Sustainable Futures Forum: Building for Good
Event details
Festival of Social Science event
This forum aims to bring thought leaders, innovators, investors, academics, and business owners from York and beyond. Together, we will explore and discuss sustainable practices across various industries, with a focus on building a prosperous and healthy society for all.
There are three panel discussions around ‘Responsible Business’, ‘Sustainable Supply Chains’ and ‘Business and Nature’.
Due to limited space, registration is required, and spaces will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. More detailed programme information will be provided in due course.
Panel 1: Responsible and Ethical Business
Businesses and organisations operate within a complex network of key relations, including customers, employees, suppliers and strategic partners, all of which are essential for their survival and growth. This interconnectedness embeds organisations in a broader landscape of societal norms and values, where even small changes can create ripple effects throughout the system, potentially leading to disruptions. The extent of these disruptions often depends on how effectively organisational members collaborate in preparing for and responding to challenges. This panel will discuss the social dimensions of ethical and responsible business practices, focusing on how organisations engage with their key stakeholders for resilience and sustainable development. Understanding these dynamics enables businesses to make informed decisions, positioning themselves to navigate challenges and seize opportunities that benefit employees, communities, society, and the wider economy.
Panel 2: Sustainable Supply Chains
Supply chains involve the process of producing and delivering a product or service from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing, distribution, and finally reaching the end customer.
Recently, there has been an increasing focus on how organisations integrate sustainability into their supply chains by addressing social, economic and environmental considerations.
This panel will explore how businesses across different sectors put the concept of ‘sustainable supply chains’ into practice, aiming to reduce negative impacts on the environment, conserve natural resources and ensure ethical labour practices while maintaining economic viability.
Panel 3: Business and Nature
Businesses and markets are fundamentally dependent on the natural ecosystems in which they operate. All organisations, to some extent, depend on the health of the natural environment. Impacts on nature can result from both direct business activities and indirect effects through the use of products and services, manifesting at any stage of the value chains — from raw material extraction to end-of-life recycling. These impacts can be negative, such as land degradation and pollution, or positive, such as ecological restoration through advanced treatment processes and nature-positive investment. This panel will discuss the ways in which businesses and organisations influence the health of natural ecosystems, both positively and negatively. By understanding these complex interactions, businesses can make more informed decisions, managing risks and seizing opportunities to benefit their employees, society, the economy, and the environment.
About the speakers
Professor Bob Doherty is the founding Dean of the School for Business and Society at the University of York (UoY). In addition, Bob is also Principal Investigator of the £6.2m five year research programme (2021-2026) called ‘FixOurFood’, one of only four UK funded awards from the UKRI (BBSRC) Transforming the UK Food Systems Strategic Priorities Fund. This interdisciplinary programme works with schools, businesses, farmers and policy makers to create transformative food system change. Bob was seconded in April 2019 for three years into the UK Government Department, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as a Senior policy fellow to work on Food Systems policy development. Bob specializes in research on pro-social market mechanisms in the food system. Bob worked in the agrifood sector for 13 years including being the first Head of Sales and Marketing at Divine Chocolate Ltd.
Jenny Herrera, CEO, Good Business Charter (GBC)
Jenny Herrera is the CEO of the Good Business Charter which recognises responsible business practices across 10 components covering care for employees, customers, suppliers and the environment whilst also paying tax according to the spirit of the law. Jenny is both a chartered accountant and experienced charity CEO.
Hing Kin Lee, VP, Nature, NextEnergy Capital
With over 20 years of experience in the environmental sector, Lee is a Chartered Environmentalist and a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. His background in nature and natural capital includes both public regulatory positions and private consultancy, with a significant focus on infrastructure development and sustainable lending. Lee spearheads the nature strategy for the business, aligning with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) frameworks. He chairs the Natural Capital Steering Committee for NextEnergy Group and represents Solar Energy UK as the appointed chair of their Natural Capital Steering Group.
Katie Jones, Sustainability Manager, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays
Katie has over 7 years’ experience in corporate sustainability in both consulting and in-house roles. As Sustainability Manager for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, Katie leads on the delivery of the organisation’s 2024 – 2035 Sustainability Strategy, including the company’s climate transition plan and social value framework. In December 2023 Jet2holidays launched its Certified Sustainable Hotels collection, encouraging more sustainable hotel practices through certification to GSTC-recognised standards. There are now over 1,200 hotels in this collection and Jet2 plans to reach 3,000 by 2035. As well as certification, Jet2holidays is exploring ways to support their hoteliers with meeting their own decarbonisation objectives and increasing the range of sustainable accommodation options available for their customers.
Mike Barker, Operational Director of Ecology, RPS TETRA TECH BSc MSc CEnv FCIEEM
Mike has more than 30 years of ecological and environmental management experience. He has a strong understanding of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) and HRA (Habitats Regulations Assessment) in relation to major infrastructure and NSIP (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects) schemes. He has provided strategic advice on nature positive and net zero strategies as well as a range of projects including offshore wind, other energy generation and onshore renewables; linear transport, reservoirs, airports and other significant projects in the UK and overseas.
He provides strategic ecological and environmental advice to clients to ensure robust and deliverable outcomes in the UK and overseas and gives evidence when required.
Astrid Wynne, Head of Public Sector and Sustainability, Techbuyer
Astrid is a Chartered Environmentalist and Head of Sustainability at Techbuyer, a medium sized business based in Harrogate. She has worked on circular economy best practice and energy efficiency in server estates for 7 years, co-writing 6 peer reviewed academic papers on the subject. As Chair of the Sustainability Special Interest Group at the Data Centre Alliance, she has judged the green data centre and sustainability product of the year categories at the Data Centre World Awards for three years. Prior to that, she lived and worked as a journalist in Asia.
Peter Ball is Professor of Operations Management in the School for Business and Society in the University of York. Peter's expertise is on how operations practices underpin performance within companies as well as in the across the supply chain. His research focuses on sustainability across operations, manufacturing and supply chain management.
He seeks to understand how processes in business operate and how they can be improved. He's increasingly fascinated by regenerative, transformative change at scale.
Kevin McCann, Sustainability Manager, NextEnergy Capital
Kevin is a sustainability manager with NextEnergy Capital, the specialist investor and asset manager in utility scale solar and energy storage. He previously led policy development for the UK solar industry association, and delivered social and environmental projects in Central and West Africa. He was elected as Chair of the Solar Energy UK Responsible Sourcing Steering Group in 2023
Professor Nicholas Pleace, Associate Dean for Research and Impact, School for Business and Society, University of York
Nicholas Pleace is currently Associate Dean of School for Research and Impact at the School of Business and Society and is a Professor of Housing and Society at the University of York. Nicholas has worked extensively with government and international organisations on research centred on housing inequalities and has a long history in undertaking evaluative research in partnership with NGOs, charities and the public sector. He is a member of the European Observatory on Homelessness, which operates under the auspices of FEANTSA, the European Federation of Homelessness Organisations.
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