MEET THE EXPERTS: LEARN HOW TO BUILD A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN THE WORKPLACE
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
We are delighted to launch the second event of “The Birkbeck Edge” professional development event series, designed exclusively for alumni who have graduated between now and a decade ago and are keen to enhance their skills in the workplace.
Leverage the knowledge and skills of our expert panel to learn how to foster a healthier and more responsible work environment, bringing benefits to employers, employees and stakeholders alike.
In this event, we will explore sustainability and social responsibility at work and why it matters for both people and organisations. There will also be a chance to meet with fellow alumni.
For businesses in today’s world, sustainability is both an ethical and a strategic choice. Our expert panel will discuss how organisations can implement sustainable practices to reduce environmental impact and comply with regulations, but also to enhance brand reputation, trust and credibility; recruit and retain the best talent; save costs and increase revenue; and improve stakeholder relationships.
The interactive session will ask you to reflect on and discuss: How does my workplace prioritise sustainability and what practices can we effectively implement?
Panellists will also give tips for how organisations – no matter the size – can start embedding effective sustainability practices in their business. The panel will explore the benefits of sustainability at work and how individuals can play a part.
The panel discussion will conclude with a Q&A. This will then be followed by post-event drinks - a chance to re-connect with our wider alumni community.
Alumni guest speakers:
LAURA HUNTER - The New Work
Laura Hunter is the founder and CEO of The Now Work, a business whose mission is to make action on sustainability so easy it becomes inevitable. Her clients include FTSE 100 companies and international NGOs. With a career spanning sustainability strategy, communications and entrepreneurship, Laura has supported some of the world’s most influential organisations in tech, fashion, food, and culture to accelerate positive change. She was named as one of Vogue Business Top 100 Innovators for sustainability thought leadership and has taught sustainability at Master’s level at Kingston University and London College of Fashion. She is an alumna of Birkbeck's MA in History of Ideas.
SCOTT LAWRENCE
Scott Lawrence is an entrepreneur in the renewable energy sector. He was Founding Partner of Glennmont Partners, a fund management business that developed and operated renewable energy power plants in Europe, the USA, and South Korea. Glennmont was founded in 2007 and sold to a global investment management firm, Nuveen, in 2021. Scott left Nuveen in September 2023.
Currently, Scott is volunteering his time decarbonising the NHS through the not-for-profit Real Zero and advising the charity ShelterBox on philanthropy. Scott is a Birkbeck alumnus, having studied a BSc (Hons) Planetary Science with Astronomy.
GIULIA PELLEGRINI - Allianz Global Investors
Giulia Pellegrini is a Lead Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets Debt at AllianzGI. She focuses on EM sovereign debt strategies and sustainable investing and her daily investment decisions incorporate sustainability factors and concepts. She is also on the board of the Emerging Markets Investors Alliance.
Prior to joining AllianzGI in 2020, she was Head of Sustainable EM Debt Investing at BlackRock since 2015. Ms Pellegrini was previously Chief Economist for Sub-Saharan Africa in J.P. Morgan’s Emerging Market Research team in London and in Johannesburg and an Economist at the World Bank in the Africa Finance and Private Sector Development Department in Washington D.C. She started her career as an Economist at the Debt Management Office of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Abuja.
Giulia holds master degrees in Development Economics and in Econometrics from the University of Oxford, St Antony’s College and from Birkbeck as well as a BSc in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London. She is also a Trustee on the board of the Peaceful Change Initiative, an NGO focused on conflict resolution and long-term peacebuilding in some of the world’s most challenging conflict areas.
Moderator:
DR STEVE WILLEY - Birkbeck, University of London
Dr Steve Willey is Academic Co-Director of Environmental Education Projects and Lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck. An internationally published poet, he directs the Birkbeck Climate Festival and facilitates creative writing workshops in academic and community settings, including with displaced communities. He is also a Co-Investigator on Joined Up Landscapes, a major UKRI- and Defra-funded research project exploring the role of Nature-based Solutions in climate change adaptation, where he contributes to capacity building, pedagogy, and knowledge exchange. His publications include Living In: Creative Solidarities in Palestine (Oxford: The Onslaught Press, 2020), the article “‘This Face of Glee...This Terrifying Sound’: Sean Bonney Through the Soundhole, Where Bonney IS” (Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry, 2022), and poetry in On The History of Loud Sound (Pertinent Actions, Osmosis, 2023).
Contact name: Ann Moroney
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