Sustainability Conference 2024: From vision to impact

Aimed at senior and strategic leaders within HE, this conference will focus on the sector's responsibilities in relation to the UN SDGs, civic responsibility, new sustainability initiatives and research.

By way of keynote speakers, panel sessions and workshops, this conference will provide a forum for learning about evidence-based and co-produced initiatives that engender real change, and offer a safe space for discussion on how to achieve your institution's sustainability targets.

This event has taken place

If you are interested in attending the 2025 conference, register your interest below

Who should attend?

This conference is aimed at senior and strategic leaders of higher education institutions wishing to progress the sustainability agenda within their institutions and make impactful change.

Sustainability Conference 2024 Programme

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Speakers

Welcome address

Alison Johns

Chief Executive
,
Advance HE

Alison is the Chief Executive of Advance HE. She was appointed in the autumn 2017, to lead the merger of three national agencies which created Advance HE in 2018. Prior to that, she was the Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE).

Damien Ashford

Partner, Education Sector Lead, PwC UK

Damien has been at PwC for over 25 years, specialising in restructuring and performance improvement for government clients, leading many high profile, complex and sensitive assignments from independent reviews to hands on implementation support.

Keynote from Rufus Black

Our first keynote of the day is Rufus Black, Vice Chancellor from University of Tasmania, sharing the story of their 20 place rise in the Times HE Impact Rankings in 2023 and their ambitious Lighthouse Strategy. We will hear about the UTAS vision in the context of the social, environmental and economic sustainability context with tips on how the vision converts to impact. Rufus will emphasise the importance of vision in creating a joined up university wide approach from Student to Board, and give examples of how UTAS measures success, past, present, future.

Chair

Charlotte Bonner

CEO, The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education

Charlotte joined the EAUC team in February 2023 as CEO and is responsible for the strategic leadership of the organisation. She has over fifteen years’ leadership experience across membership and tertiary education organisations where she’s focused on business development, transformational engagement and policy and advocacy.

Rufus Black

Vice-Chancellor and President
,
University of Tasmania

Rufus Black is the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Tasmania.

Rufus holds degrees in law, politics, economics, ethics, and theology from the University of Melbourne and Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Chair

Professor Nick Petford

Former Vice Chancellor and CEO
,
University of Northampton

Nick is a past Royal Society University Research Fellow and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. A refrigeration engineer then geologist by training, with a DSc from the University of Liverpool, Nick has worked in industry and on academic and commercial research projects throughout the world.

Dr Christine Thompson

Corporate Planning Director
,
Cranfield University

Dr Christine Thompson has been in senior governance roles at Cranfield University for almost 10 years, initially as Director of Research and Innovation and currently as Corporate Planning Director within the Executive Office.

Simon Goldsmith

Head of Sustainability
,
University of Greenwich

Simon has worked in the sustainability field for over 30 years. His two masters in Sustainability Policy and Sustainability Leadership have additionally supported by perspectives to deliver sustainability change.

Dr Karen Brickman

Head of School of Business, Operations and Strategy
,
University of Greenwich

Karen is passionate about embedding Sustainable Development principles into the curricula, teaching and learning practices and research. She leads the University’s Education for Sustainable Development pedagogic special interest group, and runs hackathons globally for academics titled ‘Innovate for Sustainable Future’.

Peter Ptashko

Cambio Founder

Peter Ptashko FRSA is a social entrepreneur, funder and supporter of social entrepreneurs and currently an independent entrepreneurship change management consultant working with a range of clients across the Public and Private sectors. He holds a series of leadership and Board-level positions across these two sectors.

Kim Ansell

Senior Consultant Governance and Leadership
,
Advance HE

Kim has worked across higher and professional education providing support to groups at all levels including senior leadership teams and Boards, to facilitate change, strategic thinking, planning and performance improvement.

Dr Kay Hack (PFHEA)

Lead Consultant (Education)
,
Advance HE

Kay leads a team of senior consultants to deliver a range of services to the HE sector to support strategic leadership and change in HEIs.

Laura Kelly

Partner - ESG Reporting and Assurance at PwC UK

Laura is passionate about the transformational power of an organisation (whether private or public) focused on broader societal value creation and supporting clients to navigate the complex ESG reporting journey both now and in the future.

Alice Spencer

Executive Director for Education, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
,
University of Cambridge

Prior to joining CISL, Alice worked for several years in Australia and New Zealand in Corporate, Not-for-Profit and Government roles, engaging with national and corporate strategies and social and environmental impact projects.

Dr Alina Congreve

Freelance higher education professional

Dr Alina Congreve is a freelance higher education professional, working for a number of organisations including Wellcome Trust, Vitae, CIEEM and Advance HE.

Dr Iain Cross

Associate Professor Educational Development
,
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Iain is responsible for LSHTM’s continuing professional development provision, and is the Programme Director for the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching.