Lucas Joppa

Lucas Joppa is an expert in environmental sustainability, currently sitting at the helm of one of the globes largest technology corporations. Having enjoyed a successful decade with Microsoft, Lucas is a leading figure in sustainability and on a mission to execute programmes surrounding environmental issues. Also a board member and fellow of many organisations, Lucas is now sought as a keynote speaker for events speaking on topics such as environmental science, artificial intelligence, technology and sustainability. His recent appointment as a Professor Adjunct at Yale University only solidifies Lucas' reputation as a global sustainability champion and a leading authority on technological solutions for climate change.

Passionate about creating a sustainable world, Lucas Joppa formerly acted as the Chief Environmental Officer for Microsoft, the first that the company has had. As Chief Environmental Officer, Lucas was responsible for enhancing and developing the sustainable practices of the business and has authored countless reports on environmental issues and technology, as well as founded the Microsoft AI for Earth Project. At Microsoft, Lucas innovated the proposal of building a planetary computer as the centrepiece of AI for Earth - a geo-spacial search engine that can expedite climate decision making and avert environmental disaster. On the 1st of June 2022, Microsoft is launching Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, which is clearing the path for net-zero organisations across the globe with greater insight into environmental impact and sustainability progress. Lucas is also an Honourary Fellow of the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the Associate Editor in Chief of the Ecological Society of America and an Honorary Conservation Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Lucas is now working as the Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Managing Director of Haveli Investments.

Before forging his successful career in sustainability, Lucas studied Science, Wildlife Ecology and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in Ecology at Duke University. During his years of study, Lucas shared his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a Foundation Research Fellow at the Duke University. Lucas later spent four years as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent, before joining the UNEP-WCMC for the first time as an Advisor on Science and Innovation. Lucas then went on to become a member of the Science Advisory Board for Natural England and an IUCN Red List Partnership.

Lucas has also worked as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the External Advisory Board Chair for The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. Currently, Lucas is an External Science Advisory Board member for RESOLVE and on the Board of Directors for NatureServe. Along the course of his career, Lucas has claimed several awards, including the 2016 USERN Prize in Formal Sciences, 2014 Society for Conservation Biology Distinguished Service Award and the 2103 Society for Conservation Biology Early Career Award. He recently was invited to deliver the TED talk How To Fix The Bugs In The Net-Zero Code.

With such a distinguished career behind him, Lucas is now a popular choice as a speaker for corporate events and functions. Sought for his industry-leading expertise in sustainability, Lucas covers topics such as environmental science, artificial intelligence and sustainability. Previously, Lucas has been a speaker for GLOBAL 2020 and the London Tech Week Virtual and delivered speeches titled The Pathway to Carbon Negative, Carbon Removal and Why Mitigation is Not Enough. A knowledgeable and insightful speaker, Lucas Joppa is the perfect choice as a sustainability speaker for your event.

In April 2024 we sat down virtually with Lucas Joppa to discuss his work at Microsoft in battling climate change and what individuals can do to help. Watch our Exclusive Interview with Lucas Joppa.