Mike Burrett Annual Memorial Lecture

19 February 2025, 6-7pm, Waterside Building, Durham University Business School DH1 1SL

To mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, global leaders emphasize the critical need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century. We are currently failing in that task. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), breaching this threshold could trigger significantly more severe effects, such as intensified droughts, heatwaves, and heavy rainfall. Achieving this goal necessitates drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), which is predominantly released during energy production through the burning of fossil fuels for electricity and heating. Transitioning to net-zero carbon emissions requires a shift to cleaner energy sources that produce little to no CO2.

This undertaking is monumental, demanding radical transformation and substantial investment. However, the journey toward a just energy transition presents complex challenges. Leaders must address critical issues such as job displacement, rising energy costs, financing constraints, and ensuring equitable access to green energy. This lecture will delve into these pressing concerns and explore potential pathways forward.

Richard Burrett is a Fellow of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL). He is an Independent Non-Exec Director of Triodos Bank UK (a leader in sustainable banking) and a Senior Adviser to the Earth Security group. As a Fellow of CISL he has worked with a range of international companies at Board and Senior Executive level as well as tutoring on their Masters in Sustainability Leadership. He has been a Board Member of Forest Trends, a Washington-based organisation promoting market-based approaches to forest conservation. Richard has had over 40 years working in international banking and finance. At ABN AMRO he was involved in the development of the Equator Principles, creating a market recognised standard for the management of environmental and social risk within project financing before becoming Global Head of Sustainability. He was Co-Chair of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) from 2010 to 2012 working with banks, insurers, and investors to bring about systemic change in finance to support a sustainable world. He was a FMO (Dutch Development Bank) nominated non-exec Director of Union Bank of Nigeria PLC from 2013 to 2022 and Chief Sustainability Officer at Earth Capital, a sustainability focused investment group from 2010 to 2024. He holds a BA in Modern Languages and MBA, both from Durham, and a Masters in Social Innovation from Cambridge University. His work and research interests are focussed on sustainable finance and business approaches.

Mike Burrett was an active member of the DEI Advisory Board as Vice Chair from 2009 to 2021 and was a member of the Development Board which helped create the DEI back in 2008/9.  Sadly, Mike passed away after a short illness in 2022 whilst still a member of the Advisory Board.  Mike was very passionate about linking DEI with Durham University Business School, as well as helping the energy professionals of tomorrow embark on their career paths. This led Mike to start the DEI Student Mentoring Programme which has seen several of Durham’s finest students enter the international energy sector.