Speakers

Denise joined Sport England in May 2023 to promote environmental sustainability initiatives within the organisation and to work with partners to improve the environmental performance of the sport and physical activity sector.

Denise Ludlam has spent many years working in the environmental sustainability sector. She started her professional career in agroecology research. Denise then spent several years working for national parks in the UK and in central and eastern Europe before moving to environmental work in the charity sector. Much of the focus of her work has been on education and training; sharing experiences in, and communicating about, the importance and value of our natural environment, whether this be a protected landscape or an urban nature reserve. Further work specialised on sustainable travel and transport.

After a ten-year stint as a primary school teacher, leading on science and Forest Schools, Denise stepped back into the sustainability sector. She spent several years working for Derbyshire County Council on strategies and projects to improve the environmental performance of the Council and of the county.

Lindita Xhaferi Salihu leads work on sectors engagement in climate action as part of UN Climate Change wider Global Climate Action work. She led development of both Sports for Climate Action and Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and works closely with a variety of stakeholders to mobilize key actors and catalyze ambitious action towards decarbonization. Before joining UN Climate Change, Lindita worked in public relations and coordinated projects promoting multi-stakeholder engagement in policy and sustainability. Lindita has an educational background in engineering, international relations and global energy & climate policy.

For over 20 years, Dr. Sheila Nguyen has championed the protection of our planet through the power of sport. Her impact has been recognized globally — named the inaugural Regional Leader (Oceania) by Sport Positive, awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership by BASIS (2022), and listed among the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence (2019).

As Head of Sustainability for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, she led groundbreaking initiatives to embed sustainability into one of the world’s biggest tournaments. She also co-founded the Sports Environment Alliance, uniting sport and planet leaders to protect the places where we play.

Jasmin Paris is a mother, long distance fell runner, small animal vet and research scientist, who was launched into the media spotlight in January 2019 when she won the 268-mile Montane Spine race outright, breaking the overall record by 12 hours, and beating her nearest rival by 15 hours. This year, she became the first woman to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons in Tennessee, something many had previously considered impossible for a woman.

The Barkley Marathons race is widely regarded as the world’s toughest ultramarathon and has been completed by only 20 people in the last 35 years. Consisting of five 20-mile loops through the wilderness of Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, with more than 20 000m ascent, the race has a 60-hour time limit. In March 2022, Jasmin Paris became the first female in 9 years to complete a Barkley Marathon ‘Fun Run’ (3 loops in 40 hours), and in 2023 she reached the furthest point (on loop 4) of any woman in the history of the race. In 2024, on her third attempt, Jasmin became the first woman to finish the race, completing the 5 loops with only 99 seconds to spare, in a dramatic finish which delighted onlookers around the world.

Michele Uva is UEFA Director of Social and Environmental Sustainability, appointed in January 2021.

He has dedicated an entire career to professional sport in several contexts, disciplines and environments. He has performed the role of CEO in sports organisations such as the Italian Football Association (FIGC), the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), professional football clubs (Parma and Lazio), basketball club (Lottomatica Roma) and volleyball clubs (Bologna, Treviso and Matera), as well as Deputy Commissioner in Italian Serie A football league.

Between 2017 and 2020 he was UEFA Vice-president, Chairman of Club Licensing Committee and member of several UEFA Committee: Finance, Club Competition SA, Strategic Steering, Professional Football Strategic, Women.

Author of six books on sport and football industry, he is currently a lecturer for several masters organised by international and Italian universities.

Already a two times World and European Champion, Imogen became Olympic Champion at Paris 2024, in the Lightweight Women’s double sculls with Emily Craig.

Imogen is a qualified doctor, having completed her medical degree in 2023, and is an Ambassador for the Rivers Trust. Sustainability is incredibly important to her, and she is working to improve sustainability within rowing, but also more widely among sport. After participating in Veganuary in 2022 she is now vegan.

Imogen started rowing at First and Third Trinity Boat Club during her first year of university, signing up for a taster session in exchange for two free drinks in Freshers Week. Rapidly falling in love with the sport, she won the Beginner eights at BUCS in her first year before going on to win the Blondie-Osiris race in her second.

Imogen is a triple Cambridge Blue, winning three Boat Races (two in record time), and she also has a Blue in cycling, winning the BUCS team time trial while at Cambridge. While at Cambridge, she met her fiancé at First and Third.

Chris started his Professional cycling career in late 1993. Over the following 8yrs Chris held the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France on three separate occasions, took three World titles on track and road and broke several world records.

As Chair of Sport England, Chris oversaw an organisation that administers approximately 200 million pounds of funding to enable everyone in the country to access sport and be physically active. The innovative strategy involves working in and with communities to empower them to make the changes needed in their neighbourhoods.

Perhaps the biggest challenge Chris has ever faced though, is to lead a whole new organisation, Active Travel England. As Cycling and Walking Commissioner, Chris is charged with setting up this organisation and overseeing the administration of a 2 billion Pound budget. It will raise the standards of active travel infrastructure and ensure that every large development in the country enables people to live without cars if they choose.

So far, it’s been quite a ride for Chris and his unwavering companion throughout has been the bicycle, a wonderful and simple device that reduces carbon, improves safety and gives health. It has the power to change the world if we create an environment where people feel able to trundle to shops, schools and workplaces under their own steam. The enduring mission for Chris is to help make that happen.

Karishma Ali is a Pakistani footballer and the founder of the Karishma Ali Foundation. She is an internationally awarded social entrepreneur who has represented Pakistan in two different International sports events. In 2018, she became a UNICEF Pakistan Adolescent Champion, and in 2019, she was honored as one of Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30. That same year, she was selected as a member of Pakistan’s first National Youth Council.

Driven by a vision to share her experiences and empower other girls in her region, Karishma Ali is currently impacting the lives of 500 girls. Her foundation, a registered non-governmental organization (NGO), is one of the few women-led organizations dedicated to promoting innovative and sustainable sports and physical activity programs as a means of social change and women’s empowerment, with a special focus on marginalized communities, particularly the Kalash.

The Karishma Ali Foundation’s multifaceted approach includes sports training, mental health support through art therapy, education on gender-based violence, and leadership development, equipping girls with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive. In 2022, Karishma Ali was listed in the Pride of Pakistan Enclosure and received the Hamary Heroes Award during PSL.

With over 15 years of experience in energy and sustainability roles for high street brands such as Sainsbury’s, Starbucks and WeWork, Jaz brings a wealth of knowledge covering topics such as energy management, waste reduction, sustainable packaging, behaviour change and social impact. In 2015 she was awarded a Royal Honours by King Charles III for her services to the sustainability sector. Jaz volunteers much of her time as a STEM Ambassador to help raise the awareness of energy/engineering careers, helping to create a pipeline of future energy professionals.

As Director, Social Responsibility & Sustainability for the NBA, Annie Horn leads the league’s environmental sustainability efforts internally and across NBA teams, venues, players, partners and its affiliate leagues. Horn led the NBA becoming the first professional sports league in North America to sign the UN Sport For Climate Action Framework, aspiring to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2040. Horn also spearheaded the NBA’s first baseline carbon footprint analysis and the public disclosure of its carbon emissions in 2023, including Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. She launched the league’s internal NBA Green Working Group, growing to represent 29 internal departments with collaboration across all 18 of the NBA’s international offices.

Prior to the NBA, Horn began her career in Cape Town, South Africa – working for a non-profit organization that leveraged soccer as a tool for HIV/AIDS prevention. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Emory University where she played soccer for four years. During college, she founded Think Pink, a campus-wide initiative to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Horn is passionate about the intersection of sport and social impact, health and wellness, and taking small steps to be more environmentally conscious.

Having worked in media and sport for over twenty years, Mihir joined World Rugby in 2019 as the international federation’s first Director of Strategy. His current role as Chief Strategy Officer now encompasses responsibility for Diversity and Sustainability, as well as Strategy Development.

Mihir was formerly Director of Strategy & Research at Sport England where he was responsible for the performance management of £1bn of public investment into grassroots sport. His introduction of new insights and tools to the sector helped boost sports participation by 700,000 adults, the first ever recorded increase. Whilst at Sport England he also designed and launched the country’s first fund dedicated to boosting female participation.

Previously Head of Strategy for BBC Sport, where he worked on rights and genre strategy, he is also a former Deputy-Chair of Sporting Equals, the body responsible for racial inclusion in UK sport.

Originally an economist and management consultant, Mihir joined World Rugby from global advertising network MullenLowe Group. In his role there he won Grands Prix at the IPA Effectiveness and Spikes Asia Awards and helped the business top the Effie Index.

Mihir has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University and an MBA from SDA Bocconi.

Sophie Goldschmidt is the President & Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the governing body for 10 different snow sports in the United States. She is a dynamic, senior, global leader with a broad and deep proven experience in sports, entertainment,
media and technology.

Throughout her career, Sophie has been at the forefront of successfully globalizing and innovating sports, media and entertainment properties, while also driving significant commercial growth and elevating brands. Prior to U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Sophie was CEO of the World Surf League (WSL) and held leadership, commercial and marketing roles at the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the PGA European Tour, Adidas and the global sports marketing & entertainment agency CSM.

Sophie is a Board Member for Tersa, LOVB, the Salt Lake City Olympic Bid Committee and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

She is also a member of the Women’s Sports Network (WSN) Advisory Board and advises a number of other companies.

A seasoned professional with 25 years of extensive experience in the media and sports industry, encompassing roles across agencies, broadcasters, governing bodies, and rights holders. Her career is distinguished by her commitment to leveraging the sports industry to drive sustainable commercial growth, engage a diverse fan base, and enact positive societal change.

Currently serving as Formula E’s Chief Media Officer, Aarti spearheads the organization’s media partnerships and distribution strategies, content across all platforms, digital product development, and broadcast coverage, all aimed at growing fans and enhancing engagement for the championship. Her expertise includes a profound knowledge of audience growth and revenue enhancement through strategic media rights management, content and product development, and innovative brand and content partnerships. Aarti’s approach is characterized by her reliance on data insights and industry knowledge to guide decision-making and her capability in building and nurturing stakeholder relationships, alongside leading diverse, high-performing teams.

Aarti is known within the sports and media industry for her engaging and empathetic leadership style. Her career includes over a decade at the International Cricket Council, with other significant roles at Ten Sports and IMG Media/TWI.

Originally from India, Aarti started in sports broadcasting in 1999 with IMG TWI in Delhi. She now spends her time between London, Dubai, and Formula E’s exciting race locations around the world.

Currently, as Head of Partnerships and Race Locations at Extreme E, a pioneering motorsport series focused on electric (and soon hydrogen) off-road racing, Phelan is responsible for crafting and implementing effective partnership strategies, as well as working closely with tourism boards, local governments, and private investors to identify new race locations worldwide.

Before this, Phelan served as International Head of Strategy and Consulting at Nielsen Sports, where he provided high-level strategic advice to major sports organisations and brands, with an impressive portfolio including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Premier League, top European football clubs, World Athletics, and leading brands like Heineken and PepsiCo. His expertise covered partnership strategy, sponsorship sales, and innovative business growth tactics.

Phelan’s early career includes significant roles in the public and legal sectors. He worked at HM Treasury, advising government ministers on important policy and strategy matters, and practiced law at a prestigious City law firm.

Outside of his professional career, Phelan is a decorated athlete. He represented Team GB at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he earned both a Gold and Bronze medal in rowing. In addition to his Olympic success, he is also a three-time World Champion in the sport.

With over 20 years of experience spanning Tech, Media, FMCG, and Telecom, Marijn is a dynamic and results-driven leader known for combining deep industry expertise with an innovative mindset. In her current role, Marijn oversees all UEFA sponsorships, leading impactful partnerships that blend commercial success with a strong commitment to environmental and social sustainability. She is particularly proud of the numerous initiatives launched in collaboration with UEFA, which have contributed to meaningful change in these areas.

Ruth Daniels is a passionate sports enthusiast and dynamic leader. As CEO of British Triathlon, Ruth combines her passion for sport with a commitment to creating a more active and inclusive society. Ruth’s dynamic approach has driven transformative change across various sectors, from listed companies to not-for-profits. Her expertise in governance, commercial strategy, and business transformation has seen her lead major initiatives, including IPOs and growth-scaling.

Ruth is a champion for ESG, believing it is pivotal to an organisation’s ability to engage stakeholders and create value, with reputational risk, corporate ethics, organisational culture, integrity, and ED&I strategy at the core of her experience. She is particularly determined to elevate the impact of sport in our communities, advocating for a more active nation and emphasizing sports’ contributions to teamwork, leadership development, environmental sustainability, and the cultivation of positive role models.

Ruth’s volunteer work with Women in Sport, Rounders England, and Triathlon England underscores her dedication to inspiring collaboration and embedding sustainable practices within sport.

Sam began his career in experiential event production, working on international projects for brands as diverse as Samsung, adidas and Google. However, following a course at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership, he decided to refocus his efforts on fighting the climate crisis.

After supporting the likes of Pernod Ricard and Booking.com to create sustainability strategies and education schemes at the consultancy Futerra, he secured his current role at AEG Europe to oversee all of the company’s sustainability strategy and initiatives across its venues, festivals and tours.

Pragnya is an elite triathlete and IOC Young Leader from India who has made significant strides in both sports and sustainability. Starting her athletic journey at age 8, she became a national champion and led India’s triathlon debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She is also a Chartered Accountant and a TEDx speaker, showcasing her multifaceted talents.

Pragnya’s innovative project, “Ek Beti, Ek Cycle” (One Daughter, One Cycle), addresses educational barriers by providing bicycles to rural girls who travel long distances to attend high school. This initiative promotes recycling and environmental sustainability by refurbishing unused bicycles from urban students. Since 2023, her project has distributed hundreds of cycles, with a goal of reaching 1,000 girls by the end of this year.

Her work has inspired change at multiple levels, from mobilizing local volunteers to influencing national policies and connecting with global changemakers through the IOC Young Leaders program. Pragnya’s dedication to promoting gender equality, education, and sustainability exemplifies her leadership and commitment to making a positive impact.

Mikayla Byfield (she/her/hers) is a sustainability strategist and environmental justice advocate.

With an academic research background in the intersection of Sports and Environmental Justice as well as Corporate Sustainability Management expertise, she believes that the journey towards improving our planet and businesses’ operations can be synonymous with equitable environmental and socioeconomic support of the underserved communities most impacted by climate change. Additionally, she has worked for various organizations across industries to integrate sustainability into business strategies with a community-first and people-centered approach, including Lyft and Etsy. Tech companies have often been seen as leading businesses in championing sustainability.

However, Mikayla hopes to support sports organizations to push progress beyond any other industry, on behalf of people and the planet, leveraging sports’ fandom and global reach. 

Mark has nearly 20 years’ experience working in the sports sector as well as a lifetime of lived experiences as a participant, volunteer and coach. As CEO of England Squash, Mark has been instrumental in leading the organisation’s first steps towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future and is passionate about the role National Governing Bodies can play in leading positive change across their sport.

Mark worked closely with the World Squash Federation to establish their first environment and sustainability working group which went on to publish the federation’s first global environment and sustainability strategy in 2023.

England Squash are signatories of both the UN Sport for Climate Action framework and the Sport for Nature framework.

Holding the first ever Chief Purpose Officer title in global sport and entertainment, Fiona joined SailGP in 2020, to establish the world-recognised, and award-winning, Impact League – sport’s first Podium for the Planet.

A dynamic, industry-leading Boardroom NED and advisor, with unstoppable energy to drive impactful change alongside business growth. Fiona has over 20 years’ experience impact to shape some of the world’s most high-profile sports brands and organisations – from London 2012, Westfield, SAP, Omnicom and IMG, through to athletes such as Lewis Hamilton, David Beckham and Chris Evert.

She is the pioneer behind recent initiatives across Sky’s corporate and social purpose team, with campaigns such as Sky Cycling/Team Sky and Sky Ocean Rescue – reaching over 50 million people across Europe.

A passionate advocate for using sport as a platform for good – and igniting this passion in others – Fiona is a proud ambassador for Meaningful Business, a non-exec board member at Manchester Originals Hundred team, a member of the British Paralympic Association Social Impact Committee and a founding member of Sports Pro New Era female sports mentoring program.

Marcus Parry is the sustainability manager at Tottenham Hotspur, the Premier League’s greenest Club. Marcus is responsible for continuing to develop the Club’s environmental sustainability strategy and leading on their carbon reduction plan. The Club is proud to have recently achieved certification by BSI to ISO 20121, a standard for sustainable event management. As a signatory to the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Framework this is a key milestone on the Club’s journey to net zero by 2040. Marcus has a wealth of experience in sustainability and environmental management, with a previous career with the John Lewis Partnership, offering a rounded view on the challenges and opportunities faced.

At Envision Racing, Jenn is responsible for all non-race specific affairs, from HR to RACC strategy, our Carbon Neutrality status to Partnership Agreements, business optimisation to corporate governance, and anything else you can think of in between. With over 10 years working in renewables, Jenn is passionate about using Formula E as a platform to accelerate our transition to a zero-carbon future so that she can look herself in the mirror every day and know that she is doing what she can to make a difference.

Prior to joining the Team in February 2019, Jenn was Chief of Staff at the UK Green Investment Bank, the UK’s £3.8bn green investment fund, established to commercialise green investment into renewable energy projects within the UK and was responsible, amongst other things, for advising the Chief Executive on key business and strategic priorities. Before that she was Legal Counsel at Element Power, a wind and solar power producer overseeing their northern European wind and solar developments, and responsiblefor global tax planning and HR, and before that a Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, in their London office, specialising in corporate finance and private equity investments

Janne is the Golf Course Manager at Hirsala Golf in Finland, and an independent golf course agronomist.

For the last decade Janne has been at the forefront of sustainable golf internationally. Energetically and passionately bringing nature conservation, resource efficiency, climate action and community engagement into the operations of Hirsala, and his advice to other facilities.

Hirsala has achieved and retained the GEO Certified® label for leadership in sustainable golf since 2010, and has also been personally recognised by the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation as a Sustainable Golf Champion, a growing network of individuals across the sport that are delivering and advocating for environmental and social action.

Andrew Simms is an author, political economist and campaigner. He co-authored the original Green New Deal, came up with Earth Overshoot Day, and jointly proposed the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty (with Prof Peter Newell), and set up Cool Down – the sport for climate action network. He is co-director of the New Weather Institute, coordinator of the Rapid Transition Alliance, assistant director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, and a research associate at the University of Sussex. He set up and coordinates the Badvertising campaign to stop adverts fuelling the climate emergency and his books include Cancel the Apocalypse, Ecological Debt, Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth, the heterodox guide, Economics: A Crash Course, and Badvertising. He is on social media at: @andrewsimms_uk @[email protected]

Dr Catherine Flitcroft is Head of Access and Environment at the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). She is responsible for managing the BMC’s relationship with Government and other countryside and recreational organisations. She also leads the BMC on policy and legislation issues affecting the cliff and mountain environment and is responsible for transformative climate action across the organisation including GB Climbing.

Over the past few years, she has been responsible for collating the organisations GHG emissions data and ensuring the organisations Climate and Sustainability Action Plan is adhered to (reporting to the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework and more recently, UN Sport for Nature).

To engage with the wider membership and athletes, she has also developed an overarching Sustainable Steps Campaign which contains a host of useful information and advice / checklists as well as a BMC Lift Share site. These all sit alongside a much larger Climate Project which is a collection of nature-based solutions (based in the UK) which are helping to protect and restore nature and address the climate and biodiversity crisis. By tapping into our membership, the BMC has raised a significant amount of money to help transform the moorland landscape of the Peak District and North Pennines and bring the underlying blanket peat into good condition – helping to save about 62,000 tonnes of avoided carbon loss per year. Cath is particularly passionate about bogs as her PhD focussed on the reasons for their inception.

She was once a champion athlete and has, by her own admission, spent far too much time in the wilderness of Scotland.

Melvin Benn is the Managing Director of Festival Republic, the leading UK event promoter behind Latitude, Reading & Leeds Festivals, Wireless and Wilderness. In 2017, Benn was instrumental in producing the One Love Manchester benefit concert which was broadcast live in over 50 countries and raised over £2 million for the British Red Cross We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

With vast experience of staging the best in entertainment events, Benn is a Director of Glastonbury Festival and was a Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wembley Stadium for five years from 2011. Benn sits as a representative on the Concert Promoters Association (CPA), was influential in writing the Guide to Health and Safety at Outdoor Events (‘the Pop Code’) and makes regular presentations to the Emergency Planning College, the police and other bodies.

Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh, MBE, is an environmental psychologist, specialising in perceptions and behaviour in relation to climate change, energy and transport, based in the Department of Psychology, University of Bath. She is Director of the ESRC-funded UK Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST). She regularly advises governmental and other organisations on low-carbon behaviour change and climate change communication, was one of the expert leads for Climate Assembly UK, and Lead Author for IPCC’s Working Group II Sixth Assessment Report. Her research projects have included studies of meat consumption, energy efficiency behaviours, waste reduction and carrier bag reuse, perceptions of smart technologies and electric vehicles, low-carbon lifestyles, and responses to climate change.

Lucy Amis is the Senior Advisor for Knowledge & Capacity, at the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) and is driving CSHR’s new Sport, Human Rights and Climate Action programme. She has advised Sport Bodies and Local Organising Committees on human rights, including Commonwealth Sport and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, and delivered human rights trainings for among others the FIFA men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany.

Lucy has been at the forefront of the growing Sport and Human Rights movement since 2012 and as author of Striving for Excellence: Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights was one of the originators of the work at the Institute for Human Rights and Business that led to the creation of CSHR. She has over two decades experience in research, thought leadership and in developing capacity-building tools in the fields of Business and Human Rights and Sport and Human Rights

Jamie’s thirteen-year rugby career saw him captain his country on the international stage. He has played fifty-nine international sevens tournaments for Scotland and is their second highest try scorer of all time. He won Twickenham Sevens back to back in 2016 and 2017, has been to two Commonwealth Games and two World Cups and is a European Games silver medalist with Team GB. He has also played for Cambridge University in the Varsity match.

Alongside playing, Jamie is a leading voice in the sport and sustainability space. He co-wrote a letter to World Rugby demanding environmental action signed by hundreds of professional players and gaining international media attention. He then worked with his own union to galvanise sustainability action and helped set up an ESG group which baselined current activity and workshopped sustainability aims from which to write a sustainability plan. Jamie’s research at Cambridge University has focussed upon sport’s role in influencing the uptake of sustainable technology amongst fans in the transition to a net zero economy, and he has used his platform to speak about sport’s responsibility in light of the climate crisis and the positive impact it can and should be having.

He has spoken at COP28, Global Sports Week, Sport Positive, COG-X, and at the Hong Kong sustainability summit. He has also spoken on podcasts such as High Impact Athletes, Emergency on Planet Sport, the ESG engagement podcast and has co-presented an hour-long BBC radio show on sustainability at the Rugby World Cup. Jamie has picked up awards as the International Olympic Committee Sustainability Ambassador award winner, Mastercard’s Future XV of those shaping the future of rugby, and is sustainability ambassador for Scottish Rugby and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Teresa Santos is the Sustainability Manager at FC Porto, where she has worked since 2007. She began her career at the club by implementing quality and environmental management systems, and since 2019, she has taken on the responsibility of leading the club’s sustainability efforts. With experience in match operations, she was responsible for the operational management of 2019 UEFA Nations League and the 2021 Champions League Final at Estádio do Dragão. Additionally, she manages and coordinates FC Porto’s participation in co-funded projects such as Life Tackle, ACCESS, FRE KICKS, and GEMINI. She represents FC Porto in the sustainability working groups of ECA and Liga Portugal and has participated in several UEFA working groups. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering, a postgraduate qualification in Quality, Environment, and Safety Management Systems, and has recently completed training as a Chief Sustainability Officer.

Ben Barrett is a sustainability consultant supporting sports organisations, including the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), with Sports for Climate Action and Sports for Nature framework implementation. Before specialising in sports sustainability, Ben worked in broadcast television for 18 years, holding senior roles at ESPN and Sky in the UK, and supporting the wider industry through BAFTA’s ‘Albert’ initiative to create productions more sustainably.

Erica Edwards-O’Neal, Esq is a strategic diversity, equity, and social responsibility professional and lawyer. Bringing more than 25 years’ experience, she is a business executive that has provided guidance, counsel, and training across the country and internationally on topics including people and culture strategy, equity centered human resource practices, cultural competence, implicit bias, microaggressions, inclusive leadership, and EEO compliance. Additionally, she is the founder of EEO Consults and the Baked In Equity™ Framework. In late 2020, Erica joined New York Road Runners as the Senior Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, where she spearheads the organization’s diversity, equity, and social responsibility strategy across all business units and levels.

CEO and Co Founder of international not for profit A Greener Future and Co Founder of green energy specialists, Grid Faeries. Claire O’Neill is a pioneer in sustainability in events, establishing AGF following her research in 2005. Since then claire has worked with world leading events, venues and artists such as Massive Attack, Act 1.5, HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant, Glastonbury Festival, The O2, Wembley, BST Hyde Park, UEFA Champions League, Forest Green Rovers FC, ASM Global, AEG, HM the Queens Funeral, Bring Me The Horizon and The 1975. Claire organises Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI) and advises industry bodies throughout Europe. Trail blazing best practice including the world’s first green festival and event standards, the Green Artist rider with Wasserman Agency, Greener Touring and Production, and Greener Arena Certification. Claire is on the Board of charities In Place of War and Naam Festival, Kenya. Additionally, Claire is an aerialist performing globally from the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony as Mary Poppins, to Arcadia Spectacular’s iconic Spider shows worldwide.

Tom Harris is the sustainability manager at Brighton & Hove Albion and is responsible for developing the club’s environmental sustainability strategy and leading on their carbon reduction plans to deliver on the commitment to become one of the most sustainable club’s in professional football and drive positive change within the local community. With over a decade of experience in sustainability and environmental management, Tom has worked with organisations in the public and private sectors to measure and reduce their environmental impact through strategy development, data analysis and project management.

Natalia Phipps is the Head of Advocacy at The Carbon Literacy Project, where she leads two teams in expanding the reach of certified climate education and action training, known as Carbon Literacy, across diverse sectors and organisations. Her work is at the forefront of driving transformative climate action on a global scale.

Since joining The Carbon Literacy Project in 2019, Natalia has pioneered the development of innovative Sector Toolkits, enabling entire sectors to effectively roll out Carbon Literacy training at scale, one of which being Sport. Developed alongside the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and UK Sport, Natalia led on the creation of The Carbon Literacy Sports Kit, aiming to embed climate action at all levels in sports organisations. The Sports Kit can be used by any sports club, venue or organisation to deliver Carbon Literacy training, empowering staff and players to take action on climate change.

Anna is a programme manager at Heard, working to collaborate and shift narratives across popular culture – with a focus on climate and nature. Anna’s work enables people to tell stories that will change hearts and minds, leading to a shift in the public mood towards from awareness to action.

Sam Barratt is Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy at UN Environment Programme. He is responsible for the sports portfolio at UNEP, working on the Volvo Ocean Race’s Clean Seas sailing team and now leading on the Sport for Nature initiative with the IOC and IUCN.

In addition, he leads on working with governments and higher education to integrate sustainability and a green skills component into the formal education system as well as with sports, the video games industry and the youth movements to reinforce this agenda through non-formal education and their ability to reach billions of people.

Previously Sam worked as Chief of Public Advocacy for UNEP, Director of Communications for Avaaz and the Head of Press for Oxfam.

After having contributed to the creation of Energy Observer, the first hydrogen vessel to complete a world tour, Amadea is joining the Paris 2024 adventure. Her objective : to make the largest sporting event in the world, a lever to contribute to acceleration of the ecological and social transformation of sport and society. In charge of Environmental and Climate Mobilization issues, she is notably leading the definition of the Paris 2024 Food Vision, as well as communication fo all publics for more responsible Games.

Isaac Murray is an experienced ESG, Sustainability, and social value educator and facilitator. He is the Community Manager for ‘The Toolbox’, a free, knowledge-sharing platform founded in the sports industry by 11th Hour Racing, that enables its community to download, create, and share resources to integrate sustainability practices and strategy in their operations. Isaac has a background in the energy industry, the creative industries, Non-profit organizations, and events, with an academic focus on, Community Campaigns and Projects, Sustainable Regeneration, and Resilience; drawing on many sources to create valuable solutions for businesses and organisations at any scale

Born and raised in the Dolomites. Environmental sociologist with a master’s degree in urban planning. Since 2001 she has been involved in environmental and social sustainability aspects for the organising committees of major international events: Winter Olympics, Asian Games, Universiade, Expo, World Ski Championships.

Among her most recent assignments, from 2018 to 2021 she was Sustainability Director for the World Alpine Ski Championships Cortina 2021. For two years she was Head of Sustainability for Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, the organising committee for the next Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Italy. In July 2023, she decided to join the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and became its first Sustainability Director.

Currently within FIS, she is working on the implementation of the IMPACT Programme – a roadmap to a more sustainable and inclusive snow sports ecosystem, dealing with issues such as the reduction of CO2 emissions, the protection of nature and biodiversity, and the circular economy.

After spending more than 10 year supporting sponsors on different big events owned by A.S.O. (cycling, running, golf, equestrian sport, motorsports), I turned to CSR issues by entering the cycling department and taking the head of the CSR strategy of all the cycling event, in particular the Tour de France, 3rd event after the Olympics games and the Football World Cup. In 15 years, I have worked at promoting the bike for all and everywhere and reducing the TDF carbon footprint with all our stakeholders.

Jaime is the Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at World Rugby, the global governing body for rugby union. With over 15 years experience working in international sport relations, development and sustainability, previous roles prior to joining the international federation included event management and government administration. A passion for sustainability, collaboration and the transformative power of sports, particularly rugby, have all helped motivate Jaime across a wide range of professional and personal objectives and achievements.

His playing boots have been swapped for coaching ones and when not on or at the side of the pitch, he can be found out and about in nature or eyeing up the next gardening task on the list.

Peter Wearne has been the General Manager – Facilities with the Melbourne Cricket Club since 2006, and as such is responsible for one of the world’s largest sporting stadiums, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Peter is responsible for the strategic and operational performance of the built assets at the MCG. He is also responsible for the MCC’s environmental sustainability initiatives which have led to the MCG becoming one of the world’s most sustainable stadiums.

Peter’s expertise in stadium operations has been called upon by the West Australian Government to provide operational advice during the design process for the New Perth Stadium (now Optus Stadium) and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.

Peter is a founding member of the Sports Environment Alliance and it’s immediate past Chairperson and a past member of Deakin University Sports Management Industry Advisory Board.

Danielle Doza is the Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Services for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rock Entertainment Group, the first senior level sustainability position in the NBA. At the Cavs, Danielle works across the company on sustainable operations and reporting, supporting the marketing and communications teams, and integrating sustainability into partnership development. Danielle was recently recognized by Sports Business Journal as “One to Watch” for women in sports and sustainability.

Prior to joining the Cavs, Danielle was a corporate sustainability consultant, as the co-founder of Venture Forward Strategies, where she helped manufacturing and consumer product companies with sustainability strategy development, reporting, and project-based challenges. This work included helping clients better avoid sending waste to landfill in operations, identifying alternative packaging and product material options, engaging employees on sustainability, developing appropriate responses for customer and stakeholder communication, and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and other social and environmental impacts.

Danielle also co-found a networking group for women in sustainability in Northeast Ohio that now has nearly 250 women. Additionally, she is involved with a thrice yearly event called Eco Meet CLE that brings together the broader Cleveland sustainability community to spark connections, hear about initiatives going on in the region, and encourage more collaboration across sectors.

Originally from Prague, Matous joined Mastercard 11 years ago in Sales & Business development. He spent the past 8 years in London, covering European Regional roles in Loyalty, Credit and ESG.

As the ESG head for Europe, he is responsible for Mastercard’s efforts to bring sustainable and inclusive solutions across the network. He also drives Fintech Product Partnerships in Europe.

Prior to joining Mastercard he spent 8 years in Management consulting with KPMG and PwC.

Matouš holds Master degrees from University of Economics Prague and Copenhagen Business School – CEMS.

Father of two daughters. Passionate rower.

Barbara leads the sustainability agenda of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body for motorsport. She drives global, sector-wide sustainability efforts for the FIA internally, its 245 sport and mobility member associations, and 7 world championships (Formula 1, WRC, RX, WEC, Karting, W2RC, Formula E).

Since joining the FIA in 2017, Barbara has developed the first gender equality programme of the sport (FIA Girls on Track) and the Environmental Strategy 2020-2030. Recently, she led the FIA’s inaugural participation in the UN Conference on Climate (COP), defining the Federation’s role in accelerating a just transition towards a net zero transport sector.

With 9 years of experience in sustainability, Barbara holds a MSc in Environmental Management from Oxford Brookes and a BA in International Relations from the University of Geneva. In 2021, she became an alumna of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Rishi is Liverpool Football Club’s Director of Impact, and is responsible for leading the

Club’s approach to sustainability through the lens of equality, diversity and inclusion and environmental sustainability; aiming to ensure that the club continues to lead the way on and off the pitch.

Having worked in ED+I for over 20 years, he has an expert understanding of successfully integrating strategy into businesses and ensuring positive change. Rishi is responsible for the Liverpool FC’s The Red Way strategy that encompasses the clubs plans across all areas of business operations and ensuring that sustainability is embedded throughout. Rishi is a driving force for change and successfully works with colleagues and business leaders to ensure progress.

In 2022, Rishi presented at the United Nations in New York City at the launch of the UN’s Game Plan: a document implementing a plan of action to counter hate speech through engagement with sport. He has continued to work in partnership with the United Nations and multiple international organisations to implement this work across the US, UK and beyond.

In 2023, Rishi was named on the Pride Power List, and in 2020, he was named on the Global Diversity List as a Top 20 Diversity Professional. His previous work led to wide-ranging recognition at the European Diversity Awards 2019, North West Football Awards 2019 and Inclusive Companies Awards 2019 , in addition to being awarded the Premier League Equality Standard Advanced Level in the same year.

Prior to joining Liverpool Football Club, Rishi has held roles at Manchester United, Kick It Out and The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board, where he has worked throughout his career to champion equality, diversity and inclusion to make a positive impact across society.

An expert in renewable energies and clean technology innovation, Georgina Grenon obtained an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (Argentina) and an MBA from INSEAD Business School (France). Polyglot, she has triple nationality :  Argentinean, French and Italian.

Georgina began her career in business development at YPF S.A., the national oil company in Argentina. She then took up position as a director at international strategy consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton, devoting herself mainly to energy and operations, working in Europe, the USA, Japan and South America for nearly ten years. She then joined the Directorate-General of Energy and Climate (DGEC), part of the French Ministry of Ecology and Energy, where she supported the development of renewable energy policies and markets for six years. She also represented France at the International Energy Agency, promoting international cooperation in the creation of markets, innovation and the deployment of clean technologies, playing an active part at COP21 and, among other things, helping to create the International Solar Alliance. She then moved to the ENGIE Group, becoming director of the New Business Factory at ENGIE Fab.

In August 2018, Georgina Grenon has joined the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games as its Director of Sustainability.

General Manager at Real Betis Balompié Foundation since 2018, with experience in policy design, institutional coordination and field interventions in Asia, Central America, Europe, and United Nations global events. Specialising in environmental issues, sports, youth employment, social inclusion of vulnerable groups of people, within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Kim Wilson is Director of Sustainability at McLaren Racing. Since joining the team in January 2022, Kim has built and directed the team’s strategic sustainability programme. Under Kim’s guidance, the team is now focused on clear sustainability goals falling into four key pillars: Net Zero, Circular Economy, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Health & Wellbeing.

Kim trained as a chartered accountant at KPMG and has built her career on the solid foundations of this experience as a sustainability assurance provider, consultant and in-house specialist. Kim held leadership positions in sustainability with ERM and EDF UK prior to joining McLaren.

When it comes to the passionate advocacy for equity and level playing fields in sports, you’ll find no greater proponent than Dr. Sasha Sutherland, Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization (RADO). In her role she manages teams in the 18 Caribbean RADO member countries, ensuring that the international standards and compliance regulations are maintained for the benefit of all athletes competing in sport.

With a desire to increase awareness around issues of gender (in)equality, governance and doping in sport, Sasha is a part-time lecturer in The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus’ Masters Programme. She also serves as a Director of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. where she is Chair of the Education Commission, a member of the Governance Commission and Sustainability Lead. Dr. Sutherland is also the Chair of the Barbados Girls Cricket Club, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, a former curriculum developer and lecturer in The Hague University of Applied Sciences’ International Sport Management Programme, and a former an Adjunct Professor and Visiting Scholar in Sport Management at George Mason University in Virginia.

Dr. Sutherland holds a BSc Psychology with Literatures in English, an Advanced Diploma in Sport Management and a PhD in Cultural Studies. Her research interests are gender and race in sport, and Anti-Doping. She has published work on menstrual health and Sport for Development, sexism and sport impacts on girls and women. Dr. Sutherland also holds certificates in football coaching and was a national football team manager, referee and Executive Committee Member at the Barbados Football Association and Hon. Secretary at the Barbados Hockey Federation.

She is a former triple-discipline athlete of Lawn Tennis, Football and Hockey and brings her knowledge of being an athlete, administrator and academic together to inform the world in any way she can.

Venue and event expert with broad experience in the design, development, operation and management of sports and entertainment venues and events.

He is responsible for the management of Stadio Olimpico and Parco Foro Italico – the Olympic complex around it – in Rome.

The stadium is home of two football teams, AS Roma and SS Lazio, of the Italian football national team, of the rugby Six Nations Cup and of the World Athletics meeting Golden Gala. In 2023 the stadium hosted 81 large events, including 17 concerts, with more than 4,5 mln spectators.

I’m an expert and leader in Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Sustainability currently working at the Football Association of Wales (FAW) as a Senior Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Sustainability Manager.

I have been integral in advancing the FAW’s EDI and Sustainability Programmes towards being a global leader in sport and have extensive experience as an educator, public speaker and advisor to a wide range of stakeholders for more than a decade.

I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and experience with others and am committed to making football and a better place for everyone.

As Head of Sustainability and Responsible Business at Club Atletico de Madrid since 2023, her aim is to integrate and deploy the Club Atletico de Madrid ‘s Sustainability Strategy within the business, with the goal of generating a positive social and environmental impact. Rocio has a PDD in Sustainable Finance, a master’s degree in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development at the United Nations University for Peace and she is part of the B Multipliers community. Professional with more than 6 years’ experience in Sustainability. Previously, Rocio worked for various third sector organizations and more than 10 years in finance departments in multinational environments in different countries.

Robert is an Assistant Principal in the Climate Engagement and Governance Division in the Department of Transport in Ireland. He leads a dynamic team focused on using behaviourally informed research to design, implement and evaluate public engagement programmes that facilitate the adoption of more sustainable transport choices.

The team’s scope extends beyond individual behavior change. It also provides capacity-building supports and guidelines for transport sector professionals who seek to align their strategies with evidence-based approaches and to better coordinate engagement programmes. Established in 2023, the team is rapidly consolidating its role as a trusted research unit with expertise in this area.

Robert’s background includes a recent Master’s degree in Public Policy from UCD, Ireland where he specialised in Behavioral Science. Prior to this, he accumulated over 10 years of experience in various Project Management, Business & IT Consulting and Public Sector roles.

Abigail Martín Maldonado is the Director of Sustainability & Development Projects of Euroleague Basketball, responsible for the planning and execution of the social responsibility and environmental projects of the company.

Abigail works at Euroleague since its founding in the year 2000, when she joined the Marketing area until 2005 when she became Events department director for a decade starting in 2005, leading the planning and execution of the events for EuroLeague and EuroCup, with the negotiation, planification and execution of the EuroLeague Final Fours being the most demanding and satisfying project from that period along with the evaluation of creative events’ opportunities in new markets.

In 2015 she took the opportunity to put her experience and knowledge to serve the growth of the corporate social responsibility of the company, initiating a journey to incorporate sustainability within the company’s business agenda to adjust to the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainability Development Goals. Main projects include the company’s social program One Team being officially implemented by all EuroLeague and EuroCup clubs starting 2017 and the transition of the EuroLeague Final Four and the clubs to sustainability.

Marvin Pupping is a notable entrepreneur and creative director with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation. He is the founder of Slinger, a company dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of transportation related to events.

Slinger, co-founded by Marvin Pupping and Mark de Vries in 2021, offers a ride-sharing widget designed to integrate seamlessly into event websites. This tool encourages attendees to carpool, significantly reducing CO2 emissions and travel costs. Major organizations, including Johan Cruijff ArenA, Live Nation and the KNVB, have embraced this initiative.

Marvin Pupping’s work demonstrates his commitment to creating sustainable, impactful solutions in both the creative and technological realms.

Iona Neilson is the Head of Climate Action at SailGP, leading on the decarbonization of the championship including carbon, CDP, ISO20121 reporting and much more.

Iona studied Geography at the University of Plymouth with a Certificate of Industrial Placement, recognising her year in the industry with McDonald’s UK and Costa Coffee in their respective Sustainability/Energy and Environment teams to help drive their corporate and operational sustainability ambitions.

Upon graduating, she worked for a small sustainability consultancy on sustainability communications/strategy/reporting and ISO 14001 Management Systems with large corporate clients. Before joining SailGP in June 2024, Iona led on environmental management, operations, compliance (ISO 20121) and the organisation’s Net Zero Carbon strategy at Formula E.

Ben works for DFL and leads the organization’s sustainability efforts regarding its 36 member clubs, based especially on club licensing and capacity development measures. Holding a doctorate in sport policy, he has gained over 15 years of professional experience working in various occupations across education, human rights, international relations, politics, sports and sustainable development.

Brittany Saulsbury is the Sustainability Operations Manager for the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Quarter. With a keen focus on innovation and impact, Brittany leads comprehensive sustainability efforts spanning the Rose Quarter campus. Her strategic vision aims to not only reduce environmental footprints but also inspire sustainable practices among fans, forge strategic partnerships, and foster community engagement. Brittany is passionate about influencing change through the power of sports and working to promote a circular economy through innovative material management programs.

Warwick Waters is a seasoned and dynamic executive leader, with expertise in innovation, business development, strategic planning, and operational management. His robust career spans various leadership roles, including CEO of Swimming Victoria and COO of Life Saving Victoria, and is currently the Head of Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement at the Australian Olympic Committee AOC.

Over the past 24 months, Warwick has led the development of the AOC’s first Climate Action Plan and overseen the implementation of the business transformation that is taking place to ensure the AOC meets its obligation under the UN Sports For Climate Action Framework.

The AOC is also working with many of its Corporate Partners, Suppliers, and National Sporting Federation in a collaborative approach to addressing sports own race to take climate change and emission reduction targets.

Greg is a journalist, broadcaster, content maker and consultant primarily focussed on the intersection between popular culture and climate change. He contributes to outlets including The Guardian, BBC and NME.

He also founded and co-hosts the podcast Sounds Like A Plan which is all about the ways the music community is responding to the climate crisis. Passionate about climate storytelling and reporting, Greg is a contributing editor at the Oxford Climate Journalism Network based at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University – a programme that works with media professionals to improve coverage of the climate and ecological crisis across global media.

He’s a consultant with the communications charity Heard. Formerly digital editor at NME and music reporter for BBC Radio 1, he’s based near Cambridge, UK.

Tom is Partnership Manager at the British Standards Institution (BSI) with over 10 years of experience in helping organisations of all sizes learn the benefits of implementing British and ISO standards.

He’s worked with trade associations, industry bodies and government departments all over the country to raise awareness of how companies and supply chains can grow and make themselves more sustainable by implementing best practice sustainability standards, such as ISO 20121 for Sustainable Events Management.

With over 10 years in the Sports Marketing and Commercial industry across rugby and golf, Maria’s focus shifted to sustainability in the world of sport in 2021.

An alumni of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability, Maria developed the European Tour group and Ryder Cup Europe’s sustainability department and “Golf for Good” strategies. This focuses on three programmes tackling social and environmental sustainability challenges: The G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour with 10 annual events; the Golf Futures community outreach programme, and Green Drive.

In this role Maria launched a revised Green Drive strategy on World Environment Day in 2021 reinforcing the Group’s commitment to sustainability and steering the Tour to become the first professional golf Tour to join as a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework with a commitment to being net zero by 2040.

Emilien Gasc is the counsellor for climate and environment at the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom. He follows the implementation of the Brexit treaties as regards the environmental level-playing field, and liaises with UK civil servants and stakeholders. He was previously based in Brussels with the European Commission’s Secretariat General, working on delivery of the European Green Deal, and with the Environment and Employment services respectively.

Before joining the European Union institutions, Emilien was a consultant with the International Energy Agency and a policy advocate for the European federation of independent consumer organisations. Emilien comes from Brittany and is a graduate of Sciences Po Rennes and Paris in France.

At Sky Charlotte leads on embedding human rights considerations across our business, supply chain, with partners and as a sports broadcaster. With Sky as a founding member, Charlotte has been on the Advisory Council of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights and TV Industry Human Rights Forum for over five years. Previously working in responsible sourcing and sustainability reporting at Sky, and before that at Aviva leading community partnership’s including climate resilience programmes – Charlotte’s experience spans climate action and human rights, and increasingly on opportunities to support just and equitable transitions.

Since 2014 Luca is Founder & CEO at Right Hub Società Benefit, an Italian consulting company providing to any kind of organization, regardless the industry, a wide range of sustainable management services (ESG Strategy, Sustainable Supply Chain, Social Procurement and Supplier Diversity, Work Inclusion of People with Disabilities, Carbon Footprint, Sustainable Management of Events ISO 20121, Sustainable Management of Tourism Facilities ISO 21401, Environmental Management ISO 14001, Ad-hoc Sustainable Management Framework).

Luca has been co-Founder and co-Chairman of the not-for-profit Italian organization “Acquisti & Sostenibilità”, a unique organization established in 2007 to inspire sustainable and responsible procurement, supply chain and business practices across Italian enterprises.

More than 15 years of experience in design and implementation of sustainable supply chains and more than 10 years in sustainable management of events.

A highly respected professional in his field, Luca has 30 years of procurement and supply management experience. He has served numerous national and multinational organizations in different industries, including Esa Elettronica, Gewiss, Vemer, Black & Decker Power Tools, Riello Group, GlaxoSmithKline and Gruppo Montepaschi.

His procurement activities, involving both production and non-production materials and services, have spanned several market sectors, including electronic devices; residential and industrial electrical networking products; air conditioning and heating systems; electric power tools; pharmaceuticals and banking.

Julie is an experienced sustainability professional with a particular focus on challenging strategies, management and strategic social, environmental, economic and ethical advice for a wide variety of international projects. She has led teams in several offices and oversees initiatives in other areas where innovative solutions are provided to resolve particularly challenging strategies and projects. She has worked on numerous projects abroad including in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Oceania, North America, South America and the Bahamas.

Julie has worked, and continues to work, on a series of high-profile and complex bespoke corporate strategies, as well as more specialised research-focused projects, where her ability to protect and enhance a strategy or policy as well as co-ordinate and review a wide range of technical inputs linked to an aptitude to both lead and manage multi-disciplinary teams, has promoted and then successfully delivered such projects.

Julie has facilitated workshops and been invited as a guest speaker at international conferences and has facilitated strategic meetings with government officials, NGOs and opinion formers. She works as an existing relationship manager with UN Agencies and has a thorough understanding of how societies and their institutions, economies and environments interact to influence sustainable development and the adaptability of livelihoods and communities to both environmental and political change.

Julie has a particular focus on leading the delivery of net zero strategies within highly complex environments and organisations.

Hugo founded Carbon Responsible in 2012 and his experience in carbon reporting and management began in 2006. He has delivered award-winning technology solutions for reporting of emissions and developed the world’s most advanced global emissions reporting tool.

His career as both an Executive Chairman and CEO in leisure and technology businesses has seen him successfully develop, transform and build companies to deliver shareholder value through a focused approach to converting vision into action.

James Beale is sustainability manager at Brentford FC, a Premier League football team based in west London. James is responsible for implementing the club’s environmental sustainability strategy focusing on five pillars: governance, climate, circularity, nature and engagement. Prior to working at Brentford, he was with Deloitte’s sustainability team for eight years, primarily working in the sports business group to advise sports organisations on all areas of sustainability

Andy is passionate about the opportunity the sport and physical activity sector has to become more environmentally responsible and a beacon of positive change.

Andy has worked across Sport England’s environmental sustainability portfolio for the past 2 years: developing insight on what’s needed to create the conditions for change; putting inequalities and inclusion at the heart of the plans; delivering sector support to inspire and enable action; and shaping Every Move, Sport England’s environmental sustainability strategy and action plan. This sets out a roadmap for a positive and regenerative sport and physical activity ecosystem championing environmental sustainability and enabling greater opportunity for all people to participate in sport and physical activity, now and in the future.

Starting his career in the non-profit practices at Deloitte and Accenture, then leading a B Corps and most recently influencing national health & wellbeing policies at Sport England – Andy has worked across the sport, health and sustainability sectors for 20 years in finance, strategy and advocacy roles supporting organisations to drive their strategies through a focus on people, planet and prosperity.

Daniel Cade is a leading expert in responsible decision-making with 15 years of international experience in sustainability and ESG. As a consultant for World Taekwondo, he has developed and coordinated the implementation of their sustainability strategy and recently produced their first sustainability report. Through his consultancy, Responsible Sport, Daniel advises on strategic sustainability practices and emphasises education to drive impactful change. He is also the creator of the Sustainability in Sport Online Course, developed in collaboration with Global Sustainable Sport.

Briony Latter is a climate change researcher focusing on people and society. She is a Research Associate at the UK Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at Cardiff University where she recently completed a PhD. She has worked across freelance, organisational and academic research roles and has a background in the creative industry and communications.

Her work covers public engagement, social transformations across different sectors and scales, and arts, culture and sport. This has included projects about sustainable audience travel to live music events, co-design research with older people about healthy ageing, climate conversations between hairdressers and clients, and low-carbon culture and practices in universities. Briony is also the Environmental Officer for the Welsh Fell Runners Association (WFRA), where she has set up their Environment Awards and created climate and environmental guidance for the fell running community.

Sander van Stiphout is leading the innovation and advisory departments of the Johan Cruijff ArenA and is part of the stadium’s Management Team for many years.

What drives Sander is to contribute to a sustainable stadium with great fan engagement. Sustainability does entail ESG as well as financial sustainability to be able to continuously adapt to changing demands of any kind.

To achieve tangible goals for the stadium and its main stakeholders Ajax, KNVB and the City of Amsterdam he drives innovation among ecosystem partners such as large corporates, government, knowledge institutes, SME’s and start-ups, using the stadium as a field lab.

Sander has worked on stadium projects worldwide and was involved in projects related to all recent major tournaments, such as the Russia and Brazil World Cups. Sander was special stadium operations consultant to the Qatar Supreme Committee in relation to the FIFA World Cup 2022 preparations. Currently he serves as an advisor to the French Ministry of Finance supporting the operations tender of the Stade de France.

Jack is Head of Public Policy and Business Lead for Sustainability at the LTA, the national governing body for tennis in Britain, and has worked at the organisation for nearly four years. As well as leading on all policy and public affairs work for the LTA, he helped develop, and now supports delivery of, the organisation’s first ever Environmental Sustainability plan, which was published earlier this year.

Prior to joining the LTA, Jack worked for a small sport-focused public affairs consultancy, working across a range of different sports to provide policy and public affairs support.

Jack also sits on the Board of the Sport and Recreation Alliance as a non-Executive Director.

Libi Newell is Head of Corporate Sustainability within the Sustainable Golf team at The R&A. Libi directs the organisations work across operational sustainability and leads development and implementation of The R&A’s Greenlinks programme for sustainable championships, embedding meaningful action within The AIG Women’s Open and The Open, focused on themes of low carbon, circular economy, social value and nature protection. Recognising golf’s intrinsic relationship with the natural environment, and the responsibility and opportunities that poses biodiversity is a core focus of The R&A’s Sustainable Golf teams global work.

With a background in conservation and master degree in Ecotourism Libi has now worked in sustainability in sport over the past 12 years Libi’s previous experience includes the Olympic and Commonwealth Games as well as supporting a range sport organisations as a freelance consultant prior to joining The R&A at the end of 2022.

Tiberio is Associate Professor in Sustainability Management at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, a public University located in Pisa, Italy. His research interests range from corporate environmental management to sustainable consumption and production, from Environmental performance and LCA to circular economy. He is author of more than 60 international publications and project manager of numerous international projects funded mainly by European Commission. At Sant’Anna University he coordinates the Sport Sustainability Management research area, focused on environmental sustainability activities applied in different sports like Football, Biathlon, Athletics, Floorball, Canoeing, Sailing.

Monica is a Senior Manager with WM Advisory Services. She oversees a team of consultants who advise built facilities in the sports and entertainment industry while working closely alongside WM’s brand and sponsorship team to infuse the company’s sustainability values across its sports sponsorship portfolio. With more than a decade of experience in sustainability, including nine years of work in sports and collegiate sustainability, Monica specializes in program development for responsible procurement, materials management, and stakeholder behavior change.

Before joining WM, Monica co-founded an independent consulting group focused on increasing the presence of sustainability in sports sponsorships. She continues this work at WM, both internally and for their advisory customers. Monica played a key role in designing the sustainability execution side of WM and Major League Baseball’s latest official sustainability partnership. In addition to a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from UCLA, she has received an MBA from University of Colorado Boulder. Monica is also a LEED Green Associate, TRUE Advisor, and Loyola University New Orleans Environmental Communications Fellow.

Simon Dawes is the Head of Net Zero and Circular economy within the Environment Agency. A thought leader and change maker, he is a recognised sustainability leader and has worked in the sector for over 20 years, delivering award winning sustainability and net zero strategies and behaviour change campaigns.

As a lover of outdoor sports and winter sports, Simon combines his two passions of sport and sustainability in his role as Chair of Protect Our Winters (UK). POW is on a mission to bring the outdoor sports communities together to drive systemic change to enable to the UK to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Matt is the joint managing director at Travel Places – leading travel management specialists to the sports, media and entertainment industries. Matt has over 20 years’ experience working with some of the world’s leading athletes, teams and brands, managing travel plans for organisations such as The Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Sail GP.

With a long heritage managing group travel for professional sports teams, Travel Places remains family-owned and run to this day. Placing people and planet and its heart, Matt heads up Travel Places’ sustainability management team aimed at increasing our positive impact on the world, and supporting its community of staff, local suppliers, and charities. He has successfully steered the business through the certifications for ISO 20121:2012 standard for Sustainable Event Management, which the business has held since 2022, and B Corp, which Travel Places received in 2023.

Kevin is a professor at the Department of Kinesiology of National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan, R. O. C. He specialises in sports marketing, event management, and sports policy. He has been intensively involved in international multi-sport events, including the Kaohsiung World Games 2009, Taipei Deaflympics 2009, and the Taipei Universiade, and now is helping the World Master Games 2025. He and his team are also deeply passionate about environmental sustainability and committed to
taking concrete actions to mitigate climate change.

Emily Iveson-Pritchard has worked in the events industry for 14 years with a background in commercial sales. They began engaging with their passion for sustainability during their MBA at Central Saint Martins & Birkbeck with her focus moving to the sustainability of virtual events as part of her thesis. Emily now works as the Head of Sustainability for Surrey County Cricket Club. In this role they lead Surrey County Cricket Club’s work in sustainability including the design, further development, and implementation of their sustainability strategy with a focus on hosting and staging sustainable events.

Bob Ramsak is the Head of Sustainability at World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field and long distance running, a journalist who has covered the sport globally for more than two decades and a long-time advocate for environmental, economic, and social justice.

David Garrido is a Sky Sports presenter with almost 25 years’ experience in the industry, and he is widely considered one of the leading communicators and content-makers for sport and sustainability in the UK and Europe. His documentary, ‘Football’s Toughest Opponent’, explores the relationship between the biggest sport in the world and the climate crisis, and his ongoing episodic series, ‘Playing For The Planet’, profiles elite athletes and their journeys in climate action. Recent guests include British men’s tennis number 1 Cam Norrie, Premier League footballer Ben Mee, double Olympic sailing champion Hannah Mills and marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge.