GEO for Business: Business and the nature-positive economy

About the webinar

The Sixth Global Environmental Outlook, published in 2019, paints a bleak picture of the future if we do nothing to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. ‘Adapt to survive’, a new UNEP briefing for business, explores the transformative change driven in part by this crisis. Lead author Ben Tuxworth, Technical Director of Anthesis Group, explores what businesses can do to ‘lean in’: to survive, and prosper as they navigate the profound changes ahead, and steer them towards a better future. What does a nature positive economy mean, and how can it act as a north star for business strategy and policy making?

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This webinar will be chaired by Professor of Resources and Environment Policy at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR), Paul Ekins. Responses will be from Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry, and Rodolfo Lacy, Head of Environment at the OECD. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

About the Brief

Building on the publication of its sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) in 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is producing six ‘GEO for Business’ Briefs on different topics:

• an overview of business and sustainability
• sustainable finance
• the circular economy
• decarbonised electricity and networks
• a sustainable food system
• sustainable infrastructure

About the series

Over time ISR will present seminars in each of these areas, with some of the GEO for Business authors as speakers and external discussants. This is the first of these seminars, which will explore the topic of the first Brief - an overview of business and sustainability.

About the speakers

Ben Tuxworth

Ben is a director at Anthesis Group, with over 30 years’ experience in strategy, communications, leadership development and stakeholder engagement for environment and sustainability.  His clients include some of the world’s leading companies in hospitality, tech, FMCG, retail, manufacturing, financial services and apparel.  His work focuses on enabling sustainable performance, through strategy and goal setting, brand and communications, governance and reporting.  Before joining Anthesis in 2014, he led the consulting team at sustainability communications and strategy agency Salterbaxter. In a decade at non-profit Forum for the Future as Director of Strategy and Director of Communications, he led Green Futures magazine and advised a wide range of the Forum’s public and private sector partners.

Rain Newton-Smith

Rain Newton-Smith is the Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry. She and her team provide business leaders with advice on the UK economic outlook and global risks. Previously, Rain was head of Emerging Markets at Oxford Economics where she managed a large team of economists and was the lead expert on China. Prior to that, Rain worked on the international forecast for the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England and also led a team with responsibility for developing a risk assessment framework for the UK financial system. While at the Bank, she also went on secondment to the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. where she was adviser to the UK executive director. Rain was honoured by the World Economic Forum in 2012 as a Young Global Leader. 

Rodolfo Lacy

Dr. Lacy (Director, Environment Directorate) holds a Doctorate Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico), a Master's Degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico) and a certificate in Leadership on Environment and Sustainable Development from El Colegio de México.

Dr. Lacy has been Vice Minister of Environmental Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico (2012-2018), Chief negotiator of Climate Change (COP19-COP23), Co-chair of the Global Methane Initiative, Member of the High-Level Group of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO6), and Board Member of the Climate Action Reserve in California, USA.

Dr. Lacy has had extensive experience in policy making in the field of environment. He held the following positions:

• Technical Director at Mario Molina Center for Energy and Environmental Strategic Studies (2005-2012), a policy research NGO lead by Dr. Mario Molina, a chemist Nobel Prize laureated for his scientific work in the depletion of the ozone layer;
• Chief of Staff for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (2000-2003);
• Founder President of the Mexican Environmental Engineering Association CINAM (1996-1998);
• General Director of Environmental Projects and Studies and of Environmental Pollution Control and Prevention - Mexico City Government (1989-1997);
• Director of Environmental Planning at the Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology (1982-1987); among other relevant assignments.