The Paper and Packaging PRO Alliance has announced the appointment of Dorah Modise as its new chief executive officer.
Established in 2022, the PRO Alliance was born out of the need for producer responsibility organisations (PROs) to work together on national infrastructure, collection and recycling projects, generic recycling, and awareness campaigns as part of its extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations for the paper, metal, plastic and glass industries.
Modise’s new role is to manage the interface between government, alliance members, and numerous key stakeholders. Her personal philosophy, backed by considerable experience, is fully attuned to her new set of responsibilities.
“A sustainable future is well within reach if all sectors of society are aligned in this goal, and keep it in mind when making key decisions in business, government and civil society,” she says.
Prior to an extensive period spent working in national government, she lectured in environmental pollution and the epidemiology of communicable diseases at the then Technikon Witwatersrand. She subsequently served in several senior management roles at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and was instrumental in drafting the adaptation component of the White Paper on Climate Change and establishing the National Green Fund.
During this time, Modise was intensely involved with the United Nations’ Commission on Sustainable Development as part of the negotiating team and leader of the technical delegation at the Rio Plus 20 Summit in 2012.
She also spent four years as executive director for city sustainability at the City of Tshwane, before her involvement in the private sector as chief executive of the Green Building Council of South Africa.
Immediately prior to taking the reins at the PRO Alliance, she served as a deputy-director general at the Gauteng Provincial Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment.
“I look forward to working with alliance partners in leading this great organisation that will demonstrate the power of collective action in a dynamic sector that is largely untapped. Waste is the new gold and with Industry taking the lead on massifying recycling, recovery, beneficiation and market enhancement programmes, we will take several steps towards achieving sustainability,” says Modise.
Acting CEO Jane Molony said: “Industry is delighted to have found someone as eminently equipped to take the helm of this fledgling but crucial organisation. Achieving targets and expectations for extended producer responsibility, involving everything from waste picker integration to collaborating with municipalities, depends on collaboration.
“The alliance offers the conduit for this, and we believe that Dorah more than meets the brief to spearhead this process.”
Among her academic qualifications, Modise holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, a Master’s Degree in Environmental Development and Policy from the University of Sussex and a post-graduate Diploma in Environmental Diplomacy from the University of Geneva.
