Lucas Joppa is a leading expert in sustainability, dedicated to conserving the natural world. Former Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, Lucas has dedicated his career to combining environmental science with his passion for data-driven solutions, championing the role of emerging technologies in managing Earth's resources. When hired as a speaker, Lucas uses his experiences with high-profile organisations to cover topics such as carbon removal, carbon-negative and sustainability.
Lucas initially found his passions for environmental sustainability when studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science, Wildlife Ecology and Zoology, Lucas furthered his education at Duke University and graduated with a PhD in Ecology. Whilst studying, Lucas began working as a Peace Corps volunteer and a graduate research fellow for Duke University. In 2010, Lucas joined Microsoft as a Computational Ecologist, where he led research efforts into the intersection of environmental and computer science. Lucas’s career with Microsoft went from strength to strength and in 2017 he became the Chief Environmental Scientist before becoming Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer where he is responsible for the overall environmental sustainability vision. During his time at Microsoft, Lucas has founded the AI for Earth project, which is pioneering technology solutions to environmental challenges.
In recent years, Lucas was appointed a Professor Adjunct at Yale University where he educates the next generation of sustainability champions. In 2022, Lucas became Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Managing Director of Haveli Investments, where he oversees Haveli’s sustainability and AI strategy, helping lead the company to achieve their ambition to be Net Zero. Deeply passionate about the environment, Lucas has also dedicated his time to several organisations including being on the Science Advisory Board for Natural England, the Federal Advisory Committee of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the Chair of the External Advisory Board for the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Centre. An Honorary Conservation Fellow for the Zoological Society of London and a United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre Fellow, Lucas is also on the Board of Directors for NatureServe and is the Associate Editor in Chief of the Ecological Society of America.
Lucas is now a popular choice as a speaker for a range of corporate events. Recently he has spoken at GLOBE 2020 and the London Tech Week Virtual, delivering a range of talks central to the theme of sustainability and the environment. He was also invited to deliver the TED talk How To Fix The Bugs In The Net-Zero Code. Boasting over a decade of experience pioneering the sustainable practises of Microsoft, Lucas Joppa is the perfect speaker to encourage workforces to act in preserving the world we live in and ensuring a more environmentally friendly future.
