Zoe Greenwood, our Head of Climate, shares how Mike Berners-Lee brought urgent honesty to Oxfordshire Greentech’s Climate Solutions Conference
Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of eminent people warn us about the future we face with climate change. Sometimes, it feels like we’ve heard it so many times it just washes over us, leading to a tinge of apathy, exactly what we don’t want, but secretly feel, because it’s all… just… too… much. But it was quite the opposite when Mike Berners-Lee opened the Climate Solutions Conference in Oxford, it was the (latest version of the) wake-up call I really needed this summer.
Berners-Lee delivered a powerful, thought-provoking talk that cut through the noise of climate jargon and laid bare some uncomfortable truths. “We already have all the technology we need,” Mike told the crowd. “But renewables on their own won’t get us there.” Doing more good things is great, but not if we’re still doing the bad things too. In short, it’s not enough to pat ourselves on the back for switching to solar panels while continuing to fly frequently or invest in fossil fuels. We know this—I know this—but it’s so convenient to forget, right?
One of his most striking points was about efficiency. We tend to think that making things more efficient is always a win, but as Mike explained, unless we’re actually cutting the inputs, more efficiency just means we end up producing (and consuming) even more. In his words: “Unless inputs are constrained, efficiency just leads to more outputs.” In the same vein, we talk about the economic opportunity of scaling up renewables to accelerate the energy transition, but in recent years, new solar and wind capacity has largely gone toward meeting increased energy demand rather than replacing fossil fuel use.
On leadership, Mike shared his view that “the climate problem has deceit at its heart.” “We have to raise the standards of honesty.” In other words, leaders need to stop pretending we’re on track when we’re not, and stop making excuses for half-measures that sound good but don’t add up. And what can we do that we don’t talk about enough? “Imagining,” he said. “We need to sell a case for some really different thinking.”
He wrapped up with a challenge to everyone in the room: “How can we be braver?” It wasn’t a rhetorical question; it was a call to action. Whether you’re running a business, working in government, or just trying to live more sustainably, the message was clear: now’s the time for courage, honesty, and bold new thinking.
At Oxford HR, we’re on a mission to shape leadership for a better world. If your organisation needs more imagination, more bravery and more honesty, we can help bring these skills and values into your team and keep them alive. Get in touch with Zoe at zgreenwood@oxfordhr.com.
Mike Berners-Lee is a leading expert on carbon footprints, sustainability, and climate change. He is a professor at Lancaster University in the UK, where he works at the Institute for Social Futures, and is also the founder of Small World Consulting, a company that helps businesses measure and reduce their environmental impact.
Zoe Greenwood
Zoe joined Oxford HR in 2018 after 16 years working in environment and climate. She has led the growth of the Environment, Climate, Conservation and Sustainability sector specialism in the organisation, working with a wide range of client such as WWF, Greenpeace, Mighty Earth, Global Canopy, Ethical Tea Partnership, the Clean Air Fund, Manufacture 2030, Climate Impact Partners and many more.
She is committed to finding and supporting leaders to address the climate and nature emergency. Zoe has a background in learning and development and communications and has worked in India, Ghana, Kenya, China, Brazil, Costa Rica, Brazil and Malaysian Borneo. She has collaborated with local organisations, global NGOs and climate scientists and to design and deliver nature-based behaviour change programmes and worked with the corporate sector to embed sustainability thinking into their operations and culture.
Zoe has a postgraduate degree from the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (University of Cumbria), she is a trained coach and facilitator and Co-Founder of the Climate Change Coaches.
