Mike Berners-Lee

Mike Berners-Lee headshot — carbon footprinting expert and keynote speaker on climate strategy and systems change | 92 Speakers

Carbon Foot printing Pioneer, Professor at Lancaster University, and Systems Change Strategist

Mike Berners-Lee is a world-leading authority on carbon metrics and the founder of Small World Consulting. Best known for his bestselling books How Bad Are Bananas? and A Climate of Truth (2025), Mike specialises in Carbon Literacy for leaders who need to cut through “greenwash” and “bullshit”. He pioneered the hybrid carbon accounting methodology, which combines top-down economic modelling with bottom-up life cycle analysis to give organisations a system-complete view of their environmental impact.

In keynotes and leadership sessions, he examines how emissions are embedded across supply chains, consumption patterns, and everyday decisions, and why credible climate action depends on understanding trade-offs rather than chasing perfection. His perspective equips leaders to move beyond symbolic gestures toward decisions grounded in data, proportion, and systems thinking.

He speaks to organisations that want climate strategy informed by facts, not fashion.

Signature Keynotes

  • What decision-makers need to know.

  • Decoding the true impact of products, services, and digital technologies

  • Making climate decisions that matter.

  • From data to direction.

The Berners-Lee Effect

Climate action becomes informed, focused, and defensible.

Audiences gain insight into:

  • Understanding carbon footprints at organisational scale

  • Distinguishing high-impact action from distraction

  • Navigating trade-offs in climate decision-making

  • Building carbon literacy across leadership teams

  • Making sustainability claims that stand up to scrutiny

Why Book Mike

Mike Berners-Lee is trusted by leaders who want to engage with climate change seriously, without simplification or spin. His insight is especially valuable for organisations facing scrutiny around emissions, targets, and credibility, where evidence and transparency matter.

He brings analytical clarity, intellectual honesty, and a rare ability to make complex systems understandable and actionable.

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