Elaine Lawrence
Elaine Lawrence joined the Varda Group in 2004 as a director following a successful and varied career in Greenpeace. In her 26 years with Greenpeace Elaine worked as a campaigner, international campaign co-ordinator, campaign director of both Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International, Chair of the Board of Greenpeace Sweden and Greenpeace UK, Deputy Executive Director and acting Communications Director of Greenpeace International.
Kelly Rigg
Kelly Rigg is a founding director of The Varda Group. She has been leading high-profile international campaigns for more than 30 years including on climate, energy, ocean, Antarctica and many other issues. Kelly specializes in project management, coordination and communications in relation to large international projects.
Rémi Parmentier
Rémi is a veteran of the international environmental movement which he joined at a young age in 1974 when he began working with Friends of the Earth in France. Since that time he has been both an actor and a witness of the evolution of environmental advocacy and policy.
Isabel Leal Maldonado
Isabel has collaborated intermittently with the Varda Group since we began in the early 2000s. A journalist by training, she initially worked as communication officer and fixer of various Varda projects over the years. Since 2022, she is the Project Manager of the Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean initiative, working closely with Rémi in the run-up to the 3 rd UN Ocean Conference (Nice, June 2025). Isabel has also supported Rémi’s work on several projects, concerning Antarctica governance, blue finance, and the prevention of plastics proliferation.
Varda in the media
The Varda group has vast experience across a wide range of issues, including climate change, marine biodiversity, fisheries conservation, the Arctic and Antarctic, maritime policy, nuclear safety, security, and arms control, toxic pollution and clean production, fresh water management and sanitation, sustainable consumption, tobacco control, international governance, international trade, access to information and transparency.
