Below are the speakers at the Sustainability Now conference:
(View the full conference programme here)
John Alker, Director of Policy and Communication, UK-GBC
John has worked as an MP’s researcher and speech-writer in the House of Commons and in commercial public affairs for Political Intelligence. Prior to joining the UK-GBC, John led political communications on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and sustainable homes campaign for the environmental charity WWF-UK.
At UK-GBC John is responsible for government and political communications, media relations, campaigning and policy.
Greg Barker, Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change
Gregory Barker graduated in History, Economic History & Politics from London University in 1987 and has over ten years experience of working in the City of London. In 1988 after working at the Centre for Policy Studies with David Willetts, he trained as smaller companies analyst and subsequently became a Corporate Finance Director of the Australian owned International Pacific Securities, specialising in cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
In 1997 Gregory Barker became an Associate Partner of the leading financial public relations firm, Brunswick Group Ltd. The following year he was appointed head of International Investor Relations for Sibneft, a major Russian oil company, where he helped lead the company’s drive to modernize in the post Soviet economy and open up to Western markets. He returned to Britain in May 2000, to continue as a director of Bartlett Scott Edgar, the recruitment advertising business, of which he helped lead a “management buy-in” in 1998. The company was sold to TMP Worldwide in 2001.
Gregory Barker was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle in his native Sussex in June 2001. He served on the House of Commons Environmental Audit select committee between 2001 and 2005. He was appointed to the Opposition Front Bench as a Conservative whip in 2003.
Gregory Barker was appointed Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Environment in December, 2005 and led the passage of the Climate Change Bill through the House of Commons in 2008 and was a key author of the Conservative Party’s ‘Low Carbon Economy’ green paper, launched in January 2009. In October 2008 he was promoted to Shadow Climate Change minister in the new Shadow Department of Energy and Climate Change.
David Birkbeck, Chief Executive, Design for Homes
David Birkbeck has been CEO since 2000 of Design for Homes, a research vehicle to improve design, planning and construction which is a social enterprise without shareholders that undertakes some probono works.
He wrote Building for Life in 2002, now the core tool for assessing new-build applications. David was in the team behind a similar tool for Ireland which is a statutory instrument.
David is both a judge and the ‘rapporteur’ for the government’s Housing Design Awards and advises the Homes and Communities Agency on design and sustainability standards.
He is an NHBC councillor, an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and a member of the Cambridge area’s Quality Panel. Recent publications include ‘Car Parking: What Works Where’ and “Beyond Ecotowns”
Tatiana Bosteels, Head of Responsible Property Investment, Hermes Real Estate Investment Management
Tatiana Bosteels is responsible for developing and implementing Hermes Real Estate’s Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) strategy and its in house Responsible Property Investment (RPI) programme. Hermes Fund Management is a leading Institutional Fund Manager in the UK. Tatiana’s work focuses on enhancing opportunities and mitigating impacts of the existing building stock.
Her previous experiences include developing innovative climate change and sustainability programmes through public private partnerships. Tatiana delivered the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) a collaboration of leading UK commercial property owners and London’s Government and contributed to the London Climate Change Action Plan. As a carbon and energy consultant she provided corporate strategy and policy advice and implemented carbon project mechanisms and emission trading schemes. Tatiana is Director of the Better Buildings Partnership, Director of Climate Change Solutions and sits in the World Future Council Commission on Cities and Climate Change.
Tim Chapman, Director, Leader – Infrastructure London Group, Arup
Tim Chapman leads Arup’s broadly-based infrastructure design group. By original training he is a geotechnical engineer focused on innovative solutions for large buildings and metros. He has a particular interest in risk reduction on construction projects, by mitigation of key hazards.
Over the last year he has chaired a cross-industry group brought together under the auspices of the Institution of Civil Engineers. That group has established a trajectory to create the best conditions to decarbonise the nation’s economic infrastructure towards the 2050 80% reduction in carbon emissions. This panel has been mandated by the UK Chief Construction Officer and is due to report in November.
Jean-Yves Cherruault, Head of Environmental Accounting, Sustain
Jean-Yves is a chartered mechanical engineer and environmental consultant with 12 years of professional experience in project management, consultancy, research and development. He has advised FTSE 100 organisations on carbon compliance schemes and carbon management strategies including supply chain. He is also a CIBSE low carbon consultant on commercial buildings.
John Connaughton, Director, Davis Langdon
Dr John Connaughton has played a leading role in the development of the consulting arm of Davis Langdon, providing a range of management consulting and sustainability services to both public and private sector clients.
John was responsible for the development of Davis Langdon’s Sustainability Services and has Director oversight of the firm’s sustainability initiatives in the areas of learning and training, and in the development and maintenance of the Environmental Management System. He is also heavily involved in Business Improvement services and has particular interests in innovation in construction and in improving the procurement process.
John writes and lectures widely in the areas of construction management and procurement, client demand, and sustainability.
Katharine Deas, Managing Director, Low Carbon Workplace Ltd
Katharine Deas is Managing Director for Low Carbon Workplace Ltd which delivers low carbon advisory services from asset sourcing to occupation, and is the exclusive Carbon Advisor to the Low Carbon Workplace Partnership, the first UK entity committed to delivering high quality, low carbon offices that are inspiring, leading edge in their energy usage and excellent value for money. The Low Carbon Workplace Partnership was formed by the Carbon Trust, Threadneedle Asset Management and the developer Stanhope in 2010.
Prior to joining Low Carbon Workplace, Katharine was instrumental in bringing a number of low carbon businesses to the market and she has extensive knowledge of carbon monitoring and reporting. Her commercial career has spanned the BPO, telecoms, IT and FMCG sectors, for brands including Xchanging, Diageo, Cable & Wireless and Hutchison Whampoa. She has extensive experience in building new businesses, developing complex corporate solutions and the implementation of large scale change management programmes.
Katharine holds an MSc in Politics from the London School of Economics with a specialism in environmental policy, is an Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and has studied at the College of Estate Management: Valuation and Investment in Commercial Property. Katharine speaks fluent Spanish and Italian, having lived in both countries, and is a keen amateur runner.
Maaike Fleur, Senior Manager Reporting Framework, Global Reporting Initiative
Maaike Fleur is Senior Manager Reporting Framework at the Global Reporting Initiative. Over the past five years, she took responsibility development of sector specific reporting guidance for ten sectors. Past positions were with the Dutch Alternative Consumers Association, SNS Asset Management, and the European Ecolabel.
Matt Fulford, Head of Building, Sustain
Matt is Head of Buildings at Sustain, a specialist carbon reduction consultancy and has over 10 years of experience in the Construction Industry in a variety of sectors including commercial office, residential, industrial and aviation. Previously Matt has been Head of Sustainability for EC Harris he has provided advice to a number of clients on sustainability strategy and approach, impact of forthcoming legislation and improving the balance between commercial and environmental factors. Matt has expert knowledge in the area of sustainability within the built environment and is a regular speaker at conferences across Europe and contributes his expert opinion to many articles on the subject. He has recently been a key contributor to the WSBF Leaner and Greener report on Sustainable Estate Management in the public sector which was launched by Eric Pickles in the House of Commons.
Matt completed a project in October 2010 which has successfully delivered the first zero carbon church in the UK in a Grade 1 listed Norman building dating back to 1140. This project highlights the possibilities to integrate modern renewable and energy saving initiatives within heritage buildings to create a sustainable future in both environmental and economic terms.
In his spare time Matt undertakes many voluntary positions to promote sustainable development including being a member of the RICS Sustainability Working Group, Sustainability Advisory to the Diocese of Gloucester and Governor of an EcoSchool.
Matt tries to practice what he preaches at home in the UK, driving an 84mpg Diesel Smart car as little as possible and being a member of Friends of the Earth, the Soil Association and the Centre for Alternative Technology. He is married with two young children who are taught the importance of recycling and energy conservation at an early age!
Sally Hancox, Director, Gentoo Green
Sally began working in housing 25 years ago and has occupied a number of posts, with both Housing Association and Local Authority housing organisations.
Sally joined Sunderland City Council in 1993, rising to Local Company Director in 2001 following stock transfer when the City of Sunderland Housing Department transferred to Sunderland Housing Group.
Appointed Director of Gentoo Green in 2007, Sally took responsibility for the development of Gentoo’s Environmental Strategy, building a nationally respected division within three years. Gentoo Green is dedicated to supporting the different operations of the Group in making improvements in their environmental performance. As a result of this, Gentoo has been named in the Sunday Times Best Green Companies List for four consecutive years.
Sally has been instrumental in a range of sustainability activities being trialled throughout the Group, including an ambitious ‘retrofit’ programme of Gentoo’s current housing stock and the first ever UK trials of the Government backed Pay As You Save scheme.
Well respected in the industry, Sally is a regular contributor to a number of forums on behalf of Gentoo including the Communities Local Government retrofit consortium, the BRE National Refurbishment Centre, the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes and the National Housing Federation.
Miles Hebron-Wheatley, Senior Sustainable Design Consultant, ECD Architects
As an ECD Research & Consultancy Sustainability Consultant, Miles is involved in projects for Local Authorities, private developers and architect clients such as Corydon Council, Galliford Try, Barratt Homes, Berkley First and TSB. Before joining ECD Project Services, Miles worked as a freelance energy assessor carrying out domestic energy surveys. He then went on to manage the team of assessors and developed the induction and training of new assessors. He is an accredited On-Construction Domestic Energy Assessor, with experience in RD-SAP, and has particular expertise in BREEAM, Code for Sustainable Homes and Retrofit.
Steven Heath, External Affairs Director for North Europe, Knauf Insulation
Steven joins Knauf Insulation with four years’ experience in the industry, having previously worked for both the Energy Saving Trust and the Welsh Government, helping develop the National Energy Efficiency and Savings plan.
Once the plan was published, Steven became the technical advisor, and then programme manager for the Welsh Government’s area-based Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme – ‘Arbed’, which looked to improve the energy performance of hard to treat properties in some of Wales’ most deprived areas, through insulation and green technologies.
A large part of Steven’s new role at Knauf Insulation will be in supporting the Government when making decisions to allow for a smooth transition from the current energy supplier obligations, CERT and CESP, to the Green Deal and the new energy supplier obligation, the ECO.
Jonathan Hines, Director, Architype
Jonathan Hines is a director of Architype, an architectural practice which has been recognised as the School Architect of the Year 2011 by the British Council for the School Environment (BCSE).
Jonathan is passionate about education and has led the design team on a number of education projects throughout England and Wales. He has spoken at conferences and seminars, been involved in national research projects, and regularly lectures at universities and colleges. He is also a founder member of the Passivhaus Trust.
Dan Jestico, Head of Research and Development, Hilson Moran
Dan Jestico is head of the Hilson Moran Research and Development team. His role is to keep the practice at the forefront of sustainability legislation and assessment techniques. He is responsible for training staff members to provide high quality sustainability advice and also gets involved with all project work undertaken by our Sustainability group. Dan specialises in numerical modelling of the built environment and has been instrumental in the environmental design of a number of high profile low-carbon buildings, working with a broad range of active and passive low-energy design solutions. Prior to joining Hilson Moran, Dan was employed by the aerodynamics group of the Mercedes Formula One team.
Dr Craig Jones, Senior Associate, Sustain
Dr. Craig Jones is a Senior Associate at Sustain and a former academic. He’s a leading figure in embodied carbon assessment for construction and is a well published author on the topic of life cycle assessment (LCA). Craig has completed hundreds of embodied carbon, carbon footprint and LCA studies for materials, buildings and products.
Ahsan Khan, Project Manager, Tata Steel Colors – Sustainable Building Envelope Centre
Ahsan Khan is a project manager responsible for the development of innovative renewable technologies and systems at the Tata Steel Sustainable Building Envelope Centre (SBEC). After joining Tata Steel Research, Development and Technology in 2007 he began work on European research projects focusing on the energy efficiency of steel building. His work also included the development of thermal energy conversion systems relating to Transpired Solar Collectors (TSCs) and novel applications in building envelope energy generation. In his current role he is responsible for delivering renewable energy solutions based on steel intensive building envelopes.
An academic background in construction and the built environment, BSc (Hons) in Architectural Technology and currently reading towards a PhD in Design for Deconstruction and building component reuse.
Paul King, Chief Executive, UK GBC
Paul became the first CEO of the UK-GBC in May 2007. Previously he worked for WWF-UK where he was Director of Campaigns, and formerly Campaign Director for WWF’s One Million Sustainable Homes campaign and co-founder of One Planet Living ®. Paul is Chairman of the Zero Carbon Hub and is a member of the Zero Carbon Homes 2016 Task Force. He is a member of the Technology Strategy Board’s Low Impact Building Programme Steering Group and the Igloo Regeneration Sustainability Committee. He was previously a member of the Low Carbon Construction IGT, Sustainable Buildings Task Group, Code for Sustainable Homes Steering Group and the Egan Review of Skills for Sustainable Communities. On an international level he is a Board member of the World Green Building Council and Chairs the WorldGBC International Policy Task Force and WorldGBC Europe Network.
Paul lives in Shropshire with his partner and two young sons.
Thomas Lane, Assistant Editor, Building
Thomas Lane is assistant editor on Building magazine and is responsible for its architectural and technical coverage. This includes regulations, sustainability, innovation, best practice and also the costs section of Building. He led Buildings successful campaign to reform building regulations to make these simpler, more predictable and backed by measures to improve compliance. He also championed Building’s 99% campaign in 2006 which focussed on reducing carbon emissions from existing buildings.
Jon Lovell, Head of Sustainability, Drivers Jonas Deloitte
Jon leads the Drivers Jonas Deloitte sustainability sector, advising major investors, holding companies, developers and occupiers.
He is a member of the BPF Sustainability Committee, the Green Property Alliance, and leads on the built environment for the influential Aldersgate Group. He was recently elected a Fellow of the RSA.
George Martin, Head of Sustainable Development, Willmott Dixon Group
George is Head of Sustainable Development with Willmott Dixon Group, a company committed to taking a leadership role in the built environment and Director of WD Re-Thinking.
Prior to this current appointment, he was Director of Sustainability at BRE.
George is also an Associate of the UK’s leading sustainable development charity Forum for the Future; Chair of the Sustainable Development Foundation and a former member of the Advisory Board of the UK Green Building Council.
He has been a member of a number of Government task forces, the most recent of which is the DCSF Zero Carbon Task Force.
In 2008 he was voted by a distinguished panel of judges brought together by Building Magazine as being one of the top ten green gurus who had most influenced and impacted the green building movement in the UK. At the Building Magazine Green Guru 2009 Awards he was voted as the ‘green guru contractor’.
In 2010 George was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Low Impact and Sustainable Buildings at Coventry University and more recently to the Board of West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE)
Shaun McCarthy, Chair, Commission Sustainable London 2012
Shaun McCarthy is Chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, the independent sustainability watchdog for the London 2012 Olympics. In his role as Chair of the Commission, Shaun is setting Olympic precedent – never before has an Olympic Games had an independent body to monitor and advise on sustainability issues.
Shaun is also the director of social enterprise Action Sustainability; a Commissioner on the London Sustainable Development Commission, an advisory group to the London Mayor; and an associate of the Institute for Sustainability. However, Shaun’s route into the sustainability sector was an unorthodox one – he previously had lengthy careers with Shell UK and BAA. Shaun amassed over 20 years’ experience in commercial business and he brings this experience to the fore in his role as Chair of the Commission – working to provide assurance that environmental issues tie into commercial objectives.
Shaun has been passionately promoting the Commission’s work both within industry sectors such as construction and manufacturing, and with NGO stakeholders. The Commission produces regular reports reviewing progress on the promise to make the 2012 Games ‘the greenest Games ever’. As the critical friend, the Commission is able to push for higher standards and hold bodies such as the ODA and LOCOG to account on issues such as recycling temporary materials, food waste and greenhouse gases.
Shaun is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS), Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (MIEMA) and the Institute of Directors (MIOD).
Kevin McCloud, Author, broadcaster, designer and Great British Refurb front man
An author, broadcaster and designer, Kevin is best known for Channel 4′s Grand Designs and for his annual coverage of the Stirling Prize. Kevin’s other forays into television include Don’t Look Down for BBC2 (2002) and Demolition for Channel 4 (2005). In 2008 Channel 4 screened Kevin McCloud and the Big Town Plan, covering the problems of urban regeneration and design quality in the public realm. Autumn 2009 saw a major four-part Channel 4 series about the European Grand Tour and its effects on modern-day design, architecture and town planning. In January 2010 Channel 4 screened Slumming It, a two-part documentary in which Kevin McCloud travelled to Dharavi in India to experience life in one of Asia’s biggest slums.
In 2006 Kevin formed Hab Housing. In partnership, the company is now building sustainable housing schemes across the West of England. He also devised and launched the Great British Refurb, a campaign between several institutions, retailers and government, to promote the retrofitting of Britain’s 26 million homes to low-energy standards.
Kevin is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Sean Morris, Director of Corporate Property, Barclays
Sean is a Director in the Barclays’ Corporate Real Estate Services team and is Head of Environmental Sustainability there where he has a global brief to deliver Barclays’ carbon reduction commitments.
Barclays’ operational estate comprises over 6000 buildings across 50 countries. Sean has held a range of senior positions managing those interests over the last 8 years and prior to that held a number of senior positions in various Barclays’ businesses. Sean is also a trustee of Barclays’ UK Pension Fund.
Simon Rawlinson, Partner, EC Harris LLP
Simon heads EC Harris’ multi-disciplinary Strategic Research and Insight team. The team is tasked with delivering evidence-based insight and Thought Leadership as an integral part of the Built Asset Consultancy service.
Simon has 15 years experience in construction and Build Environment research. Prior to his career in research, Simon practiced as a Chartered Surveyor.
Simon is responsible for EC Harris’ global research activities including strategic research for internal and external clients, market forecasting and market intelligence. Simon is a member of the CPA forecasting panel, the CIC’s economic task group and a number of construction industry bodies.Simon’s is a well known commentator in the construction industry, having collaborated with Building Magazine and other publications for over 15 years. His research interests include market forecasting, construction cost and value and the wider issues associated with the delivery of large-scale sustainability programmes.
As the lead author of Building’s Cost Model series, Simon has an extensive knowledge of the cost and value drivers affecting a wide range of building types and sectors. Simon also authored a series of articles for Building on the economics of sustainability technologies. During summer 2010, he collaborated with Aecom and Arup in completing early cost assessments of Part L 2010 as part of Building Magazine’s Cost Model Series.
Simon was a member of the UKGBC working group on the business case for sustainability which contributed to the 2008 Roadmap to zero carbon non-domestic buildings. He has also been involved in the development of an award-winning embodied carbon calculator.
Allan Ronald, Sustainability Manager, Higgins Construction
As Sustainability Manager for Higgins Construction, Allan is responsible for all aspect of our Environmental Management System (EN BSI ISO 14001) including staff training, pollution prevention, monitoring and auditing. Allan takes responsibility to ensure that as a company we meet our legal obligations associated with the environment during the construction process.
As part of our Innovation Group, Allan is responsible for research and development associated with the retro fitting of the existing housing stock, including technology allied with fabric solutions and renewable technology. Recently Allan has worked as part of a project team who delivered two BREEAM pilot schemes which are the first in Europe to achieve BREEAM Domestic refurbishment certification. The pilot properties looked at a holistic approach to carbon reduction which also included reduced usage of water, materials, waste, transport, management, health and wellbeing, flooding and ecology. Both properties are rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’.
As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, Allan also is involved in the community side of every project, such as local labour and training, CSR policies and building good relationships within the community. His friendly and approachable nature allows Allan to be involved with people from all types of backgrounds and ages.
Ian Smith, Head of Project Management for Global Corporate Services, CB Richard Ellis and President, CoreNet Globals UK Chapter
Ian joined Global Corporate Services (GCS) in May 2010 after 20 years at Arcadis/AYH plc., where he was an Executive Director within ARCADIS UK’s Buildings sector following their acquisition of AYH plc. Ian was a main Board Director and principal shareholder.
Qualifying as a Building Surveyor, he focused early in his career on Project Management. Ian’s potential was recognised by the partners of AYH and his career development was fast tracked during the 1990’s, becoming a main board director and becoming actively involved in the service and sector broadening programme.
Ian’s background of working with occupiers in both the Public and Private Sectors is where he has focussed his time over the last 15 years. This has included active participation in project delivery as well as proactive client account management. His ability and strategic vision to develop ideas and ability to generate work and build long client relationships was again recognised and he was asked to spearhead the client focus programme.
Ian’s passion and enjoyment of working with users of buildings led him to become outwardly involved with the occupying property group CoreNet where he is currently President of the UK Chapter.
Ruth Standring, Group Head, Health, Safety and Environment, Standard Chartered
Ruth is Group Head of Health, Safety and the Environment at Standard Chartered, a leading international bank. She heads a team responsible for the reduction of the Bank’s direct environmental impact and has delivered innovative solutions across a footprint of over 75 countries. The team are the 2011 winners of the CoreNet Global UK Chapter Sustainability and Innovation award. Ruth has worked for Standard Chartered for 12 years and has previously held a number of senior management positions with a focus on driving change on a global scale.
Mel Starrs, Associate Director, PRP Environmental
Mel Starrs joined PRP in 2010. She is an Associate Director within the Environmental team. She started her career at Max Fordham and Partners in 1997, working at various M&E practices before becoming a chartered building services engineer in 2003 whilst with Halcrow Group. An interest in passive ventilation and low energy design led to specialism’s in both building physics and BREEAM consultancy.
She has a keen interest in global building accreditation systems and has a working knowledge of CASBEE, Estidama and ILBI, in addition to being LEED AP. She was one of the pioneers of the BREEAM AP (accredited professional) qualification, achieving this status in 2009.
Her technical background covering energy strategies and building physics supports the assessment consultancy. In addition, she has a deep knowledge of policy with regards to carbon targets, planning and renewables for housing and commercial, public and private sectors.
Her wider interests include the economics and politics of sustainability and she has been blogging on the topic since 2006. She is also a keen twitterer: @melstarrs
Simon Sturgis, Managing Director, Sturgis Carbon Profiling LLP
Simon Sturgis is an Architect and MD of Sturgis Associates. He has been active in real estate carbon analysis, pioneering Carbon Profiling. The RICS published ‘Redefining Zero’ in 2010. Simon is a member of the BCO Environmental Committee, and an advisor to the UKGBC, WCC, WWF and Dept BIS.
Gavin Summerson, Senior Consultant, BRE Global Ltd
Gavin is the Technical Manager for developing BREEAM refurbishment for domestic and non domestic buildings. His 7 years at BRE has involved the development of the Code for Sustainable Homes, EcoHomesXB and other BREEAM schemes. He also specialises in Water efficiency and is the author of the Governments Part G Water Calculator and BS8542 which was published on 31st October 2011. An environmental science graduate from Plymouth university, Gavin’s previous roles include environmental management in local government and a major engineering firm.
David Weatherall, Housing Strategy Manager, Energy Saving Trust
David Weatherall is the Housing Strategy Manager at the Energy Saving Trust. He is responsible for the content of EST’s consumer advice on energy efficiency, which reaches 1m customers a year. More broadly, David advises on strategy for the organisation in the are of home energy efficiency. David has worked at the Energy Saving Trust for eight years. He worked at first as co-ordinator for the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, where he led some of the first work on old, cold homes in the private rented sector: work that has had a significant impact on shaping government policy to drive improvements to these homes. David served as chair of the European Energy Network Buildings Working Group from 2008 to 2011, a network of national energy agencies from across the EU, who work together particularly on issues relating to the implementation of the Energy Performance Buildings Directive.
Ant Wilson, Director, Sustainability Development Group, AECOM
Ant has considerable experience in thermal modelling, low and zero carbon system, façade engineering, and environmental sustainability.
Ant is a Chartered Engineer, a low carbon consultant, Fellow of the CIBSE, Energy Institute and the Society of Façade Engineering and a Member of the SLL.
