Co-founder and CEO of FoodCloud, Iseult Ward is fast gaining a reputation for her insights and knowledge on Sustainability, particularly through the prism of food waste as food production and consumption are a significant source of emissions worldwide.  This makes managing – and minimising – food waste a priority in a climate-compromised world in which everyone has to eat and therefore everyone has a part to play, however small, in helping to rectify the problem.

Launched in 2013 with co-founder Aoibheann O’Brien, FoodCloud is a non-profit social enterprise with a vision of a world where no good food goes to waste.  It has established two solutions for food redistribution which connect food businesses with local charities and community groups, providing an environmentally sensitive, socially responsible, and economically viable alternative to throwing away perfectly good food.

Iseult was awarded Trinity Business Student of the Year in 2013, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact award and Green Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. She is a One Young World Ambassador and one of Time Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders. In 2016, she secured the Marie Claire Future Shapers Award and Women Mean Business Social Entrepreneurs of the Year.

In 2017 Iseult was included on Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneurs European list, received a Humanitarian Award from the Muhammad Ali Centre in Louisville, Kentucky, received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Special Achievement Award and was named the overall winner of the IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Award. In 2018 Iseult and Aoibheann received a Humanitarian Award from the Irish Red Cross.

In 2020, Iseult was awarded the Social Responsibility Award at the inaugural UK Dept of Trade European Tech Women Awards. In April 2021, she was awarded the 2021 Trinity’s Alumni Award.

Why Food Waste Matters

Because every person on the planet must eat, food production and consumption constitute one of the single greatest sources of carbon and methane emissions. When we waste food, we waste valuable energy.

In this talk, Iseult explores both the ‘big picture’ of food production and the daily actions we take around food which can affect our carbon footprint. Audiences come away feeling both informed and empowered.

Simple Steps to Food Sustainability at Home

Conversations about mitigating climate change too often centre on systemic issues like transport or fossil fuels and can leave us feeling powerless to change anything. In reality, one of the biggest sources of emissions lies closer to home: our food production systems and the foods we eat.

Altering our daily habits around food shopping and food waste has a cumulative positive effect not just on climate change but on the growing levels of ‘eco anxiety’ that are such a feature of modern society, especially amongst the under-30s.

In this practical and uplifting talk, Iseult offers a step-by-step guide to minimising food waste at home. She also provides clear information and insights on how the actions we take each day fit into the larger picture of food production systems globally.