Chapter Zero
Mary Ethna Black is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in public health, environmental management, and governance. Currently serving as a Member of the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and as Trustee and Director at The MCS Foundation, Mary has held significant roles including Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews and Non Executive Director at both the National Centre for Earth Observation and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science. Previous positions include Senior Advisor for the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme with Public Health Scotland and Trustee at Paintings in Hospitals. Mary has an impressive educational background with a Masters in Public Health from Harvard and a Doctorate in Medicine from Trinity College Dublin, among other qualifications in tropical medicine, child health, and traditional Chinese medicine.
Chapter Zero
Given the far-reaching impact and implications, our purpose is to enable Chairs, Committee Chairs and non-executive directors to better understand how climate change is likely to affect their companies and sectors, and to encourage their boards to hold informed and strategic discussions and respond effectively to the climate change challenge. The name of the network, Chapter Zero, reflects the drive towards a net zero carbon economy and the major role business will play in achieving it. Our aim is to help non-executive directors become more familiar with the potential risks and opportunities for businesses covering the full spectrum of commercial activity as a consequence of climate change. We will provide a forum where the non-executive community can enhance its knowledge, understanding and experience of this complex and critical business challenge. We will do this by: - Running climate change briefings, round tables, workshops and conferences with our partners - Making members aware of other relevant events they may wish to attend: for example on risk assessment, reporting, scenario planning, opportunity assessment, decision analysis - Bringing together investors, regulators, company directors, plus key experts to learn from and influence each others’ perspectives - Making available briefing materials, toolkits, films, and online courses to enable directors to develop their knowledge - Developing a catalogue of where to go for help as an engaged board - Giving access to the World Economic Forum online materials - Providing a forum where directors can share experience and debate issues.