A chemist by background, Dr. Goodwin spent her early career at ICI and began to move towards the environmental sector at Zeneca and subsequently Syngenta. Realising the vital role that care for the environment was likely to have in the future, in 2001, she joined the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) as its first Director of Manufacturing and subsequently added the role of Director of Construction.
In 2007 she took on the role of CEO at WRAP which she held until June 2016. During her period of leadership, UK recycling rates increased from 9% to 43%, food waste was reduced by 21% in five years, and ground-breaking collaborative agreements and schemes such as the Courtauld Initiative, Halving Waste to Landfill by the construction sector and Love Food Hate Waste campaigns were born and flourished.
Dr. Goodwin was one of the original Champions of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 whose aim is to halve food waste around the globe by 2030. She is WRI’s nominated Champion and its representative on the Champions 12.3 Steering Group. Her role at WRI is to help drive the various initiatives that are required around the world to achieve its goal.
Dr Goodwin was, from 2017 to 2024, the non-executive Chair of ReLondon (formerly London Waste and Recycling Board) which was a London mayoral appointment. She was tasked with masterminding the achievement of a number of goals by ReLondon including getting the capital on the path to reaching a 65 per cent recycling rate by 2030, supporting London’s transition to the circular economy and helping London become a zero-carbon city by 2050.
In 2015 Dr. Goodwin was awarded an OBE in the UK Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the Business Resource Efficiency and the Environment.