Having recently stepped down from his position as Chief Scientific Advisor at Defra after seven years of service, Professor Sir Ian Boyd will share his extensive knowledge and experience of working in the UK government at this critical time. 

Within his lecture Sir Ian will set out alternative visions of the future of the environment and how these will effect the health and wellbeing of people.  He will examine three different discourses on the future, tackling difficult issues such as how to stem consumption, slow resource use, halt biodiversity loss, and manage critical trade-offs.

This year's speaker

Professor Sir Ian Boyd is a biologist based at the University of St Andrews who has spent much of his career researching marine and polar science. He described the functional relationship between the rate of marine resource consumption, by fisheries for example, and the impact on ecosystems. His research also extended to the effects of specific human activities like oil and gas development and anti-submarine warfare on the marine environment.

Sir Ian spent seven years as the Chief Scientific Adviser on food and environment in the UK, based in Defra. In this role, he produced a number of influential reports on waste and resources and the future of the seas. He was also responsible for leading the re-design of the science advice process within Defra and played a pivotal role in the response to the nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018.

He has been highly recognised for his achievements throughout his career and awarded the Bruce Medal for polar science in 1995, the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London in 1998, the Polar Medal by the Queen in 2017 and most recently received a Knighthood as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2019. His current interests lie in developing models of sustainability to support new policies.

Our Chair

Jill Rutter was a senior civil servant in Defra, No.10 and the Treasury. She is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government where she directed the Institute's work on better policymaking, including the use of evidence and science advice on government. She has also overseen the Institute for Government's Brexit programme and work on arm's length bodies.  

Event Schedule 

18:15 - Registration and drinks
19:00 - Welcome from the IES Chair, Gary Kass
19:10 - Welcome from the evening's Chair, Jill Rutter
19:15 - The Burntwood Lecture, Professor Sir Ian Boyd
19:50 - Q&A Session
20:20 - Canapés, drinks, mingle

Delegate pack 

We are always looking to reduce our environmental impact and waste produced through events wherever possible, therefore, the delegate pack for this year's Burntwood Lecture is now available in electronic format. This pack includes details about the speaker, our two exhibitors Science Council and the Society for the Environment and the full list of attendees.

Please do refrain from printing this pack where possible, there will not be any printed versions available at the event.

Download the delegate pack for The Burntwood Lecture 2019

Sponsor this year's lecture

Sponsoring The Burntwood Lecture offers you the unique opportunity to connect with respected members of the environmental community, build brand awareness and show your company’s support for and affiliation with the environmental sector. Our events reach many key audience segments and provide an engaging platform for you to reach clients and potential employees. For more information about our sponsorship opportunities please download our sponsorship pack.

if your organization is interested in contributing to the making of one of the most high profile events in the environmental calendar, please contact rhianna@the-ies.org.

Registration

The Burntwood Lecture is returning to London on the 19th of November. This flagship event provides an opportunity for an eminent speaker to talk on a current, critical and often controversial environmental theme. The invited audience, numbering around 140, come from the environmental professions, universities and government. Join us for an evening of networking, drinks and canapés.

Accessibility

The IES aim to provide events, conferences and workshops which are accessible to all. If you anticipate needing any type of assistance to fully participate in this event, please email Rhianna Jarvis on rhianna@the-ies.org or call +44 (0)20 3862 7484 to speak to somebody in person.