Political insight firm Forefront Advisers welcomes Dustin Benton as its new Managing Director of Sustainability. Previously Policy Director at Green Alliance, Benton brings a wealth of experience in energy, food systems, and environmental policy.
At Green Alliance, Benton led its work across energy, resources, and the natural environment. He also previously worked at Defra, where he was Chief Analytical Advisor to Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy and led the department’s analysis of food vulnerability. Earlier in his career, Dustin led on climate and renewables at the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Benton will lead Forefront Advisers’ Sustainability service providing intelligence-led insight to public affairs and investment teams across the UK, Europe and around the world. He will focus on a range of issues including the food chain and regenerative agriculture, decarbonisation, and the reknitting of the UK and EU’s sustainability policies back together. This last policy area is expected to be a significant focus for the first two years of a Labour Government and the new European Parliament.
Dustin Benton said: “I’m delighted to be joining Forefront Advisers at a time when sustainability policy is seeing its biggest shake up in a decade, on both sides of the Channel. There’s now huge momentum behind green investment, growing complexity in government intervention to cut carbon and restore nature, and new markets to navigate.”
Gergely Polner, Managing Director at Forefront Advisers, said: “Dustin’s significant experience in the sustainability sector makes him the perfect addition to the team at Forefront Advisers. With the recent snap elections, and parties across the continent rolling back the green transition, sustainability has been pushed up the agenda and now impacts more organisations in more industries than ever before. Our broad range of clients will immediately benefit from Dustin’s insight.”