Roberta Iley

Associate Director - Practice and Programme Impact

Background

I co-lead Forum’s approach to practice and program impact - seeking to constantly nurture and evolve ‘how’ we create change in service of a just and regenerative future. This includes a focus on how different practices can bring to life the depth of change required - from storytelling to collaboration and futures - and how we can experiment, monitor and learn what is most effective in shifting mindsets, norms and ultimately behaviours.

Together with co-lead Georgia Rubenstein I work internally and externally to build change making capacity, as well as supporting the effective design and delivery of Forum’s work to enable deep, urgent transitions in food, energy and the purpose of business.

This builds on a number of years working with businesses and civil society on designing systemic approaches to change. I started out my career with a strong focus on how we transform agriculture and the food system - the nexus of challenges surrounding how we produce, consume, value and relate to food has always fascinated me. I led Forum’s Protein Challenge 2040 collaboration, worked 1:1 with businesses on their strategies, supported coalitions of actors on agriculture and aquaculture, and acted as the private sector observer at the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility to deliver sub-national REDD+ programmes.

My dream project?

I would love to work with a group of businesses deeply committed to becoming just and regenerative organisations - from their internal values and processes through to their purpose and products/services. I am on my own journey what it means to live and work from a living systems perspective - working with emergence and enabling, rather than forcing, people and ecosystems to evolve and reach their own potential.

What floats my boat outside work?

Outside of work, I love to sew clothes and other bits and pieces. I like nothing better than to meet up with other lovely people in my town to sew together while chatting about the big issues in the world.

Contact Roberta

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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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Learn more about upcoming system change programmes and express your interest.
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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?