Sylvie Lemmet began her career in the private sector before joining Médecins Sans Frontières as a Director, and then serving as a board member for six years.
She has spent the past 15 years working for the environment, first at The World Bank, implementing sustainable development projects, and then for the French Government, where she evaluated environmental policies as a Senior Auditor at the Cour des Comptes.
In 2007, she was appointed Director of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Paris-based Division of Technology, Industry and Economics. The Division leads UNEP’s work on climate change, resource efficiency, and harmful substances and hazardous wastes. The Division is heavily engaged with the private sector with whom it has built significant partnerships to jointly collaborate on environmental issues such as the UNEP Finance Initiative, the Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative or the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles. Among the successful initiatives she is leading are the Green Economy Initiative and the International Resource Panel.
Ms Lemmet, a French national, is a graduate of the French Ecole Nationale d’Administration and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales.