Who GPC is

There are five directors of the Green Purposes Company (GPC) referred to as trustees. The original trustees were appointed on 31st October 2016 by an independent process, as reported to Parliament, for an initial appointment of 5 years with the option for two further terms. On 18th August 2022 (the 5 year anniversary of GPC coming into being) Joan MacNaughton was appointed for a 3 year term to succeed James Curran who stepped down after serving his full 5 year appointment period. A second appointment is planned for 31st March 2023 when Peter Young will step down, the remaining three Trustees being reappointed for a 3 year term to August 2025 giving long term continuity for the GPC.



Trevor Hutchings

Trevor is a Partner at international consulting firm BIP, leading on ESG and sustainability. Before this, Trevor led the growth and diversification strategy at professional services firm Gemserv. He spent much of his early career in Whitehall departments and with the European Commission in Brussels working on climate and environment programmes. He also worked at WWF, the global conservation NGO, focussed on improving public policy and environmental governance. He is a Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and holds the IoD’s Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction. He is the current chair of the board of Trustees of the Green Purposes Company.

 

Trevor Hutchings

Joan MacNaughton CB HonFEI (Lady Jeffrey)

Joan MacNaughton has played an influential part in global energy and climate policy for twenty years at board level in government, business, the not-for-profit sector, and academia. She is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd (where she chairs the Sustainability and Operational Risks Committee). She sits on several advisory boards and is an Honorary Fellow of the UK Energy Institute, the James Hutton Institute, and the International Emissions Trading Association; and a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan; the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils; and the Climate Global Leaders’ Network. Previous roles include Chair of the Climate Group, Chair of the World Energy Council Trilemma, Chair of the International Energy Agency and Vice Chair of the UN High Level Panel on the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, and President of the UK Energy Institute. Her final role in the UK Government was as Director General Energy, responsible for all UK energy policy, before her second career in business.

 


Tushita Ranchan

Tushita Ranchan is an internationally experienced financier, investor and executive with broad experience of serving on private and non-profit sector boards as executive and non-executive in the UK and overseas. She has deep knowledge of investing in large scale green energy projects and managing a technology manufacturing business. Previously, as a banker, she raised several billion dollars for leading infrastructure and energy projects globally. She has negotiated and advised on strategic deals and led complex operations with diverse teams. She also founded a non-profit organisation for youth volunteering. Tushita now teaches an elective course at select universities and invests in early stage start-ups based out of London.

 

Tushita Ranchan

Robin (Lord) Teverson

Robin Teverson is a Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords. He has been a front bench spokesperson on energy and climate change and broader environmental issues. He chaired over a period of five years the House of Lords EU select sub-committee on Environment. Previously Robin has been a member of the European Parliament where he spoke on fisheries and marine issues. He is chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership. He lives in Cornwall.

 

Robin (Lord) Teverson

Professor Paul Ekins OBE

Paul Ekins is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London. An environmental economist with a PhD from the University of London, his academic work over thirty years has focused on natural capital, sustainable development and the conditions and policies for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. He is the author of numerous papers, book-chapters and articles, and has written or edited twelve books. He was a Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution from 2002-2008, and a Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre from 2005-2019. He is a member of UNEP’s International Resource Panel (IRP), and is currently working on a report for IRP on financing minerals extraction for sustainable development. He is currently a member of the UK Government’s Critical Minerals Expert Advisory Group. Paul was a Co-Chair of UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook-6, published in March 2019, following the publication of which he was the Co-Chair of UNEP’s GEO for Business initiative. His most recent book Real Zero: Stopping Climate Change, will be published by Routledge later in 2023. In 1994 Paul Ekins received a Global 500 Award ‘for outstanding environmental achievement’ from the United Nations Environment Programme. In the UK New Year’s Honours List for 2015 he received an OBE for services to environmental policy.

 

Peter Young


Past Trustees

Peter Young

31/10/16 to 31/3/23

Peter Young spent many years working internationally with businesses and governments on sustainability and climate issues. He served on a number of boards, panels and commissions for the UK government concerned with the green economy. He is co-founder of two third sector organisations promoting the case for the environment and sustainability - the Aldersgate Group and the Broadway Initiative. Peter is also a member of the Our Natural World Advisory Panel to Esmee Fairbairn. Until recently he chaired the International Standards Organisation Committee on Sustainable Finance (ISO/TC322) and the Strategic Advisory Group for the equivalent UK (BSI) programme and represented ISO at COP26 in Glasgow. He was the first independent trustee of The Wildlife Trusts 2014-2020. Peter lives in Scotland.

 

Peter Young

James Curran

31/10/16 to 18/8/22

James Curran was previously Chief Executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, in that role, served on several Scottish Ministerial task groups including zero waste, hydronation, air quality, green growth, and biodiversity. He acted as a UK Government reviewer of the IPCC 4th climate change assessment report, and recently prepared a climate change plan for the Isle of Man Government. He was co-author of an expert panel report on fracking for the Chief Scientist Scotland and also a report on environmental governance in Scotland. He is chair of Climate Ready Clyde and was, until recently, chair of the James Hutton Institute. James is an Honorary Fellow of Scottish Environment LINK, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University.