The community of Sustainability, EHS and ESG practitioners and leaders is growing fast. As demand for their skills and time increases, so does the complexity of their challenges in fast-paced global markets. Cathie Mackay founded CoSpring to help strengthen leadership capability within the growing community mentioned and in fast growing/change and highly regulated sectors. She is a trained professional coach, Insights facilitator and a highly experienced Senior EHS Leader dedicated to enhancing individuals' leadership capability. Cathie achieves that by supporting leaders to connect with their personal, authentic leadership style and manage their own growth. She works with existing and emerging leaders to develop into their roles to drive their teams and their organisation's performance. Cathie has worked in highly regulated FTSE 100 companies and on transformational projects worldwide. She has led global operational and central governance EHS Teams delivering a wide range of services to internal and external stakeholders. She holds a PhD in environmental management and auditing and is an active Non-Exec member of the Board of IEMA.

Alex heads up a team within DEFRA's Air Quality and Industrial Emissions division. She co-leads industrial emissions policy and is responsible for industrial reporting and the small-medium side of industrial emissions. Her work contributes to delivering the Government’s Clean Air Strategy and 25 Year Environment Plan. She is also part of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion network. Prior to joining the civil service, Alex worked in the sustainable procurement consultancy Action Sustainability, specialising in measurement and management of sustainability performance. She helped clients to integrate sustainability into project delivery in the construction and infrastructure sectors. Alex also ran the Sustainability Tool and delivered training through the award-winning Supply Chain Sustainability School. Alex started her career in the Sustainability Team at the University of Greenwich, where she ran their ISO14001 accredited Environmental Management System. She has a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future and Middlesex University. Outside of work, Alex is a keen touring cyclist, practices yoga, maintains an allotment and is currently doing a home renovation project.

Dr Waleed Montasser is a Chartered Waste Manager and Chartered Environmentalist with 20 years in environmental, wastes and resources management as well as the circular economy. Dr Montasser is a Director of Circular Learning and owner / founder of IREEMS Ltd UK, with clients in the UK and internationally. He has been involved in projects and studies with various wastes and environmental organisations in the UK such as DEFRA, WRAP and internationally with UNIDO, HP and abroad such as UNIDO, ITC, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), Bee’ah and Tadweer. A key contributor and delegate of the EU Mission to Chile. The Mission aimed to share EU best practices in municipal waste management with key stakeholders. This included meeting with stakeholders and delivering a public workshop discussing the future of wastes management in Chile. Dr Montasser was also the coordinator of a Circular Economy Working Group at RESURBE Project (2014-2018). RESURBE project is supported by the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability and aims to help facilitate knowledge to government and universities on the resilience of cities. Waleed was also part of E-Waste Extended Producer responsibility working group in Nigeria with stakeholders such as HP, DELL, UNIDO and NESREA. The group aims to enhance the e-waste management in Nigeria. Waleed is currently working on consultancy tasks in several locations on wastes management and resource efficiency. He is a published thought leader in peer-reviewed journals (e.g. Wastes Management, Resources, Conservation and Recycling) and has been a keynote speaker and panellist in national and international conferences. An academic; Waleed has a BSc. in Food Science and Technology, MSc. Environmental Pollution Science and PhD in Waste Management.

Stacey Ann is a sustainability professional with over fourteen years’ experience working in Sustainability, ESG and Environmental Management. She is experienced in both private and public sector organisations having worked across various industries, including automotive, real estate, architecture, higher education and marketing and advertising offering both in-house and consultancy specialist advice and services. Currently a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist with the Society for the Environment. She also holds both undergraduate and post- graduate degrees in Environmental Studies with Business and Environment, Politics and Globalization, a NEBOSH General Certificate in Health and Safety and a certificate in Sustainable Supply Chain Management from the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. Her focus is on drawing from both her academic background and professional experience to provide specialist advice and support to organisations she works with. Stacey Ann is driven by her passion to understand the continually evolving relationship between an organisation’s social and environmental responsibilities and the wider social drivers influencing how organisations need to respond for collective and meaningful social impact.

Helen is an associate sustainability trainer, delivering IEMA and NEBOSH certified courses for certified training partners. She has led central environmental and sustainability teams at Transport for London, the London Borough of Sutton and the Engineering Employers’ Federation. She draws on her experience of developing effective strategy and plans, system improvements, mechanisms for reporting performance and running behavioral change campaigns. She was the first recipient of the BRE Director’s Award and has had various sustainability writing published. Helen has been an assessor for IEMA since 1999 and now covers Practitioner, Full and Fellow levels. She is also an IEMA mentor.

Neil works with the Environment Agency (EA) in a technical leadership role within industrial regulation. He specialises in the Energy Sector including energy from waste and Gas Refining & Transmission. He currently leads on the development of new staff within their East Anglia Area team along with assessment of national regulatory standards. Neil sits on the EAs Definition of Waste panel which considers whether material can be excluded from waste controls and become part of the wider circular economy. Before the EA he worked in the Oil & Gas and Chemical industries and implemented one of the first ISO14001 certified management systems at a UK FTSE 100 company.

Nick is an infrastructure sustainability expert and is passionate about responsible business practices. He is currently Sustainability Director for SYSTRA, a global engineering company. He has worked in the profession for over 12 years with roles at Atkins and the Environment Agency (UK) and is excited by the challenges and opportunities that the transition to a net-zero, circular economy will bring. He has been a Fellow of IEMA since December 2019 and feels that there is an increasing importance to professional sustainability standards as the demand for these skills grows.

Professor Simon Pollard OBE DSc FREng is an environmental engineer (Imperial College, PhD; Cranfield University, DSc) with 35 years’ experience in environmental protection and the green economy, Simon is a leading international authority in environmental risk management, having directed institutes for Government and the Research Councils; drafted Government guidelines on environmental risk; and championed risk centres for EPSRC and NERC. Simon has served Cranfield University for over twenty years in a senior capacity as Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, and Pro-Vice Chancellor for the School of Water, Energy and Environment (2014-2021) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor International (2018-2024). For nine years, Simon led the university’s internationalisation strategy, progressed a set of strategic partnerships with international universities and developed new transnational education opportunities with Muscat (2017-22) and Jiangsu Universities (2018-). His work on ‘responsible internationalisation’ led to a reset of Cranfield’s approach to academic partnerships in the rapidly changing geopolitical climate. Beyond academe, Simon has contributed to numerous Government and research committees; has chaired several public service fora; and was an editor of the international academic journal Science of the Total Environment for sixteen years. He is an active contributor to the Royal Academy of Engineering, of which he is a Fellow, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2020.

Laura is the Net Zero Policy and Strategy Manager at National Grid, she is a Chartered Environmentalist and a Full Member of IEMA. With over 15 years’ experience in environmental roles in the energy industry she is passionate about driving change to a sustainable future for all.

Following my PhD studies at the University of Bristol researching the evolution of the early human mind, I joined the Environment Agency ten years ago. I currently work within the Strategic Evidence Unit to deliver strategic evidence on a variety of topics specific to the remit of the EA. Specifically, I develop ways of working that will enable the organisation to identify and manage strategic issues leading to better understanding of strategic risk and opportunity. Previously I have worked within the Horizon Scanning and Futures team where I was responsible for systematically researching, analysing and evaluating cross-cutting issues which could impact the future of the Environment Agency’s business in areas such as incident management, regulated industry and future technologies. I have also led the Literature Review team carrying out literature reviews to determine the validity of research aims, develop an understanding of current thinking and deliver confidence through independent assessment on topics within the Environment Agency’s remit.

Conor is an ESG Programme Manager with Sainsbury's, where he is responsible for leading the development and maintenance of Sainsbury's Bank's ESG strategy. Before this he was a Climate Reporting Manager with NatWest Group, where he provided advice and technical expertise on climate, nature, and other sustainability-related policy. He joined the Group in 2019, as a Change & Business Solutions Graduate with Ulster Bank. Prior to this he studied Marine Biology at Bangor University, completing both a BSc and MSc. Whilst there, he specialised in the effects of Arctic sea ice retreat on sea ice-reliant/associated species, in particular walruses!

Andrew carries with him three decades of technology sector experience working with global manufacturers through SME consultancy services. Andrew is Digital and Sustainability Technology lead for the Ministry of Justice. This role is ideal and is enabling the joining of his two passions being technology and sustainability, working hard at delivering a better planet for all and helping on the relentless march towards Carbon Net Zero.

Dr. Eric Twum is a Fellow and Chartered Environmentalist with IEMA with over 20 years’ experience in resources management, sustainable development, public policy, climate change adaptation and mitigation, politics, and project management. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Management, Masters in Environmental and Resources Management and a PhD Politics from the University of Exeter. His outstanding experience and skills have been successfully applied successful in policy development and implementation. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer for the Institute of Environmental Assessment in Ghana and has undertaken numerous projects for various national and international organisations including Global Centre for Adaptation and Ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Science Technology and Innovation and the Environmental Protection Agency in Ghana on Environment, Energy, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. He has been instrumental in the development of National Documents and Strategy Documents such as the Green Economy and Learning Strategy, Drought and Flood Contingency Plans, Green Jobs Strategy, the development of a National Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to track Climate Actions and Climate Finance whilst engaging with Policy Makers. Dr. Eric Twum has published widely in peer reviewed journals on Environment, Climate Change and Environmental Financial Assurance and Trained and Mentored Several professionals from Government Ministries and Private Sector on Sustainability and Environment to become Chartered Environmentalists.

Bret is Head of Climate Change & Sustainability for the City of Coventry. He is responsible for strategic oversight of all energy and environmental programmes across the City as a Council and also Citywide for an independent Sustainability & Climate Change Board in partnership with other public, private and third sector partners and stakeholders. Much of this work includes a number of major energy transformation initiatives the Innovate UK funded Regional Energy Systems Operator (RESO) in Coventry. He also oversees two professional environmental consultancies (Business Sustain and the Green Business Programme) which support SME’s and large companies with advice support and guidance for energy and environmental management, health and safety and compliance with standards (e.g. ISO4 0001) and legislation. A former Director in Birmingham City Council and CEO of Sunderland’s New Deal for Communities Regeneration Programme with over twenty years senior management experience in local Government and the Charitable sector (Henry Doubleday Research Association and Soil Association) with a particular focus on addressing environmental and sustainable development issues. Bret led the development of the City of Cardiff’s first Environmental Strategy with achievements that earned the City the status of first ‘Energy City’ (with Newcastle) and ‘Recycling City’ (with Sheffield) and winning an International Council Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) award during the Rio Earth Summit. Coventry, a CDP ‘A’ Rated city, is committed to delivering a zero carbon agenda cutting across all areas of its business activities covering transport as well as buildings and infrastructure and in addition to the RESO Project it has a number of joint ventures delivering energy infrastructure across the City. A Graduate ecologist from University College Cardiff and Chartered Biologist and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Entomological society with a history of addressing environmental and public health issues. Bret represented Welsh interests on the Environment, Energy and Regional Development policy at the Wales European Centre in Brussels and represented Eurocities in the EU’s Urban Environment Expert Group assisting in the drafting of the Aalborg Charter and the European Strategy for Sustainable Cities and Towns as well as representing local government interests during the development of the UN’s Habitat II Global Strategy and Programme for Sustainable Human Settlements in the New York PrepComm meetings and the Summit in Istanbul.

Margaret is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland having qualified with Deloitte. She spent over 10 years supporting clients from a variety of sectors including not-for-profit, pension schemes and global financial institutions. In her current role as a head of group finance she focuses on discretionary insurance, investments management and property, including Environmental, Social and Governance considerations. Margaret has a passion for process improvements and helping organisations thrive through ensuring that sound and ethical governance and financial management processes are adopted. Outside of work Margaret is on the board of Glasgow Clyde College.

As Director of Responsible Business, Shamir has overall responsibility for Corporate Social Responsibility and Energy & Environment and also oversees the organisation’s Green Plan, responsible business offer and social and governance framework. Prior to joining NHS Property Services, Shamir was Head of Building Performance Services at BRE (Building Research Establishment). He is a leading expert on sustainability challenges in the built environment, has an Engineering Doctorate from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and a Chartered Environmentalist. Shamir is also Visiting Professor of ESG Performance and Strategy at Loughborough University. Shamir has held responsibility for a wide variety of business areas in previous roles including energy modelling, BREEAM and the BRE Academy and he is also a former board member and co-founder of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and former chair of the Construction industry coalition on Modern Slavery. He plays an active role in industry standards, is involved with both European and International work.

Nicola is the Head of Legal and Company Secretary at New Look, the leading omnichannel UK retailer for womenswear. Previously Nicola was Head of Legal and Company Secretary at The Deltic Group. Nicola has held a number of NED roles in the past, including at The Hertfordshire Football Association and the OneYMCA. She has extensive experience in governance, audit, risk management and compliance, as well supporting businesses and their boards through complex legal matters, with international elements. She is a firm believer in helping businesses understand complex legal matters in a straight forward manner. Nicola is also a passionate advocate for DE&I and mentoring schemes.

Professor Simon Pollard OBE DSc FREng is an environmental engineer (Imperial College, PhD; Cranfield University, DSc) with 35 years’ experience in environmental protection and the green economy, Simon is a leading international authority in environmental risk management, having directed institutes for Government and the Research Councils; drafted Government guidelines on environmental risk; and championed risk centres for EPSRC and NERC. Simon has served Cranfield University for over twenty years in a senior capacity as Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, and Pro-Vice Chancellor for the School of Water, Energy and Environment (2014-2021) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor International (2018-2024). For nine years, Simon led the university’s internationalisation strategy, progressed a set of strategic partnerships with international universities and developed new transnational education opportunities with Muscat (2017-22) and Jiangsu Universities (2018-). His work on ‘responsible internationalisation’ led to a reset of Cranfield’s approach to academic partnerships in the rapidly changing geopolitical climate. Beyond academe, Simon has contributed to numerous Government and research committees; has chaired several public service fora; and was an editor of the international academic journal Science of the Total Environment for sixteen years. He is an active contributor to the Royal Academy of Engineering, of which he is a Fellow, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2020.

Arlette originally qualified as an Environmentalist and has two Post Graduate Diplomas in Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental Management & Assessment. Arlette is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health. She has been advising and supporting organisations to ensure people remain safe and well at work but also protecting the environment for future generations. Her approach has been to benefit people not just inside the world of work, but also wider outside of work with a focus on environmental sustainability. Arlette is experienced in both the private and public sector, is Non-Executive Director for IEMA, Chair of the IEMA Professional Standards Committee, Chair of the IEMA Fellows Nomination Committee, a member of the IOSH Performance and Development Committee and past Chair of the IOSH Broadcasting and Telecommunications Committee Specialist Group. She is well placed to advise on the effectiveness of development and performance of sustainability agenda across many sectors and organisations to ensure organisations are accountable not only to their employees but also wider stakeholders and shareholders in delivering positive business change.

Richard is a lecturer in accounting and finance at West Suffolk College with a primary interest in the business case for sustainability. Previously, he was head of finance and sustainability at Adnams plc, the award-winning brewery and distillery based in Southwold, famous for its eco-distribution centre, its energy-efficient brewhouse and its 240,000 honey bees. Under Richard's tenure, Adnams won 15 major awards for their sustainability achievements, all of which were linked to clear financial business cases. Richard holds a first-class accounting degree from the University of Wales and is a chartered management accountant. He held a series of commercial finance and controller roles at BT before joining Adnams. Outside of work, Richard is on the board of the National Trust / Ashden's Fit for the Future network and the ICAEW's sustainability committee.