The Real Zero Team
Our Directors
Hugh is an NHS consultant Intensivist, and Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at UCL, where he also directs the Centre for Human Health & Performance.
Hugh co-chaired the two Lancet Commissions on Human Health & Climate Change and now the 42-country Lancet Countdown on Health & Climate Change. He’s written & lectured extensively on the subject; has briefed policymakers (inter)nationally; & co-founded the UCL MSc module on climate & health. He was appointed London Leader by Greater London Authority’s Sustainable Development Commission; has attended many of the international ‘COP’ negotiations; leads the children’s climate education ‘Project Genie’ and co-led the ITV documentary on Floods and Climate Change (2020). He was awarded the OBE in part for his climate work.
We asked Hugh some questions
What’s your favourite food?
A good Dal Bhat- anything at all (ideally veg-based) with chilli in it.
Get the recipe.
What made you want to take climate action?
Stumbling into the science 25 years ago, and recognising the reality, immediacy and gravity of the threat at a time when the press was denying that the problem existed at all.
What impact has taking personal climate action had on you?
All good! My bills (e.g. power, food, travel) are lower, and I'm much healthier (active transport, plant-based diet). I also get to meet amazing, motivated, 'good' people!
Where did you go on your last holiday?
France. Eurostar (nuclear power for electricity) is very low carbon, and gives me 8 hours of quiet comfortable work in great scenery. Then walking in the mountains!
Favourite podcast?
Real Zero
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
I have never seen Instagram- or FaceBook, come to that!
Favourite tune?
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd.
Last gig attended?
Neil Young, Hyde Park, Summer 2025
Last book read?
The one I'm writing- another thriller!
Favourite film?
Donnie Darko. Haunting and magnificent.
Last thing you ate?
Broccoli. A great, healthy and cheap staple!
Usual mode of transport?
Bicycle
Desert Island luxury item?
See this
Professor Hugh Montgomery OBE
Director
Kate ran her own business as a “sniffer-dog” trainer whilst raising her three children. When the youngsters had grown up and left home, she worked for the NHS as a strategy project manager.
Kate passionately believes that we must all ‘play our part’ if we are to provide a habitable planet for future generations, and that offering easily achievable and pragmatic solutions to stop further climate breakdown is the best way to safeguard a planet in which humanity can survive and thrive.
We asked Kate some questions
What’s your favourite food?
Anything with crab in it.
What made you want to take climate action?
Realising that I had a direct and personal responsibility to my children to try to secure a liveable planet for them.
What impact has taking personal climate action had on you?
A clearer conscience!
Where did you go on your last holiday?
Buckinghamshire to visit friends and family. Only 20 minutes away by train but it was a wonderful week.
Favourite podcast?
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
Favourite tune?
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No 4
Last gig attended?
Tim Minchin at the Apollo, July 2025
Last book read?
Favourite film?
Last thing you ate?
A tomato and pesto wrap. My go-to for lunch.
Usual mode of transport?
Walking (or the bus if it’s raining).
Desert Island luxury item?
My violin.
Kate Cormican
Director
Adrian has over 20yrs of experience in finance, across private and public sectors. For the 10yrs before joining us, he was an NHS director of finance . Adrian has led local and national strategic and collaborative change programmes, including an infrastructure funding strategy across a £5bn healthcare system. He has also served on sustainability committees.
Prior to this, Adrian worked for Accenture for 10yrs, the latter 5yrs in corporate deal shaping responsible for a $0.5bn portfolio of client value propositions. He has served as a charity Board Trustee and provides support to a community interest energy not-for-profit company.
We asked Adrian some questions
What’s your favourite food?
I can’t say there is any single food. I love a sandwich full of pickled vegetables.
What made a difference to you being green?
I feel more empowered and confident to take personal action and advocate others to do similar. It’s also helped with the cost of living; food and electricity bills are lower.
Where did you go on your last holiday?
I’m on the train back from Loch Goil (near Loch Lomond) as I’m writing this. Absolutely stunning place.
Favourite podcast?
The Blindboy podcast. A wonderful look into so many weird and wonderful ideas. Creative and compassionate.
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
I love watching my 10yr old son laugh at dog videos!
Favourite tune?
Too hard to pick, but would probably be something by Led Zepplin. Immigrant Song or Good Times, Bad Times.
Last gig attended?
The Black Keys – they are still able to produce incredible sound for a two-piece.
Last book read?
I’m reading ‘Money’ by David McWilliams. A fascinating journey through the history of money and how it has shaped the world.
Favourite film?
I love ‘Shaun of the Dead’, an absolute classic.
Last thing you ate?
Some paprika crisps – bad train snacks!
Usual mode of transport?
The train. I try to run home from the office but am too old (unfit!) to do so more than once a week.
Desert Island luxury item?
Spotify and something to play it on! I don’t think I could retain my sanity without music!
Adrian Byrne
Director
Scott was a founding partner of Glennmont Partners, leading all of the firm’s solar initiatives and being actively involved in new financing initiatives.
Scott has worked in renewable energy power generation for more than a decade, leading many of the investments across Glennmont’s fund platform. Prior to founding Glennmont Partners, Scott was the co-founder and director of Windsor Alternative Investments – a company formed to finance and develop solar power plants in Europe. Before focusing on renewable energy, Scott was involved in private equity acquisitions and debt capital finance for commercial real estate transactions in Europe and the United States.
We asked Scott some questions
What’s your favourite food?
My wife's daal and rice.
What made a difference to you being green?
Understanding Earth's geological history and the evolution of our atmosphere.
What impact has taking personal climate action had on you?
A meaningful career where I'm part of the solution.
Where did you go on your last holiday?
West Sussex for a week in the countryside with the family.
Favourite podcast?
The Drive, Peter Attia - It's how I try to educate myself on what my friends in healthcare are up to in their clinics and labs.
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
I don't have Instagram.
Favourite tune?
Under Pressure, Queen & David Bowie
Last gig attended?
Coldplay, Wembley, 2025
Last book read?
The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami
Favourite film?
The Graduate
Last thing you ate?
Falafel schwarma and a massive plate of chips.
Usual mode of transport?
London Underground.
Desert Island luxury item?
Solar & battery set up for my own microgrid.
Scott Lawrence
Director
Our Team
Debbie was a clinical scientist in both cancer and cardiovascular research. She became a pharmacist when she moved to the Isle of Wight and specialised in project work and then in infection management, somehow acquiring 5 degrees along the way.
Debbie ran a sailing school with her husband based out of Cowes, specialising in the delights of astro-navigation, racing and professional qualifications.
Debbie’s love of science and the sea combine powerfully with now trying to protect our planet from an impending climate catastrophe.
We asked Debbie some questions
What made a difference to you being green?
Sailing makes you think a lot more about how you use things – so sailing across the Atlantic re-enforced my attitude to looking after our resources (natural or otherwise) – there is no fast food outlet to pick up a pizza when you fancy it and no hardware store to get spares! Little things can make a big difference! On a boat you would never use running water to clean your teeth… we can all make a difference which is why I now care so passionately and believe in the 7 Acts – we can all make the difference – we just have to do them! And now!
Where did you go on your last holiday?
Locally to Cowes, a staycation, as it was the famous sailing event known as Cowes week.
Favourite podcast?
Of course RZ – but as I am trying to learn French I do try and listen to those …. and I try to enjoy them!
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
No idea as I don’t use it!
Favourite tune?
Many, but including one with family significance, Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World (let’s do our best to keep it wonderful).
Last gig attended?
Loads of local bands played during Cowes week at loads of venues.
Last book read?
How bad are bananas? Mike Berners-Lee….
(favourite book probably Frenchman’s Creek – you get the nautical theme!)
Favourite film?
Chariots of Fire
Last thing you ate?
Local seasonal berries, with homemade rhubarb ice cream from a friend who also grew the rhubarb, with meringues from local eggs.
Usual mode of transport?
Two feet! Accompanied by four feet.
Desert Island luxury item?
Frank – my beloved Westie poo poo, who features in our newsletter.
Debbie Cumming
Researcher
Sarah has a background in driving strategic efficiencies and scaling impact for purpose-driven organisations, including startups and nonprofits across the life sciences, healthcare, and tech sectors. Sarah has led strategic planning, cross-functional project delivery, internal communications, and cultural initiative all with a focus on aligning people and processes to support sustainable, long-term growth.
Sarah is passionate about climate change, believes in the power of collective action, and contributing to a mission that creates meaningful change to people's lives.
We asked Sarah some questions
What’s your favourite food?
Fan of Guyanese food, especially when it’s spicy
What made a difference to you being green?
Taking personal climate action has made me more aware of my impact, and I am using the 7 Acts to spread the word in a simple, everyday way. It feels good to do my part and help others do the same.
Where did you go on your last holiday?
France, perfecting the art of wine and cheese appreciation.
Favourite podcast?
I am not a big podcast person, I prefer to have my nose in a good book instead.
Favourite thing to follow on Instagram?
Not on Instagram, I am more of an offline person!
Favourite tune?
Way too many to choose from. I listen to all kinds of music, depending on my mood and how the day’s going.
Last gig attended?
My last ‘gig', if an opera counts, was Turandot. No guitars in sight, but a truly spectacular performance.
Last book read?
Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
Favourite film?
You can't beat the Classics.
Last thing you ate?
Bowl of strawberries.
Usual mode of transport?
My feet or public transport.
Desert Island luxury item?
Plenty of books.
Sarah Short
Business Manager
Our Associates
Helena is a documentary filmmaker and a medical doctor specialising in anaesthesia. Her filmmaking journey has taken her from exploring science and medicine to capturing the beauty of seahorses and gardens.
She earned an MFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University’s graduate film program. Upon returning to the UK, she resumed her clinical practice and became a Specialist in Anaesthesia at UCLH.
Helena blends her expertise in medicine with her passion for documentary filmmaking, producing and directing films that educate, inform, and inspire. Her work focuses on patient narratives, using qualitative research to drive patient co-production and shape patient-centric care pathways.
Helena joined Real Zero, believing in the power of inspiring, engaging, and connecting with Gen Z and the emerging Generation Alpha—those who will ultimately inherit the consequences of the climate crisis.
Helena Rebecca Smith
Dhruv is a medical doctor (GP specialty trainee) with an interest in the intersection between climate change and health, and promoting population health. He has experience in developing climate resilience in health systems internationally as a consultant, and promoting the co-benefits of climate action and tackling health inequalities. Dhruv also has an MSc in Public Health from The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (specialising in Health Economics), where he explored UK policymakers’ preferences for how health and economic co-benefits of climate action are communicated.
At Real Zero, Dhruv is working as the Director of Climate and Health Communication, where he is leading an ambitious campaign to unite UK health and environmental organisations to align public messaging of climate action and health co-benefits in the UK and beyond.
Dhruv Gupta
Victoria is a Medical Doctor with training in Anaesthesia. She has experience working clinically in the NHS and abroad and has taken on multiple roles in academic research and medical education. With a background and Diploma in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, Victoria has previously participated in marine conservation, developing an interest in planetary health. She has an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she explored the health co-benefits of low environmental impact plant-based diets.
Victoria Bion
Kamran Sidhu is a Medical Doctor currently working in the Acute Internal Medicine department. He has previous experience with the European Space Agency, where he explored the effects of extreme environments on the human body—an experience that sparked a growing interest in our rapidly changing climate and its global health impacts. Kamran is currently undergoing foundation training in the NHS and intends to pursue an MSc in Public Health. Outside of medicine, he is also a certified scuba diver, deepening his connection to and appreciation for the natural world and the urgent need to protect it.
Kamran Sidhu
Nathan is an emergency medicine doctor based at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London. His interest in the climate crisis stems from his work as an expedition doctor and photographer, which has seen him support environmental research expeditions from coral reefs in the Indian Ocean to previously unexplored caves in North Greenland. At Real Zero, Nathan is driving the adoption of plant-based-by-default hospital menus in order to rapidly decarbonise food systems in the UK health sector. He also sits on the environmental steering committee for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, and is the founder of Eco Medics, a non-profit organisation that provides education around the climate health crisis.
Nathan Hudson-Peacock
Our Advisory Board
Mike Berners-Lee consults, thinks, writes and researches on sustainability and responses to 21st century problems. He is the author of acclaimed books, including There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years, and How Bad Are Bananas? The carbon footprint of everything. As the founder and director of Small World Consulting Ltd, he helps businesses, governments and the third sector to lead the way in truly sustainable living. He is a professor at Lancaster University, where his research includes supply chain carbon modelling, sustainable food systems and the environmental impact of ICT. He has made numerous speaking, radio and television broadcast appearances to promote public awareness of sustainability and climate change issues.
Mike Berners-Lee
Tom Burke is the Chairman of E3G, Third Generation Environmentalism, and an Honorary Professor at University College, London. He is a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. In 2010 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment. He was a Trustee of the Green Alliance from 1979 – 1991 and 1997 – 2016. He is a Patron of the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association. He is Chairman of the Advisory Council of Earth Capital Partners and a member of the Advisory Board of Glenmont LLP. He was Environmental Policy Advisor to Rio Tinto plc (part time) 1996 - 2016 and served as Senior Advisor to the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change from 2006 -12.
Tom Burke CBE
Paul Ekins has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of London and is Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London. He was Deputy Director of the UK Energy Research Centre from 2014-2019. He is a member of UNEP’s International Resource Panel, for which he has led reports on resource efficiency and critical minerals for the energy transition. His new book is Stopping Climate Change: Policies for Real Zero (Routledge, 2024). 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.
Paul Ekins OBE
Professor Watts is the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Medicine, leading NUS’s efforts to accelerate the transition to net zero and resilient healthcare systems, across the world. Prior to NUS, he worked as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the NHS in the UK, where he spearheaded their efforts to efforts to deliver low-carbon healthcare, leading the Greener NHS team with a budget of almost £1 billion. He is a medical doctor, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians’ Faculty of Public Health, and has worked as the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, and as the founder of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change.
Nick Watts
Rachel Surtees has been working in health and local government in ‘strategy and change’ roles for over 15 years. Rachel is currently the Director of Implementation at UCLPartners, a health innovation partnership that works to apply research and innovation to tackling some of the biggest health challenges. Rachel leads delivery of two of UCLPartners’s strategic priority areas: the climate collaborative that is focused on acceleration of de-carbonisation of the NHS, and their adolescent mental health programme that puts youth-led change at the heart of prevention-based care.
Rachel Surtees
Peter Chalkley is Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK. ECIU supports journalists, parliamentarians and other communicators with accurate and accessible briefings on key issues, and works with individuals and organisations that have interesting stories to tell, helping them connect to the national conversation. During his time at ECIU, Pete has helped to develop the organisation’s strategy and direction, expanding its functions to further the mission. He co-authored a number of reports on various aspects of climate change and energy.
Peter Chalkley
Following a career in finance, Pete has spent 25 years campaigning with well-known organisations and personalities in the environment/conservation sector, including Greenpeace, The Climate Group and many more. He co-founded 38 Degrees, a people-powered campaign movement, whose early success was to help stop the Government's plan to sell England's forests. Pete is a Director and Trustee of The Catalysts Foundation, supporting projects with the potential to scale-up to help ensure a sustainable future. He firmly believes that strengthening healthcare systems is one of the most significant and cost-effective solutions to climate change, already available to us.
Peter Myers
Ben is Chief Executive of New AutoMotive, a non-profit that aims to use data to support and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Ben is a specialist in climate change and sustainability, public policy, and data science. Before founding New AutoMotive, he worked on sustainability policy in Parliament, on green finance in the City sustainable finance and on carbon markets reform at a think tank.
Ben Nelmes
Stuart has a portfolio of roles encompassing: Chair, non-executive and Advisory Board roles for privately owned businesses, charity trustee roles, active angel investing and mentoring for CEO’s and senior executives. Stuart’s executive career culminated as Group CEO of Bupa, a position he held for 4 years until May 2016. During Stuart’s tenure, Bupa was a leading global health and care company with 84,000 employees around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Poland, New Zealand and Chile, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the USA, and had 32m customers in 190 countries. With no shareholders, it reinvested profits to provide more and better healthcare and fulfil its purpose: longer, healthier, happier lives. Before joining Bupa, Stuart spent 26 years in senior executive leadership positions with Diageo Plc. He was President of Diageo International between 2004-2011, having been President of Key Markets from 2000-2004.
Stuart Fletcher
Mia Shaw is a climate consultant, specialising in decarbonisation solutions, sustainability and strategy and communications. Mia works across private, public non-profit sectors in the UK, Europe, USA and Asia. She is currently working with clients in clean tech and media. She has previously worked in ocean conservation policy with Oceanic Global, and in corporate ESG strategy with The Female Quotient in New York City. She is also a freelance urban forest-maker with SUGi Project in London, and an award-winning eco poet. Mia was a founding Director of Real Zero.
Mia Shaw
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