Seminar 3: ‘No One Left Behind’: Environmental Challenges and Solutions for developing countries.

In this event we hope to tackle the highly topical and important theme of environmental sustainability within the context of the sustainable development goals and the importance of no-one being ‘left behind’.

What are the specific challenges and the potential solutions facing developing countries to ensure ‘no one is left behind’ in our collective commitment to the environment?

- sustainable urban development

- agriculture and food security

- the circular economy (water, waste etc.)

- harnessing green energy

This is a free public event open to all on a first-come-first-served basis and is kindly sponsored by Ninety One.

Please join us for this third seminar.

Programme & Speakers

17:00-18:45: Presentations and Panel Discussion

Bayo Owolabi Principal and energy specialist at Boston Consulting Group

Anousheh Anssari CEO of the XPrize Foundation

Deirdre Cooper Head of Sustainable Equity at Ninety One

Khalid Abdelgadir Founder of Baridi

1 8:45-19:15: Drinks Reception

Speaker Bios

Bayo Owolabi

Bayo Owolabi is a technology enthusiast with a professional focus on energy and the energy transition. He has extensive cross-functional business experience and deep energy sector expertise, having spent his career building and running high-performing teams that solve tough problems for his clients. At BCG, he works with both the Energy and Climate & Sustainability practices to help governments and private sector clients navigate the transition to a low-carbon future.

Anousheh Ansari

Dr. Anousheh Ansari is an Astronaut, a Hi-tech serial entrepreneur and a global Change Maker. She is currently the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, the world’s leader in designing and operating large incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges. Ansari sponsored the $10M Ansari XPRIZE, igniting a new era for commercial spaceflight. She captured international headlines by becoming the first female private space explorer and the first astronaut of Iranian descent. Her memoir, My Dream of Stars, aims to share her life story as inspiration for young women around the world.

Deirdre Cooper

Deirdre is Head of Sustainable Equity at Ninety One. Deirdre is a leading voice in understanding and committing to sustainable investing, particularly investment to address and combat climate change. Ninety One’s Global Environment Strategy, which she co-manages, invests in companies enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy to capture the structural growth driven by decarbonization. Prior to joining Ninety One in 2018, Deirdre was a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Ecofin. Before joining Ecofin, Deirdre was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where she headed their European Renewable Energy coverage effort and built an investment banking and principal investing franchise. She has long had a passion for sustainable investing and has worked on a voluntary basis in the microfinance sector both in the US and in Pakistan. She is a member of the advisory board of Girls Who Invest, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to increase the percentage of the world’s investable capital run by women, as well as the advisory board for Imperial College’s Centre for Climate Finance and Investment. She is a peer reviewer for the IEA’s World Energy Outlook. Deirdre earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar, and her BA in Actuarial Science from University College Dublin.

Khalid Abdelgadir

Khalid is a Sudanese entrepreneur working in agribusiness. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Khartoum. After his graduation, he worked in the private sector in both KSA and Sudan. Khalid is very keen on tackling the food loss problem by making solutions that bridge the gaps within the food value chain. In 2020, he co-founded a startup that gives farmers access to cold storage services using solar energy. After finishing his studies, Khalid aspires to continue building innovative solutions that enhance food security and achieve social stability for African smallholder farmers. Khalid is an award-winning Orange Corners Sudan alumni and his startup was awarded a seed fund prize from the programme.

Seminar Background

'Conversations in Environmental Sustainability: Beyond Greenwashing' is a termly seminar which brings together leading thinkers and decision-makers from academia, business, government and NGOs to look beyond greenwashing. Each seminar examines a specific issue related to environmental sustainability, exploring how to effectively marry environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals with financial returns, innovation and other business imperatives.

A panel of experts each speak individually before engaging with each other in a panel discussion. This is followed by further conversations over drinks in the College. St Edmund Hall’s intimate and beautiful site provides the setting for the audience of experts and guests to consider honest, solution-based responses to the challenges posed if we are to deliver environmental sustainability.

Filming and photography

Please note: this lecture will be recorded and published on St Edmund Hall’s digital and print communication platforms where appropriate.

There will be photography on the day.

If you do not wish to be filmed or photographed, please let the event organiser know.

Registration

This event is open to the public. All are welcome.

If you have any questions, please email events@seh.ox.ac.uk.

Seminar 3: Conversations in Environmental Sustainability