Jump to content

Jane Burston

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jane Burston
Burston addressing the 2019 World Economic Forum
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
EmployerClean Air Fund

Jane Burston (born 1981) is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Clean Air Fund, a philanthropic foundation tackling global air pollution[1] that was launched at the UN Secretary General's Climate Summit in New York with $50m from 6 core funders.[2] Previously, Jane was the Head of Energy and the Environment at the National Physical Laboratory.

Early life and education

[edit]

Burston has strong ethical and environmental principles. She gave up meat when she was eleven, and as a student fought to eliminate plastic in her college canteen.[3] Burston studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a first class degree in 2002.[4]

Career to date

[edit]

After graduating, Burston worked for a strategy consultancy for 4 years, before spending a year in Zambia running an NGO recycling computers and training teachers in IT.[5] On returning to the UK she worked on climate policy for Transport for London and the Mayor of London's office.

In 2008, Burston founded Carbon Retirement, a social enterprise that reformed emissions trading and carbon offsetting.[6] Carbon Retirement put pressure on countries and companies to embrace clean technology, by allowing them to buy and use up credits.[7] Carbon Retirement partnered with the New York Stock Exchange in September 2011.[6]

Burston joined the National Physical Laboratory in 2012, where she led a team of 150 scientists and engineers. At NPL, she founded the Centre for Carbon Measurement, looking at carbon markets, low carbon technologies and climate data.[8] In 2015 she gave evidence at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[9] In August 2017 Burston was seconded to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Deputy Director of Science for Climate and Energy. In June 2019, Burston founded and became Chief Executive Officer of the Clean Air Fund.[2]

Jane Burston became a Trustee of Parkinson's UK in 2019.[10]

Awards and public engagement

[edit]

In 2009 Burston was selected as a Climate Change Ambassador for the British Council.[11] In 2011 Burston was named as one of Management Today's High Flying Women Under 35 and the Square Mile Social Entrepreneur of the Year.[12][13]

In 2012 Burston was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.[14][15][16] She won the 2012 Management Today Future Leaders Award.[17][4] In 2015, she was named as one of the Top 20 Young People Globally by the International Chamber of Commerce and a Friends of Europe European Young Leader: 40 under 40.[18] In 2021, she was nominated by Christina Figueres as a WIRED changemaker of tomorrow.[19]

Burston was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for the Future of Real Estate and Urbanization,[20] a member of the Global Future Council for Energy and she currently co-chairs the Global Future Council for Clean Air.[21] She was instrumental in launching the first global corporate Alliance for Clean Air.[22]

Jane Burston has a strong track record of public engagement. In 2013, she appeared on BBC Radio 4 talking about 'Putting profit in its place'.[23] She gave a TED talk in 2015 at the London School of Economics.[24][25] That year she also spoke at X.[26] She has spoken at the 2016, 2017 and 2018 and 2021 United Nations Climate Change conferences.[27][28] Burston delivered a lecture at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in 2018.[29] In 2021, Burston performed a ‘Letter to the 21st Century’ on BBC Radio 4.[30] She has contributed to HuffPost, Carbon Brief and the World Economic Forum's Agenda.[31][32][33]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Clean air for all". www.cleanairfund.org. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "$50m philanthropic clean air fund launched". AirQualityNews. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Profile: Jane Burston is fighting a killer". Impact Investor. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Congregations of the Regent House on 27, 28, and 29 June 2002". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Computers for African Schools", Wikipedia, 13 March 2020, retrieved 12 April 2022
  6. ^ a b "Carbon Retirement - the future of offsetting?". www.businessgreen.com. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Carbon Retirement", Wikipedia, 15 February 2022, retrieved 12 April 2022
  8. ^ TheWomensphere (17 July 2013), Jane Burston, Founder, Centre for Carbon Measurement, UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL), retrieved 17 July 2018
  9. ^ "Witnesses named for fracking risks inquiry". DRILL OR DROP?. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Parkinson's UK Board of Trustees". Parkinson's UK. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Serco employee named Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum" (PDF).
  12. ^ "NPL Social Entrepreneur of the Year Jane Burston keynotes at Smart Grids Conference". Cambridge Network. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Jane Burston | Global CCS Institute". hub.globalccsinstitute.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Young Global Leaders - Jane Burston : National Physical Laboratory". www.npl.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Serco employee named Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum" (PDF). Serco. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  16. ^ National Physical Laboratory (6 March 2012), Young Global Leaders - Jane Burston, retrieved 16 July 2018
  17. ^ "Jane Burston scoops MT Sky Future Leaders Award : News : News + Events : National Physical Laboratory". www.npl.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  18. ^ "European Young Leaders | Friends of Europe". www.friendsofeurope.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Change everything: 32 innovators who are building a better future". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  20. ^ "A global deal isn't the only way to fight climate change". World Economic Forum. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Clean Air". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Driving Clean Air Solutions - Alliance for Clean Air - World Economic Forum". initiatives.weforum.org. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  23. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Four Thought, Series 4, Putting Profit in Its Place". BBC. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  24. ^ "2015 speakers". TEDxLSE. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  25. ^ TEDx Talks (13 October 2015), Where do you want to be in ten years? | Jane Burston | TEDxLSE, retrieved 16 July 2018
  26. ^ X, the moonshot factory (5 January 2015), Jane Burston- Understanding Climate Change with in-orbit satellite calibration, retrieved 17 July 2018
  27. ^ "COP24 Katowice Poland - Sustainable Innovation Forum in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Sponsors | Sustainable Innovation Forum 2018". cop.climateactionprogramme.org. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  28. ^ "COP23 Bonn Germany - Sustainable Innovation Forum | COP23". www.cop-23.org. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  29. ^ "The future of energy in an interconnected world | Jane Burston". Imperial College London. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  30. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Coming of Age: Letters to 2021, Jane Burston". BBC. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Achieving Low Carbon Cities Means Supporting New Technologies". HuffPost UK. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  32. ^ "Guest post: Do satellites hold the answer to reporting greenhouse gases? | Carbon Brief". Carbon Brief. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  33. ^ "Jane Burston - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jane_Burston&oldid=1248582927"