The Full Story
About Ross Mitchell, PhD
Founder & Principal Consultant
From Forest Roots to Global Leadership
Ross Mitchell’s journey began in the forests of Alberta and British Columbia, working on reforestation, wildfire response, and sustainable land use. Those early years built a foundation of resilience and respect for both people and nature. His path soon expanded globally, from forestry and community development in Australia and Peru to advanced studies in international relations, rural planning, and environmental sociology, culminating in a PhD.
Working with communities in Peru, building practical foundations for policy and engagement.
Over 25 years of work in natural resource management — from Canada’s boreal forests to Indonesia’s tropical peatlands.
A Trusted Advisor in Impact and Engagement
For more than 25 years, Ross has worked at the intersection of environment, communities, and development. He has led environmental and social assessments in Canada’s North and across much of the Americas, shaped agricultural and forestry policy, and designed stakeholder engagement and benefit-sharing frameworks across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. His focus has always been connecting rigorous technical standards with the realities of local communities.
Guiding Shell’s first global HSSE strategy for Nature-Based Solutions — from peat swamps in Indonesia to conservation with indigenous people in Peru.
Leadership at Shell International
During nearly a decade at Shell’s global headquarters in The Hague, Ross led HSSE and Social Performance due diligence across more than 100 transactions—including hydrocarbon and renewable energy projects, many with complex safety, environmental, and security risks. He pioneered Shell’s first global HSSE strategy for Nature-Based Solutions, embedding safeguards across 30+ carbon and climate-resilience projects worldwide.
From reforestation sites in Canada and Brazil to wetlands in Southeast Asia, Ross has built safety systems and social safeguards that earned the confidence of governments, investors, and local communities—strengthening both project outcomes and long-term trust.
Founder of Verdensure
After returning home to Toronto, Ross founded Verdensure to build on decades of global leadership. Today, he supports carbon projects in the Philippines and Peru while advising clients across multiple continents. Verdensure is built on a simple principle: credibility in ESG and climate solutions comes from doing the hard work — listening, engaging, and finding pragmatic pathways. The result is practical ESG, HSSE, and social performance solutions that secure approvals, strengthen investor confidence, and deliver measurable impact.
Ross Mitchell, PhD — Founder of Verdensure, bringing global expertise home to Canada.
Current Focus
Ross’s work today centers on:
📊 Impact Assessment & Due Diligence — leading complex environmental and social approvals.
🤝 Indigenous Partnerships — aligning benefit-sharing with FPIC and international standards.
🛡️ HSSE & Safety Culture — embedding systems that protect people in high-risk environments.
🌿 Climate & Nature-Based Solutions — advancing projects with transparency and integrity.