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King’s Business School’s new Centre for Sustainable Business will be a catalyst for change. Our goal is to bring together researchers, industry, the public sector and civil society to provide practical answers to the question: ‘what do businesses need to do to transition to socially and environmentally sustainable practices?’

Please join us at our launch event which will explore the most pressing sustainability challenges and where we should focus to make the biggest impact.

Our distinguished panellists will include:

  • Tanya Steele CBE, UK Chief Executive, WWF UK
  • Sue Armstrong-Brown, Global Director of Environmental Standards and Thought Leadership, CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)
  • Adam Elman, Head of Sustainability, Google
  • Caroline Klaris, (BSc Business Management, 2022)
  • Chair: Akshat Rathi (Senior Reporter for Climate, Bloomberg)

There will also be an opportunity to meet some of our researchers and find out about the work that is already happening at King’s Business School to help shape a fairer, more productive and more sustainable world.

If you are interested in attending, please contact sustainablebusiness@kcl.ac.uk

Agenda

18.00-18.15

Arrival and registration

18.15-18.25

Welcome

Professor Rachel A. Mills, Senior Vice President (Academic) , King's College London

Professor Stephen Bach, Executive Dean, King's Business School

18.25-18.35

Introduction to the Centre

Professor Jonatan Pinkse, Research Director, Centre for Sustainable Business

Dr Catherine Tilley, Impact Director, Centre for Sustainable Business

18.36-19.15

Experts panel discussion

During this event, we will discuss this ‘how question’ of sustainable business to get a better sense of the pathways to a sustainable future.

19.15-19.45

 Q&A

19.45-21.00

 Networking reception

 

Panellist and Chair Bios

Tanya Steele

Tanya Steele CBE leads the UK office of the World Wildlife Federation, the world’s largest independent conservation organisation.

Tanya joined WWF-UK in January 2017 as its first female Chief Executive. Previously, following nearly 15 years in the private sector, she was Executive Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Communications and then interim Chief Executive of Save the Children. In 2022, Tanya received a CBE for services to Wildlife and to the Environment.

Sue

As Global Director of Environmental Standards and Thought Leadership, Sue Armstrong-Brown’s role is to ensure that CDPs disclosure is developed to drive the transparency, insight and action needed to deliver a net zero, nature-positive economy. Her remit includes working with thematic leads to ensure CDPs questionnaire embodies the best practice in environmental disclosure and standards, and to develop and share data analysis and insights which promote a greater understanding of the decisions needed to drive change.

Before joining CDP in 2022, Sue was CEO of Adoption UK, Policy Director for Green Alliance, Head of Conservation for the RSPB, and a scientific advisor for the UK Government’s . Her early career was in environmental research, and Sue was one of the scientists recognised for contributing to the IPCC’s Nobel Peace Prize. She holds a Joint Honours degree in geography and biology from the University of Bristol a PhD in sustainable agriculture from Imperial College London.

Adam Elman

As Head of Sustainability for Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, Adam Elman works at the meeting point of physical, digital and natural worlds. He coordinates with Google's real world and digital infrastructure teams - from real estate and supply chains, to data centers and products - to ensure the company is capitalising on opportunities to strategically advance sustainability.  

He draws on over 17 years of experience driving sustainability at organisations including Amazon and Marks & Spencer.  A Chartered Environmentalist, Adam works as a catalyst for change, building partnerships, and identifying the practical transformations and decisions required for sustainability business in the 21st century. 

Caroline Klaris

Caroline Klaris completed a Bachelor in Business Management from King’s College London in 2022 where she acted as the Graduation Speaker for the Graduating Class. During her studies Caroline focused on energy topics where possible and wrote her capstone project on Sustainable Business Models Development in the Energy Sector. Next to her studies, Caroline worked for the non-profit Project Access in various roles, including Global Director of Talent, and also launched her own start-up in Denmark, Waterfun.

Since graduating, Caroline worked in consulting for Kearney in London where she focused her efforts on energy transition and hydrogen topics.

Akshat Rathi

Akshat Rathi is an award-winning senior climate reporter for Bloomberg News and author of Climate Capitalism. He is the host of Zero, a weekly climate podcast for Bloomberg Green and writes a weekly newsletter on climate solutions.

He has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. He has worked for Quartz and The Economist. His work has been cited in widely read global publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.

At this event

Jonatan Pinkse

Research Director, Centre for Sustainable Business

Catherine Tilley

Impact Director, Centre for Sustainable Business

Shalen Fu

Centre Manager, Centre for Sustainable Business

Adam Elman

Executive Fellow, King's Business School

Event details

8th Floor
Bush House
Strand campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG