In the latest instalment of our series featuring sustainability leaders at Kemin, we sit down with Gabriela, Sustainability Analyst based in Belgium. Gabriela brings a unique perspective to her role with a background in Biology and Environmental Engineering and a passion for sustainability. In this interview, she shares her journey from her home country of Colombia to Belgium and her work at Kemin, where she focuses on life cycle assessments and reducing environmental impact.
“Sustainability has always been important to me. In fact, I’ve always been seen as the ‘green’ person within the family, and my mum still calls me the ‘Green Lady’ on Facebook. Coming from Colombia, a country rich in biodiversity, I’ve forever felt responsible for protecting the environment. For Colombians, we believe that development must go hand-in-hand with environmental protection. We know we have these rich resources and must ensure they remain for future generations.
This interest in the environment led me to complete degrees in Biology and Environmental Engineering. After graduating, I worked in data management at a pharmaceutical company but soon decided to focus more on sustainability. This led me to pursue a master’s at KU Leuven in Belgium, where the programme’s social component aligned with my interest in sustainability and deepened my understanding of balancing human and environmental impacts.
During my master’s degree, we went to Vietnam to work on biodiversity projects, which was an incredible experience. After an internship in January this year, I began considering my next steps. That’s when I found the job opening at Kemin.
As a Sustainability Analyst at Kemin, I’m focused on the calculations and the data behind sustainability initiatives. Right now, a big part of my job is working on our products' life cycle assessments (LCA), understanding their environmental impacts, and exploring areas for improvement. Another part of my role involves working on scope three and four emissions to assess how to reduce our impact. I’m also involved in training and helping employees, particularly customer-facing employees, understand LCAs and how to explain their value to our customers.
One of my tasks is to create ‘footprint cards’ that present the results of the LCAs in a clear, easy-to-use format for customers. Many of our customers need this kind of data to understand their own impact, so providing them with a footprint card helps them make much more informed decisions. It also highlights the benefits of our products beyond just the environmental aspect, helping our customers see the bigger picture.
A key opportunity in this role is bringing stakeholders together. For LCAs, I collaborate with various teams to gather data, staying patient and proactive in following up and offering support wherever needed.
I also work closely with consultants who handled the LCAs before I joined Kemin. We form a team working to standardise and improve our sustainability processes. Moreover, gathering accurate data for LCAs and scope four is often challenging. Some data points are difficult to obtain, and running trials for accurate results, which other employees do, can take months. Balancing the need for precise data with the efficiency of getting results is something we constantly navigate.
Our sustainability team may be small, but I’m confident it will grow. With so much potential in our industry, we have a great opportunity to make a positive impact by reducing our environmental footprint while continuing to create valuable products.
One thing I love about my role is seeing the ideas we generate being implemented. It’s rewarding to monitor the progress of these ideas and refine them based on feedback. For instance, I recently presented a tool to the R&D team that helps them assess the carbon footprint of different ingredients in their product formulations. Although it wasn’t perfect, I appreciated their feedback and am using it to improve the tool. As you can imagine, the sustainability benefits of such initiatives can make a huge difference.
I’m grateful for my background and the unique perspective it brings to my role at Kemin. Having lived in Colombia and Europe, I’ve seen firsthand the different approaches to sustainability in developing and developed countries. While I’d love to give back to Colombia someday, where there is so much potential for a sustainable future, my current focus is on supporting Kemin’s efforts to achieve greater sustainability and make a positive environmental impact in the agriculture and feed industry.”
