Sustainable Earth 2024: Speakers

Emily is Director of Sustainability and Just Transition at the Young Foundation, and leads the evidence centre, the Institute for Community Studies. Her expertise is in designing, leading and brokering partnerships, tools and impact frameworks to drive social, environmental and place-based impact.

Emily is the Principal Investigator for Understanding Community Capability for Net Zero Transition (funded by the Nuffield Foundation) and co-developer of the Climate Challenge Cup for Innovation. Emily is also Co-Investigator for the National Civic Impact Accelerator.

Mike Berners-Lee consults, thinks, writes and researches on sustainability and responses to 21st century problems. He is the author of acclaimed books, including 'There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years', and 'How Bad Are Bananas? The carbon footprint of everything'. 

As the founder and director of Small World Consulting Ltd, he helps businesses, governments and the third sector to lead the way in truly sustainable living. He is a professor at Lancaster University, where his research includes supply chain carbon modelling, sustainable food systems and the environmental impact of ICT. He has made numerous speaking, radio and television broadcast appearances to promote public awareness of sustainability and climate change issues.

Rosie Buckley joined British Gas’s Net Zero venture in May 2023 as Regional Director for the South West, responsible for educating and energising people across the region to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, reducing their carbon footprints and spending less on energy. 

Rosie has recently broadened her portfolio to drive Operational Strategy and Performance Management across the business. Prior to this, Rosie served for 21 years in the Army, serving overseas operationally and in the UK in a wide variety of appointments including leadership development, transformation programmes and at the political-military interface. She has a deep knowledge of Defence, DE&I and sustainability. Her skills lie in an ability to develop high performing teams, challenge conventional thinking and bring about change.   

Since 2013 Alistair has led PEC’s development from a council initiative, into a big-thinking multifaceted venture delivering targeted support to the fuel poor, and community-owned alternatives to fossil fuels.

With a degree in geography from the University of Plymouth, Alistair has a background in biodiversity and sustainable development projects for local authorities and third sector organisations in the UK and overseas. He was named ‘Community Energy Champion’ at the 2016 Community Energy England Awards and ‘South West Sustainable Energy Champion’ at the 2017 Green Energy Awards. In 2017, he attended the Queen’s Garden Party in recognition of his contributions to the sector. Alistair sees Plymouth leading the way in the community energy revolution and is proud to be part of it.

Ben Lee is Strategic Partnerships Lead for Beryl bikes. Beryl’s mission is to build a better world by getting more people moving sustainably and to remove the barriers to active transport. They believe that they can build a better world by making greener travel; safer, simpler, more affordable and accessible. 

Kirsty Wavish is the Sustainability Manager at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, whose responsibilities include delivery of the Trust’s Green Plan commitments, leading a comprehensive behavioural change programme and embedding sustainability across the organisation. 

Having worked in the NHS for almost 16 years, Kirsty has built on her experience working within the Planning, Facilities and Site Services teams and utilised this knowledge to assist with the delivery of the sustainability agenda. 

Chloe Uden is the founder and artistic director of The Art and Energy Collective, an award-winning group of artists, tinkerers, researchers, scientists, and makers based in the South West.   

The Art and Energy Collective specialise in designing participatory arts projects which help people take creative steps towards a brighter greener future. 

Sarah is a Senior Associate Architect at Stride Treglown based in their Plymouth office. She is also the current RIBA South West Chair and the Founder of Future Plymouth 2030. Using her position as a designer and industry leader, she has become an influential advocate for urgent action to reduce carbon in the built environment and construction industry, promoting opportunities for learning, upskilling, collaboration and empowerment.

Sarah is currently busy leading Stride Treglown’s own Net Zero Carbon and Passivhaus strategy development nationally. She is on the Net Zero Exchange Steering Group and has also become a Non-Executive Director of PEC-R (Plymouth Energy Community-Renewables) in Plymouth locally.

Sarah is also an active member of both SWWIC and Building Plymouth, and assists with mentoring both school work experience and university students.

Lucy is a geologist who has been working in the UK’s geothermal sector for the past ten years. Until recently, she was the Geothermal Group Manager and a Director of GeoScience Limited, where she was the Lead Site Geologist for the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project and the Eden Geothermal Project in Cornwall. Her work over the last three years has focused on promoting the decarbonisation of heat for large heat consuming industries in the UK, through feasibility studies and dialogue for and with multi-national corporations such as distilleries, pharmaceutical companies and large food manufacturers/dairies. 

Lucy has developed a passion for communicating groundbreaking technologies in the renewable sector to all ages. This includes designing and delivering the education programme for the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project, the creation of the “Miss Molecule and Friends” animation series and presenting in the film “Power to the People” by Cornwall Climate Care.