascale. He is based in Chennai, India. He ensures that to drive large-scale, industry-wide environmental and social sustainability programs aimed to deliver exponential positive impacts to people and environment in the value chain. He will play a key role in setting Science Based Target and developing GHG/ carbon reduction roadmap, facilitating dialogue among stakeholders with diverse perspectives, build key short to mid-term plan based on consensus collected from the apparel, footwear, and textile industry.

Before joining Cascale team, Yasotharan was the Operation Process Manger – Sustainable Development at Decathlon for India. Where he is responsible for the implementation of Decathlon’s overarching Sustainability Strategy with a special focus on Labour, Health & Safety, Worker Well Being, and Environment management to the supply chains. He responsibly implemented decarbonized supply chain programs to identify useful solutions and develop strategy to deploy plans for textile & Footwear industries such as CO2 Measurement, Target Set, and Energy efficiency Project & Renewable energy procurement. He developed and monitor the Supplier Autonomy Projects (Human Rights & Environment) and adopt the programs based on regional.

He holds a Master Degree (MBA) in Environmental Management from Bharathidasan University. He is certified ISO 140001 Lead Auditor and he recently completed Strategy & Sustainability course from IESE Business School, University of Navarra. He enjoys spending time with family and kids and running.

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Angela is Cascale Higg Facility Tools Director. Previously, she worked at Cascale brand member Columbia, where she focused on sustainability in the social and labor program. Angela was also responsible for managing Columbia’s supply chain sustainability performance and initiatives. Implementing the Higg Facility Environmental Module was central to Angela’s efforts, from scaling adoption of the tool to integrating Higg FEM into Columbia’s business functions. Angela has been working with the Higg Index since its inception. She brings years of supply chain and industry experience. Angela lives by the mottos, “Make a difference” and “pay it forward.”

Arindama Wankhede is with ELEVATE as Associate Director- Client Services based in India. She works with clients to help them shift from reactive to proactive when managing and monitoring their supply chains. Previously, Arindama was the lead for Tesco’s Responsible Sourcing program in India and Sri Lanka. She shaped the strategy and developed the team to implement the strategy. She brings together a well-rounded experience of working with suppliers, brands, factories, NGOs and auditing bodies. Beyond monitoring programs, she has contributed to many social supply chain initiatives, including financial literacy, worker health and wellbeing and implementing grievance mechanisms. Her extensive experience gives her unique perspective to design pragmatic solutions for complex supply chain issues creating win-win for all stakeholders.

Arindama holds an Engineering degree in Fire Technology and Industrial Safety. She was the first female Safety Officer at an Indian factory. She is actively involved in enhancing social entrepreneurship and social responsibility programs in India and frequently serves as a guest lecturer.

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Julian is a Senior Director in Swasti, a non-profit entity, working in public health for the past two decades and more. With close to 22 years of experience, Julian has been working with range of stakeholders in the South Asia/South East Asia and West/South Africa Region implementing programs related to strengthening supply chain through worker related trainings with multiple brands and buying houses, and other development project initiatives with Bilateral and Multilateral organizations. Julian is the Project Director of Walmart Vriddhi program, implemented by Swasti in partnership with Walmart, which intends to develop and train 50,000 MSMEs in India over a period of 5 years, focusing on their business growth and in the process create market connect opportunities. The program has trained more than 40,000 MSMEs across India and has supported in onboarding more than 9000 MSMEs on E-commerce platform.

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Lavanya is passionate about and has experience working in sustainability and its many intersections, specifically well-being, gender, labor, fashion supply chain, and people-centric work cultures. She loves turning ideas into something concrete and has done this both as a founder and early employee. She believes in leading with kindness, trust, and authenticity.

She works as Director (Partnerships & People Operations) at Good Business Lab (GBL), a not-for-profit proving the business case for worker well-being in low-income settings. She joined GBL as the first employee and spearheaded its growth to 100+ global employees. She provides strategic inputs on GBL’s operations, development, and international expansion as part of the senior leadership team, develops and implement organizational policies & culture as the People Operations vertical head, and builds critical stakeholder relationships as the Partnerships vertical head.

Previously, she co-founded a rural India-focused not-for-profit student volunteer organization (Asmat) and India’s first sustainable fashion community (SUSS). She studied economics at Lady Shri Ram College and Yale University.

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Orine Dsouza is the Senior Manager of Higg tools for Cascale, the apparel, footwear, and textile industry’s leading alliance for sustainable production. She will be responsible for managing and improving the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM), Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (Higg FSLM) and their suite of resources. The goal of this position is to continue integrating the input of Coalition members, facilities, and stakeholders into the tools and resources through effective engagement and facilitation, in order to scale the adoption of these tools globally. She is based in Bangalore/India.

Before joining Cascale team, Orine was the Supply Chain Sustainability Manager for India and Sri Lanka at H&M. This includes setting the strategy, planning, controlling and analysis of impact for the supply chain. She has been a key contributor, providing guidance on strategy, policies, and planning for long-term sustainability. Orine was responsible for leading the team in implementing the Annual Action Plans (Validation, Program and Projects) in cooperation with the business team and suppliers. She also handled any escalation that came from the supplier level, and provided support in managing and mitigating issues.

Orine has a Master’s degree in Social Work. In her free time, Orine loves to see new places and bake/ cook new cuisine.

With a career spanning 13 years in the realm of account management and client relations, Pradeep stands as a professional in fostering client partnerships and driving business growth through strategic account management.

In his role as the Senior Director of Client Excellence at Labor Solutions, Pradeep has spearheaded pivotal initiatives to drive worker engagement and tailored bespoke solutions that align with brand and manufacturer objectives across countries.

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India Support Lead, Social & Labor Convergence Program | SLCP

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Shankar serves as the Director of Programs at Swasti, a global public health organization that incubates innovative and scalable social and business impact solutions through multi sectoral collaborations and partnerships. It also influences policies nationally and internationally. Over the past two decades, Shankar has been involved in research, system building, and institutionalizing a caring culture in supply chains, creating pathways for thousands of workers to experience well-being at their workplaces. Shankar heads Health@Work, an initiative of Swasti that drives towards shaping businesses by making their supply chains and workforces ‘Inclusive, Healthier, and Resilient. Shankar has worked in various development sector organizations, including at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. He is passionate about public health, gender equity, women’s empowerment, and worker well-being.

Shankar speaks about the gap between workers’ contribution to society and how little society takes care of them. He brings in an honest and real experience of how investing in workers’ health and wellbeing can lead to social return on investment for both workers and business.

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