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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Erinch Sahan is an expert on social enterprise, Fair Trade and ways to design businesses so they follow a social or ecological purpose. He currently leads the work at Doughnut Economics Action Lab to translate the concepts of Doughnut Economics into the world of business. He has extensive experience in leadership roles across the world of business, NGOs and government with a particular focus on transforming businesses to ensure they pursue social and ecological goals.

Biography

Erinch is the business and enterprise lead at Doughnut Economics Action Lab. His work focuses on transforming the deep design of businesses to enable them to pursue regenerative and distributive strategies. Working with 22 partner organisations and over 300 businesses, he has lead DEAL’s work to create the Doughnut Design for Business tool, which enables businesses to engage with the concepts of Doughnut Economics.

Erinch has been in leadership roles across business, NGOs and government. He was the chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organization, the global network and verifier of social enterprises who fully practise Fair Trade. He has also spent 7 years at Oxfam working in campaigns and programmes, including in creating and leading the Behind the Brands scorecard. Erinch has also worked at Procter & Gamble as a market strategy manager, established a furniture business and worked for Australia's aid programme in Indonesia. 

Erinch is a board member of the Social Enterprise World Forum, a fellow at the Post Growth Institute and a senior associate at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He holds degrees in finance and law, a masters in international law and an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University.

Erinch Sahan Headshot
Senior Associate, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Business and Enterprise Lead, Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)