Associate director
Osborne Clarke
London
Key people in my career
I met key people early on who steered me toward sustainability and regulatory work. I spent an instrumental year with the Norwegian NGO The Bellona Foundation and completed a stage at the European Commission in Brussels before converting to law. I then found my niche at Bird & Bird, where I trained under London environment head Joanna Ketteley and, encouraged by partner Peter Willis, leaned into regulatory work before joining the brilliant Products team under Katie Vickery at Osborne Clarke.
What’s next in ESG law
Despite the current economic and political climate, I am confident sustainability policies and legislation are here to stay, and I’m excited to continue to guide international businesses through legislative change as well as the opportunities offered by greening their products and supply chains. I expect regulatory and consumer scrutiny will zero in on chemical use in consumer goods, as well as the environmental and human rights impacts of supply chains within industries such as fashion.
The most interesting place my job has taken me
My recent experience includes a 14‑month secondment with Starbucks EMEA as their in‑house sustainability lawyer, where I supported new product launches and guided the business through changes to packaging arrangements (including plastic reduction), prepared for new EU deforestation legislation, and promoted reusables across 43 countries.
If I weren’t a lawyer I would be…
A journalist, or a biologist collecting data on rare species.
References
“I couldn’t think of a more worthy nominee for Rising Star in ESG than Veronica. Veronica started her secondment in Starbucks EMEA in 2023 supporting specifically on ESG. Veronica was exceptional from the get-go. She quickly grasped a focused understanding of our business model and strategic priorities and applied, with urgency, thought leadership to craft critical next steps on our sustainability agenda. Not only was her proficient and deep understanding of ESG a game changer for us, her high EQ, personable manner and desire to help Starbucks succeed put her front and centre on driving positive change and outcomes.” Huma Allana van Reesch, general counsel at Starbucks EMEA
“Veronica is fully deserving of a nomination for rising star in sustainability law. During her time as an OC secondee at Starbucks EMEA, she embraced the unique partnership culture of the business and displayed an excellent commercial understanding of the law, steering us through the legal complexities of the EU Deforestation Regulation and the fragmented regional landscape of sustainable packaging legislation. She is naturally entrepreneurial and thrives in the ambiguity of this growing, dynamic area of law. Moreover, her ability to translate evolving ESG frameworks into actionable, business-aligned legal guidance sets her apart as a future leader in the field.” Adam Turner, director of sustainability, social impact and ESG at Starbucks EMEA
Veronica Webster Celda is a specialist regulatory lawyer at Osborne Clarke whose practice focuses on the rapidly evolving landscape of UK and EU sustainability law. She advises multi-national corporates on the circular economy and helps clients navigate complex obligations and opportunities across extended producer responsibility, plastics and packaging, deforestation regulations, eco‑design and right to repair, green claim substantiation and chemicals such as PFAS.
Veronica is adept at preparing businesses for change. She conducts gap analyses and designs practical solutions, systems and governance frameworks that enable clients to adapt to new sustainability requirements and seize commercial opportunities, including becoming market leaders in the sustainability space.
Veronica is a creative practitioner and developed a horizon‑scanning platform to help companies track forthcoming changes in sustainability law worldwide. Her work reflects a strong passion for sustainability and she is widely regarded as a rising star in this field.
E: veronica.webster@osborneclarke.com
T: +44 207 105 7630