Meet our consultants

Paul McCaig is a Sustainability and Commercial Manager with 11 years’ experience in waste, recycling, and carbon management. He leads Valpak’s external ESG strategy development and was instrumental in establishing the company’s ESG Solutions Service, shaping its offer to help organisations translate complex sustainability requirements into practical, value-driven action. Paul also oversees internal carbon reporting to ensure full alignment with Group requirements and manages Valpak’s EcoVadis assessment, securing a Platinum certification that recognises the company’s commitment to best-in-class sustainability performance.

An ISEP practitioner member, Paul brings together strong regulatory expertise and clear, effective client communication. He helps organisations understand their obligations, build robust evidence, and implement improvements that reduce risk and cost while advancing long-term sustainability goals.

Zoe Goodman is a Consultant who pairs mathematical rigour with practical experience of collection systems to design improvements that work in the real world. Since joining Valpak in 2022, she has drawn on 16 years across local authorities, consultancy, WRAP and the Environment Agency. With a BSc in Mathematics and Physics and an MSc in Mathematical Modelling, Zoe applies advanced analytics to risk assessment, options appraisal and cost‑benefit analysis, anchored by operational understanding of service delivery, monitoring and public engagement.

Her experience includes managing both in‑house and outsourced services, running set‑out and participation studies, and leading circular‑economy and reuse initiatives alongside behaviour‑change campaigns. Equally comfortable facilitating workshops or interrogating datasets, Zoe helps clients uncover insights that raise recycling performance, improve local environmental quality and deliver value to residents and businesses. She has also contributed to community‑led housing, giving her end‑to‑end experience from concept through build and consensus‑building. Her approach: data‑driven, pragmatic and focused on outcomes.

Shannon Moxham is a Consultant who blends strong data skills with sector knowledge to deliver packaging‑flow studies, horizon scanning and benchmarking that teams can act on. She joined Valpak in 2018, moving from compliance and data‑insights roles into consulting in 2021, and was shortlisted in 2024 for the National Recycling Awards Rising Star. Shannon has managed evidence programmes for Defra on single‑use plastics placed on the UK market, covering wipes, cups and on‑the‑go fibre‑composite packaging, and led a Plastics PackFlow refresh. Internationally, she supported New Zealand’s Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme and global waste‑management insight projects.

In 2025 she led sector analysis of the UK grocery market for WRAP and a textiles product‑flow study for Zero Waste Scotland. She has also delivered research into recycled content in caps and closures and long‑term packaging‑material demand. With a BSc in Environmental Science, Shannon combines project management with primary and secondary research to turn disparate datasets into options that reduce risk and prepare businesses for evolving producer‑responsibility policy.

Dr Rachel Stirrup is a Senior Researcher who brings scientific discipline to packaging‑flow analysis, Life Cycle Assessment and Horizon Scanning. She joined Valpak’s Consulting team in January 2023 and was promoted after delivering complex, multi‑stakeholder projects with clear outcomes. With a PhD in Environmental Microbiology and an MSc in Microbial Ecology from the University of Warwick, she is skilled at handling large datasets, blending primary and secondary research, and translating evidence into practical recommendations.

Recent work includes managing LCAs of beverage containers across North America and innovative materials such as TreeKind, updating the PlasticFlow methodology, and examining how England’s deposit return scheme could affect local authorities. She has also led textiles product‑flow work for Zero Waste Scotland, contributed to London’s packaging footprint for ReLondon, taken material‑stream leads for Steel PackFlow, and supported Defra’s research on single‑use plastics. Trained in high‑impact communication, Rachel pairs analytical depth with clear storytelling to help organisations reduce risk, meet reporting needs and plan confidently as policy evolves.

Pete Mitchell manages our Sustainability Consultancy practice and is an economist with over three decades of experience at the crossroads of business, environment and policy. He leads work on environmental impact assessment, Life Cycle Assessment, carbon footprints, Environmental Product Declarations, resource‑efficiency reviews and waste‑system modelling, grounded in cost‑benefit and scenario analysis. Prior to Valpak, Pete headed economics at WRAP, building the evidence base for programmes that advance resource productivity.

Earlier he led consultancy assignments at Oxford Economics for government, blue‑chip firms and financial institutions, and began his career at the Bank of England on macroeconomic and inflation models. At Valpak, he uses that breadth to help organisations compare options, quantify trade‑offs and focus investment where it achieves the biggest environmental and commercial returns. His track record includes EPDs for manufacturers, LCA‑based product comparisons and strategic reviews of waste performance and economics. Stakeholders value his clear, decision‑ready insight that turns complex systems into choices that cut carbon, reduce cost and build resilient supply chains.

Michael Wetherill is a Researcher who converts complex data into clear, usable insight. He joined Valpak via the graduate scheme in 2022, rotating through Data Insights before stepping into Consulting in 2023. A Durham physics graduate, Michael specialises in packaging data, modelling and primary research. He has led large‑scale fieldwork, including a study of 1,200 restaurants across four UK cities, coordinating more than 20 temporary staff to capture representative packaging samples.

He has also delivered a bespoke literature review on the environmental trade‑offs between scrapping and repairing vehicles. With deep familiarity with Valpak’s packaging database and compliance processes, Michael bridges the gap between raw data and decisions, improving evidence quality, stress‑testing assumptions and building simple models to surface the biggest environmental levers. Known for a methodical approach, clear documentation and calm delivery under pressure, he helps organisations transform obligations into opportunities to reduce waste, lower cost and improve performance.

Michael Trotter Comas is a Researcher who turns regulation and large datasets into clear, decision‑ready outputs. Joining Valpak in 2023, he worked in Supplier Engagement and Data Insights before moving to Consulting in 2024, where he focuses on CBAM, benchmarking and Life Cycle Assessment. He leads development of our CBAM service and supports compliance for manufacturers and importers. Recent engagements include a placed‑on‑market analysis for British Glass, carbon footprints for a luxury retailer and a packaging manufacturer, and an LCA for a chemical producer, alongside horizon scanning for a major retailer.

Earlier, Michael managed supplier submissions and account portfolios, building strong knowledge of packaging, WEEE and battery rules and the realities of gathering robust evidence. He holds an MSc in International Development and a BA in Anthropology and Archaeology from the University of Birmingham. Whether structuring data, challenging assumptions or framing trade‑offs, he helps clients navigate change and make evidence‑based choices that hold up to scrutiny.

Lucy Randle is a Consultant specialising in Life Cycle Assessment, textiles recycling and packaging analytics. Over five years at Valpak she has moved from International Compliance into Consulting, managing LCAs for products and packaging, developing Environmental Product Declarations, and delivering product‑flow studies across packaging and textiles. Recent projects include an LCA of beverage containers, sector‑level analysis of UK plastics placed on the market, research into recycled content in caps and closures, and building the business case for a textile‑shredding facility in Scotland.

Lucy has also contributed to assessments of food‑waste collections, deposit return scheme baselines and long‑term materials demand. Earlier, as an International Data Account Manager, she delivered submissions across packaging, WEEE, batteries and textiles for blue‑chip clients, building strong regulatory and data foundations. With a BSc in Geography and training up to IEMA Associate level plus high‑impact presentation skills, Lucy is known for structured project delivery, rigorous analysis and clear reporting that supports confident decision‑making.

Lorraine Wilson is a Packaging Consultant with more than 30 years’ experience spanning design studios, retail operations and corporate sustainability. She started out crafting corrugated packaging by hand before adopting CAD tools as the discipline modernised. At N Brown Group she progressed from Packaging Technologist to Global Packaging Lead, building capability, improving supplier standards and reducing damages through smarter specifications and testing. She later moved to Studio Retail as CSR Manager, shaping packaging compliance, ethical sourcing and the company’s sustainability roadmap.

In 2023 Lorraine joined Valpak’s Sustainability Consultancy, where she partners with brands and retailers to review packaging portfolios and pinpoint changes that cut waste, lower carbon and reduce EPR liabilities, while protecting products and brand experience. Whether rewriting specifications, guiding factory trials or training teams, she brings hands‑on know‑how and a pragmatic mindset that turns ideas into measurable results. With 34 years in the field, Lorraine is known for practical fixes that deliver quick wins and long‑term savings.

Ian Guest is an Environmental Compliance Consultant with roughly 17 years at Valpak, specialising in energy, carbon and chemical regulation alongside the governance that underpins responsible supply chains. He coordinates services across RoHS, REACH, SECR, ESOS and Modern Slavery, manages third‑party partners, and oversees the WEEE Distributor Take‑Back Scheme for Defra. Previously a Senior Consultant and Auditor, Ian has delivered site and desktop audits, run workshops and seminars, and acted as an escalation point for complex queries.

He is an IEMA Practitioner Member with training in customer communication and energy management systems, including ISO 50001. Ian holds a BSc (Hons) in Enterprise and Small Business. Bringing regulatory expertise together with clear client communication, he helps organisations interpret obligations, build strong evidence and implement improvements that reduce risk and cost while advancing sustainability objectives.

James Skidmore leads our Consulting team and brings deep expertise in producer responsibility, material-flow modelling and evidence to guide policy change. He first joined Valpak in 2001, mapping the UK’s recycling capacity before progressing through policy, business development and advisory roles, including running the Distributor Take-Back Scheme. After six and a half years at Sainsbury’s Argos, where he delivered zero‑waste programmes and group sustainability reporting, James returned to head up Consulting.

He has since overseen PackFlow studies for Defra and WRAP, measured London’s packaging footprint for ReLondon, and directed Plastic Flow New Zealand, building robust baselines and forward scenarios. His portfolio also includes LCAs for a global sporting event and advice on emerging digital deposit return approaches. As a member of OPRL’s Technical Advisory Committee since 2020, he helps align on‑pack guidance with real‑world recycling. James holds a BSc in Business Mathematics and an MSc in Operational Analysis. His focus is turning complex data into practical strategies that cut carbon, manage compliance costs and accelerate the move to a circular economy.

Dr Hugh McCoach is a Principal Consultant and Chartered Wastes Manager (MCIWM) with over 25 years’ expertise in waste, recycling and policy evidence. At Valpak, he helps shape the UK’s understanding of packaging flows and supports industry-wide initiatives, including serving as the first administrator of the National Cup Recycling Scheme with major high-street brands.

With experience spanning Defra, WRAP, Zero Waste Scotland, local government and leading commercial organisations, Hugh combines deep technical knowledge with practical, results-driven delivery. His PhD in Knowledge Management and background in engineering underpin his systems-based approach to helping organisations cut waste, control costs and accelerate their journey toward a circular economy.