Charles Secrett is an independent sustainability advisor and policy analyst. He co-founded The Robertsbridge Group, which provides strategic sustainability consultancy for businesses. He has helped develop sustainability and supply chain strategies for several large companies. Secrett has also founded or advised several sustainability organizations focused on policy, campaigning, and business. Throughout his career, he has held advisory roles for governments, NGOs, and companies on issues related to climate change, environment, and sustainability.

1. Charles Secrett - Sustainability Biography (March 2016)
charles.secrett@robertsbridgegoup.com
Charles Secrett is an independent sustainability advisor, policy analyst and occasional
campaigner.
He primarily works as a co-founder of The Robertsbridge Group, who specialise in
strategic sustainability consultancy for business (http://www.robertsbridgegroup.com).
He has helped develop robust sustainability, multi-stakeholder engagement and supply
chain strategies to underpin the business models for a range of large and small companies
(inc. Cargill Truvia, Asia Pulp and Paper, Interserve and Solazyme/TerraVia).
He is also the founder-coordinator of The ACT! Alliance, a grass-roots campaign network
(now in abeyance), a co-founder of The Green New Deal Group, a green economics policy
forum (http://www.greennewdealgroup.org/?page id=2), and campaign advisor to the
Thames Blue Green Economy group (http://bluegreenuk.com/freewater/tbge.html). On
joining Maven in 2015, he initially (!) scored 5/5 on its ranking score profile.
Recently, he stepped down as a member of Royal Dutch Shell plc's Global External Review
Committee, advising the company’s Executive team and senior management on
sustainability priorities across its operations and geographical regions. He has also
stepped down as senior advisor to Base Cities, a private-public sector initiative for driving
urban sustainable development.
He was Chair of the Board of Triodos Renewables, the Triodos Bank’s UK energy
investment fund (2004-2012), where he helped develop the company’s investment
strategy, perform its fiduciary responsibilities to the highest standard and carry out three
successful share issues.
As a senior associate at the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability
Leadership (2005-11), Charles was a staff participant in its climate change programme
and jointly led CPSL’s putative sustainable cities programme. As a member of BP’s
Advisory Panel for its Target Neutral programme (2008-2012), he advised the company
on the roll out of this consumer-climate project.
Between 2004 and 2008, Charles was a special advisor on climate, environment and
sustainability for The Mayor of London, a Board Member of the London Development
Agency and Chair of the LDA’s Health and Sustainability sub-group. As advisor to the
Mayor, he drew up a comprehensive environmental, economic and social action plan for
London - that developed proposals for a new green homes service programme, a climate
change response economy, a city-wide, integrated network of wildlife park and open
spaces, and a closed-loop resource economy – which was accepted by The Mayor and the
GLC Management Board. He was also a member of the core team that developed London’s
ground-breaking climate mitigation plan, ‘Action Today to Protect Tomorrow’.
He was a member of the UK Government's Round Table (then Commission) for
Sustainable Development for ten years advising Conservative and Labour administrations
on a very wide range of environment, development and societal issues; and, Chair of its
Transport sub-group, which drew up and published a national sustainable transport
overview plan, based on key environmental and social principles, goals and targets. He
was a member of the Assurance Advisory Group for the global Mineral, Mining and
1

2. Sustainable Development project (2000-2003), which developed a comprehensive, gold
standard sustainability manual for the sector and which was endorsed at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development at Jo’Burg in 2002.
As Executive Director of Friends of the Earth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FOE
EWNI, 1993-2003), responsible for strategy, organisational development and political and
public profile, Charles led its transformation into becoming, for many years, the UK's most
effective campaign organisation - and the first to marry environmental, green economic
and social justice agendas in a proactive organisational strategy. Employing and helping
to build integrated teams of expert campaigners, researchers, local group activists,
fundraisers and administrators, FOE EWNI won, over ten years, a series of significant
victories across a range of legislative, budgetary, nuclear and renewable energy, nature
conservation, pollution, resource, transport, trade and community issues – often working
in conjunction with other groups. He featured in all three years (1999-2001) of The
Observer/Channel 4 ‘UK Power 300’ listings, with a highest rank of 36.
Following a year in Brazil, Charles worked for the International Institute for Environment
and Development (1990-93) as the joint manager, with a colleague at the University of
East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, of its Climate Change programme. During this time,
he researched and wrote a 300 page tropical forest-climate impact management
manual/strategy for the Swedish International Development Agency.
Between 1980-89, Charles worked as wildlife and countryside campaigner, international
rainforest coordinator and campaigns director for FOE EWNI. Through 1984/7 he
planned, launched and ran the first global Save the Rainforests campaign for FOE
International, based on consumer and tax-payer action to pressure logging and extractive
companies and government aid programmes to protect and sustainably use tropical
forests - the model of which was quickly adopted and adapted by NGOs around the world
into the global rainforest movement. In 1981, Charles launched the first community-
based direct action campaign to protect special wildlife conservation sites in the UK. In
1984, he drew up a draft Natural Heritage Bill to protect Sites of Special Scientific Interest
and other critical habitats, as an alternative to the government’s discredited Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 (and which many years later was developed by himself and
colleagues at FOE as the basis for Part 2 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000).
Over the years, he has worked on a variety of research and investigation projects in Brazil
(deforestation and conservation), Costa Rica (forest sustainable use, conservation and
climate change), Indonesia (forest conservation), Malaysia (forest conservation),
Nicaragua (forest sustainable use, conservation and climate change) and Nigeria (stopping
EU toxic waste dumping) – and has held advisory positions with a range of environment
and sustainability NGOs, including the London Wildlife Trust and the Building Exploratory
in Hackney.
He attended the University of North Carolina on a Morehead Scholarship between 1972-
1976, graduating in 1977 with a BA (Hons) in English and American Literature, (3.6 GPA).
2