On November 1, 2011, BC3 members and guests gathered for an event on climate planning in cities. The event focused on how the world's largest cities are preparing for climate change and how we are leading the way right here in San Francisco. At the event, Mark Watts, director of energy and climate change consulting at Arup, spoke about his work as a consultant to the C40; and Climate Program Manager at San Francisco's Department of the Environment, Adam Stern, discussed San Francisco's revised climate strategy and current priorities. (Please scroll down for speaker bios). The event was followed by Q&A and a networking reception generously sponsored by Arup. 

Mark is a director in Arup’s Energy and Climate Change Consulting team, where he provides support to cities around the world in developing strategies and programmes to tackle climate change. This includes leading Arup’s work as consultants to the C40 group of the world’s largest cities. Mark joined Arup in November 2008 as a director, having previously been an adviser to the Mayor of London from 2000 to 2008. As the Mayor’s lead on climate change and sustainable transport, Mark was described by London Evening Standard as “the intellectual force behind Ken Livingstone’s drive to make London a leading light of the battle against global warming.” Mark’s clients over the last two years have included the C40 and city authorities in Copenhagen, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Warsaw, Rome, Utrecht, Addis Ababa, Melbourne, Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham.

Adam Stern has more than 25 years of experience in the environmental and clean energy fields. He is currently climate program manager for the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Previously, Adam managed the No on Prop. 23 campaign for Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) in California and was the vice president for policy and strategy at TerraPass, an industry leading carbon offset firm.  Others positions include chief operating officer at Environmental Defense Fund; vice president for business development at Care2.com, a successful green portal; and special assistant for international affairs at the U.S. EPA. Adam has an MBA from Stanford and BA from Yale.

Cole Roberts leads the energy and resource sustainability business in Arup’s San Francisco office.  Cole’s experience ranges from climate positive engineering and sustainability consulting to ecodistrict system design and planning.  Cole has been a keynote speaker at multiple conferences, an invited speaker to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and a contributor to numerous journals and media.  He is a frequent lecturer at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley.