Life cycle management director appointed

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Life cycle management director appointed

Dr Sarah McLaren has been appointed Associate Professor in Life Cycle Management and inaugural director of the New Zealand Centre for Life Cycle Management based at the Manawatu campus.

Dr McLaren comes from Landcare Research, where she was lead researcher, and was previously a senior lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey.

Massey recently won a long-term contract with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to host the Centre. The Centre involves as partners Landcare Research, Scion, AgResearch and Plant and Food Research.

The Centre will provide coordination and focus for the activities of life cycle management practitioners across organisations and industry, particularly through capability development.

As well as ensuring New Zealand retains its environment, the venture supports the economy by enabling producers to meet the needs of the green consumer, a market growing rapidly worldwide.

Dr McLaren says she is excited about the opportunity the position offers. “Both the chair and the new Centre provide a unique opportunity to develop New Zealand's capabilities in life cycle management and support New Zealand organisations in proactively responding to the increasing demand for products with demonstrated environmental credentials."

The ministry’s deputy director-general, policy, Paul Stocks, welcomed Dr McLaren’s appointment and her role in driving life cycle management capability across the primary sector.

“Life cycle management is critically important to the success of primary producers as it enables them to quantify the environmental impact of products, something international consumers are increasingly seeking,” he says. “It also supports producers to understand and identify opportunities for productivity and efficiency gains across supply chains. Dr McLaren’s appointment will support New Zealand in its efforts to lead international activity in these areas.”

The University is supporting the Centre by funding three PhD scholarships to create a life cycle management team to carry out ongoing research.

The Centre will be hosted by the University’s Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health along side the Agribusiness, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Group. Institute head Professor Richard Archer says the Centre will have a major educational focus and initially papers will be developed within existing under-graduate and post-graduate qualifications.

“Under Associate Professor McLaren’s Directorship, the Centre will work with land-based industries to meet their demand for training and research and technology implementation and provide trained life cycle management practitioners.”

The Centre will be supported by the Agricultural and Horticultural Systems Management Group at the Institute of Natural Resources and the Sustainable Processing Cluster at the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology.

Dr McLaren will also work with the New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics, also at Massey University’s Manawatu Campus.
ends

© Scoop Media