Kunal Sharma

Global Head, Energy System Transition

Background

I joined Forum in March 2023 having largely worked on energy, climate and environmental challenges in the not-for-profit sector. My recent roles prior to Forum were as the Policy Director at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab South Asia, Director of Programmes at The Nature Conservancy India and Climate Policy Lead at Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.

I have had the good fortune to work on a range of energy and climate issues that spans clean energy and low emissions development, mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants and air pollution, nature-based solutions, regenerative agriculture and the UNFCCC and Montreal Protocol negotiations. Informing public policy and working in collaboration with a wide spectrum of stakeholders has been a common thread in many of my professional roles. Some of my highlights include assisting the Indian state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim to develop their greenhouse gas inventories and identify climate mitigation measures and informing India’s emission standards for thermal power plants and brick kilns. I also helped establish the GHG Platform India as a collective of civil society institutions that provide independent estimates and analysis of India’s GHG emissions and worked on projects that helped farmers adopt climate-friendly practices on agriculture residue management in north-west India.

My academic qualifications include a dual masters’ in International and Development Economics and Environmental Studies from Yale University. In earlier professional roles, I worked on the design of several US Environmental Protection Agency regulations while at Abt Associates in the United States, and spent six years in the private sector overseeing sourcing and production at a textile goods manufacturing firm based in New Delhi.

Dream project

One that entails learning and collaboration and delivers win-win outcomes for people and nature.

What floats my boat outside work

Lots of simple things! A nice hike in the mountains, eating tree ripened fruit, a good game of hockey, nailing a new recipe...

Contact Kunal

Latest

Advancing climate justice: A call to action for businesses

Explore the insights from The Business Guide to Advancing Climate Justice, co-published by Forum for the Future and B Lab U.S. and Canada, with reflections from Ksenia Benifand, American Climate Futures’ Program Director.
Shape Just Transition Pathways

There are a multitude of decarbonisation solutions and many technically possible pathways to achieving net-zero, but there is a risk that some pathways will be incremental and others may perpetuate harm to people and the planet. We enable change actors in the energy system to navigate the evolving energy landscape that is being driven by innovation in energy technologies, business models and government policy.
Reimagine Purpose

The energy transition holds the potential to shape a more equitable world, but also to perpetuate and grow existing energy, economic and social inequities. We need to reimagine the purpose of the energy system, ensuring it reflects the needs of citizens and communities and best enables a transition to a future-fit system that delivers just and regenerative outcomes.
Scale socially just, ecologically safe and regenerative RE

Scaling renewable energy offers affordable, reliable energy and fights climate change. However, unregulated deployment may bring environmental, social, and human rights issues. We collaborate with energy change actors to co-create a vision and principles for socially equitable and environmentally responsible renewable energy.

Josh Weinberg

Associate Director of Finance
Libby Lyon

Senior Change Designer
Rowan Kinchin

Network Operations Director at the School of System Change
Glen Jones-Smythe

Interim Global Financial Controller
Duncan Williams

Principal - Food and Regenerative Agriculture
Ayesha Khosla

Senior Sustainability Strategist
Aditi Khurana

Senior Fundraising and Development Manager
Siva Balasubramanian

Principal Sustainability Strategist
Lisa Ivanow

Administrative Assistant
Nitin Kesar

Senior Communications and Marketing Manager

The Five Capitals - a framework for sustainability

The Five Capitals Model provides a basis for understanding sustainability in terms of the economic concept of wealth creation or ‘capital’. Any organisation will use five types of capital to deliver its products or services. A sustainable organisation will maintain and where possible enhance these stocks of capital assets, rather than deplete or degrade them.
Jobs

We are a growing organisation and we are regularly on the look out for new recruits to join our teams around the world.
For a just and regenerative future

Forum for the Future is a leading international sustainability organisation running out of offices in the UK, US, India and Singapore.
Growing our Future US

Working together to accelerate the transition to a just and regenerative agriculture system in the United States.
Sustainability and system change

Climate change, malnutrition, inequality, poverty, ecological degradation. The global challenges we face are so urgent and tricky that we need a solution to match their scale and complexity. This is where system change comes in. We use systems thinking to understand the web of interrelations that create complex problems, anticipate unintended consequences, and identify how and where to take action to meet the SDG goals.
What is Net Positive?

We reinvent strategies for a 1.5°C world. Our Net Positive approach helps business put back more into society and environment than it takes out. Unilever’s pioneering commitment to eliminate fossil fuels from its operations and directly support the generation of more renewable energy than they consume was driven behind the scenes by Forum.
Transport or Mobility: What’s the difference and why does it matter?

Recently, the word transportation is being replaced with mobility. Why is this happening? What’s the difference between them? And why should we care about this change?
Become a system change agent

Learn more about upcoming system change programmes and express your interest.
6 ways Unilever has achieved success through sustainability - and how your business can too

A year ago this week, Unilever launched its Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), one of the most ambitious strategies that a global company has ever embarked on. Pioneering a bold new business model, the company pledged to double in size at the same time as halving its environmental footprint.
Transforming the Purpose of Business

More and more businesses like are setting ambitious targets for positive impact on their operations, value chains and wider operating context. For more than 25 years we have partnered with businesses to navigate this complexity and design impactful solutions that deliver the deeper change that’s needed. Why not get in touch to find out more?