The Road to COP30 and Beyond: The Role of Business

BSR Members Only

Date and Time

April 24, 2025
3:30 pm-5:30 pm PDT

Location

San Francisco

As the global community prepares for COP30 in Brazil, companies face increasing pressure to move beyond ambition and deliver measurable climate impact. We’ll examine key developments in the global climate agenda and discuss strategies for credible business action. 

Scheduled Speakers

• Lara Birkes, Managing Director, Climate and Nature, BSR
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Lara Birkes
Managing Director, Climate and Nature, BSR
San Francisco
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Lara is responsible for leading BSR's Climate and Nature team globally and driving the organization’s work with Member companies' impact consulting, grants, and collaborative initiatives.  
Lara is a sustainability and policy professional with over fifteen years of experience managing partnerships, sustainability initiatives and policy engagement with companies, international organizations, governments, and NGOs.  
Prior to BSR, Lara was Global Head of Sustainability at Sonder, joining in 2020 to establish the corporate responsibility function, implementing policies to engrain responsible business practices across the company pre to post IPO. 
She also serves on the Advisory Board of EQX Biome, a start-up working to mobilize financial markets to protect the world’s remaining biodiversity hotspots. In 2024 Lara started hosting a web series & podcast called Nature IS to raise awareness of the critical need for protection, conservation, and regeneration of biodiversity.  
Lara holds a B.S. degree in International Business & Management from the University of Montana, a M.A. degree in International Trade Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California and is a World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow.  
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Recent Insights From Lara Birkes
• Climate and Nature Integration 101: In Conversation with Helen Crowley / April 24, 2025 / Blog
• Integrating Climate and Nature: A Dual Approach to Business Resilience / December 5, 2024 / Blog
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