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Meet the Team
Mike Berners-Lee
Founder and Director
Mike 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. 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.
Dr Dmitry Yumashev
Principal Consultant (Land Use)
Dmitry has a background in applied mathematics and started his career as an aerospace scientist before moving to sustainability and climate change. He has worked on a range of projects with partners from academia, the private sector, the UK Government and the United Nations. At Small World Consulting, Dmitry leads the portfolio of projects on assessing landscape-level carbon emissions and land use change options to aid carbon sequestration. Recent clients include all UK National Parks, all Welsh AONBs, Cotswolds and Cannock Chase National Landscapes, Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Councils, and private estates.
Dr Sarah Donaldson
Senior Consultant
Sarah has a background in Ecology and Environmental Sciences. While pursuing her PhD in Plant Physiology at Lancaster University, Sarah undertook a BBSRC PIPs placement with Small World in 2018. Since joining the team full time, she has led on a variety of projects, including GHG audits for organisations across a wide range of sectors, development of carbon footprinting training courses, media and public communications work, and design of carbon calculator tools.
Mairéad Brown
Assistant to Mike Berners-Lee
Mairéad has a BA in Law from Cambridge University and an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the LSE. Her thirst for understanding the world has taken her from projects mapping coral reefs in Madagascar, to studying in Japan, to human rights work in rural Uganda and even management of an Irish pub in Kampala. It was from ski touring in the Arctic that her personal experience of the changing environment focused her efforts on the climate emergency. Mairéad supports Mike in all aspects of his work and also works closely with the rest of the team.
Matthew Bond
Consultant
Matt graduated with a 1st Class degree in Natural Sciences and Business Management from the University of Cambridge, where he also became involved in projects to reduce the environmental impact of the university. Matt developed his interest in carbon emissions through a Master’s by Research at Lancaster University; producing a tool to calculate the carbon footprint of the UK’s electronic waste recycling system. He is excited to be contributing to the field of sustainability through his work on carbon footprint and sustainability research at Small World.
Dr Tom Davies
Consultant
Tom has a background in Molecular Biology and studied for a PhD in photosynthesis at The University of Sheffield. Whilst at Sheffield he co-authored a sustainability audit that formed the basis of the university's sustainability strategy and campaigned for the university to switch to a clean energy supplier. Tom also undertook a PhD placement at Small World Consulting in 2020, working extensively on the updated version of How Bad Are Bananas? Returning to SWC in 2022, Tom now works on various consultancy projects, including the development of carbon calculator tools.
Dr Tom Higgs
Consultant
Tom has a background in physics, having studied at Royal Holloway and Cambridge, completing his PhD there on superconducting spintronics. While continuing to work in physics during the pandemic, Tom became more concerned with working on the challenges to overcome the climate crisis. He had previously followed his interest in sustainable transport to work as a smart mobility engineer. Tom enjoys applying his training in precise yet systemic thinking to carbon accounting and consultancy work.
Alex Boyd
Consultant
Alex is a graduate from Lancaster University having studied for an MPhys in Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology. After graduating, he undertook an internship with a local sustainability charity researching methods to estimate the potential energy generation from solar PV in Ambleside. Alex began an internship with SWC in March 2020 and since then he has quickly developed an interest in EEIO modelling and carbon accounting, as well as assisting with various consultancy projects including GHG audits, menu calculators, and assessment frameworks. Alex is nearing the end of his PhD in partnership with SWC and the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation. He is working on developing a global, multiregional EEIO model to help companies better assess their scope 3 emissions.
Mira Kracke
Research Assistant
Mira began her academic journey with a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany before venturing to the UK to earn an MSc in climate justice from Glasgow Caledonian University. Her professional journey included a research assistant role at Urgewald's China Desk, where she focused on climate and resettlement impacts of international development projects. Mira’s passion for driving positive change has now brought her to Small World Consulting, where she continues her mission of advancing climate justice.
Diana Mezanec
Associate Consultant
Diana has a background in Health Sciences, Geography, and Environmental Management and is currently pursuing a Master’s by Research Innovation where she is developing a life cycle assessment for digital-out-of-home display screens with the aims to reduce carbon emissions. During her studies, Diana has worked on various research projects, and while her interests span across multiple disciplines, she is excited to contribute her efforts to sustainability at Small World Consulting, utilising research, carbon management, and big picture thinking.
Jenny Lyon
Office Manager
Jenny worked as a translator (French to English) and proofreader from 2009, and has long been attentive to environmental issues. A wish to work on more climate-friendly subject matter led her to study an MSc in Sustainable Energy at CAT, Machynlleth (Wales). After graduating in 2020 she worked for a local sustainability charity, helping Cumbrian householders to improve their home energy efficiency. She has a keen interest in restoring nature’s “lost” habitat and encouraging uptake of low-carbon transport. Jenny helps with the administrative running of Small World, and supports the team with day-to-day operations.
Charlie Westney
Communications and Marketing Lead
Charlie's passion is making complex environmental issues easy for others to understand. She has a BSc in Ecology and a PGDip in Interpretation. Her lifelong fascination with the natural world has led her to roles with Nature magazine, the UK National Parks and Friends of the Earth. Having worked across various digital channels, she now relishes strategic communications planning. At Small World, she’s leading on communicating what we do, why we're unique, and why organisations should work with us to help them deliver the real changes the planet needs.
Dr Gary White
Associate Consultant
Gary has over 30 years practical experience in developing and delivering programmes of work that build local capacity and support low carbon solutions-based thinking. With a PhD in Marine Ecology, his experience includes the energy sector, sustainable construction and low carbon building design, life-cycle assessment, community capacity building and applied research and education. Gary is an Associate Lecturer in Energy Transition and Environmental Regulation at the Dept of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen.
Gwen Harrison
Associate Consultant
Gwen is an independent climate change and sustainability consultant with nearly 20 years’ experience. She has worked with private, public and third sector organisations on projects covering a wide range of topics including low carbon energy, buildings, communities, land management and food systems. She has an MSc in Carbon Management from the University of Glasgow, and an earlier MSc in Petroleum Geology from Imperial College. She has worked with SWC on numerous carbon footprinting and sustainability projects over the last 8 years.
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