About me
Closing the gap between commitment and practice.
Twenty years on forests, climate and supply chains, from campaigns to field implementation to corporate programs.
Meet Sharon
Principal Consultant, Sustainability
I'm Sharon Smith, a sustainability consultant based in Oakland, California. For more than 20 years I have worked on forests, climate and supply chains, much of it in Indonesia and Latin America. I started as a campaigner pushing companies to commit to zero deforestation, then helped brands and traders put those commitments into practice on the ground. Today I advise companies, philanthropic institutions and NGOs directly. When you work with Kanopi Consulting, you work with me.
My story
Many large companies now have a deforestation or responsible sourcing commitment. Far fewer can show what that commitment changes in their supply chain: which suppliers comply, which don't, and what happens next.
That gap is where I work. I help corporate sustainability and procurement teams, NGOs and foundations turn commitments into working systems.
I have worked on every side of the table. As a campaigner, I pressed corporations to adopt zero-deforestation policies, and secured them from more than 35. In Indonesia, I led implementation on the ground for global brands and traders. Since 2018, through Kanopi, I have advised companies, philanthropic institutions and nonprofits directly.
I work with corporations, funders and NGOs to devise solutions so we can protect nature and change markets.
Why clients hire me
What you get when you hire me.
- Every side of the table: campaigner, field advisor and corporate consultant.
- Monitoring and compliance systems that led to real supplier action.
- Work across the whole chain, from brands and traders to the landscapes they source from.
- First-hand knowledge of the forest-risk commodities: palm oil, soy, cattle, pulp and paper, and wood.
Start here
Have a commitment that needs to work in practice?
Tell me about the policy, supplier or landscape challenge in front of you.