1. Can you introduce yourself and explain how sustainability became a core part of your life?
I’m an accidental environmentalist turned full-time impact builder. I spent over two and a half decades in the UAE growing companies and helping leaders design people strategies. But at some point, I found myself asking: What’s the point of building successful businesses if the planet’s failing?
That’s when The Storey Group shifted from being a “people advisory” into a “people, planet, and prosperity” change makers. We now spearhead tree-planting campaigns, support sustainable infrastructure, bamboo-to-energy, biomass plants, coral restoration efforts, and design impact strategies that tie back to real lives and real ecosystems. I see sustainability not just as a responsibility, but a legacy.
I am fortunate to now also sit on the board and have invested in some promising climate and purpose driven start-ups.
- Vidacentric, a health tech startup democratising access to healthcare for the global majority.
- AAKASH GREEN, turning bamboo to renewable energy and bio-fuels.
- Truefootprint: Supporting smallholder farmer transition to regenerative agriculture and support EUDR compliance.
- I also advise UTILI-Trees, a first-of-a-kind renewables company aiming to unlock low-cost, off-grid renewable energy access for remote and underserved areas and support the transition to E-SAF and other exciting sectors.
2. How do you keep yourself updated on the latest developments in climate and sustainability?
I stay plugged in across multiple layers, reading credible reports and briefings, but also listening to smallholder farmers in Kenya, marine biologists in the UAE, and passionate founders launching net-zero-solutions. Our advisory team also works hand-in-hand with regulators and clients to stay ahead of local requirements like the UAE’s net zero policies and evolving frameworks around high-integrity offsets and nature-based solutions.
3. Which Sustainable Development Goal do you resonate with the most, and why?
It has to be SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. No one actor, sector, or solution is going to fix this alone. Our power lies in collaboration, in finding strange bedfellows and surprising synergies. Whether it’s governments, startups, or school kids planting mangroves, the magic happens when we align around a shared vision.
That said, SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) are where most of our work directly contributes, especially through our One Billion Trees Initiative in partnership with EcoMatcher and coral ecosystem regeneration work in the UAE.
4. What are your thoughts on climate change and the four key categories of individual emissions? How do you calculate your own emissions?
The reality is sobering: individual action matters, but it’s systems change that shifts the needle. That said, I try to keep my personal footprint honest, using tools and Carbon Calculators, I track travel, food, energy, and water consumption. I try to drive less, buy consciously, eat more local plant-based where I can (though I still love a good grass fed steak!), and reuse and upcycle as much as possible.
5. What innovations or unique practices have you introduced in your daily life to reduce your footprint?
Using a Carbon Calculator means I know pretty well what my foot print is then I offset first with trees. I have and continue to make small changes too:
– Using refillable filtered water and bottles via our partnership with Sprudel
– Car pool where-ever possible whether that’s team meetings, get-togethers, and emirate to emirate commutes.
– I have created outdoor and indoor spaces using upcycled wooden pallets and preloved items destined for landfill throughout my home. 70% of everything in my home (bar technology and some clothes) are second-hand or pre-loved.
I’m currently trying to test out and find replacements for all the cleaning products to reduce waste and currently loving The Botanist brand and range. Ive also started home composting.
6. In what ways do you balance sustainability with your personal or professional goals?
For me, there’s no divide. Sustainability is the professional goal, and the personal one. My team knows we measure success in carbon, in communities, and in conversations sparked. I also give myself grace. Sustainability isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being persistent.
I on a journey of eating not processed food and have totally reshaped how I shop, consume and think about health. That’s an ongoing process but is definitely better for me and better for the planet.
7. Could you share a particularly challenging moment in your sustainability journey and how you overcame it?
Like many others, the COVID-19 pandemic was a defining moment and a challenge for us. Practically overnight, our projects slowed to a crawl, funding pipelines dried up or were redirected, and it became difficult to keep the flow of resources going where they were needed the most. On top of that, our people advisory consultancy work, which heavily relied on face-to-face team engagements and facilitation came to a sudden halt.
It was a difficult and uncertain time, but we stayed the course. We pivoted quickly, embracing virtual engagement and developing new formats that could deliver value from a distance. We restructured our support models and started offering more agile, digital-first sustainability services. While the shift was challenging, it ultimately made us stronger and more resilient.
Sometimes, taking a pause, whether forced or chosen gives you the space to rethink, refocus, and innovate. In hindsight, that period helped us evolve into a more adaptable, impact-driven business. We’ve built steadily ever since, delivering year-on-year results that speak to both perseverance and purpose.
8. What causes are you most passionate about, and how do you contribute to them?
- Nature restoration: From mangroves to bamboo to coral and regenerative aquaculture projects, we’re investing in regeneration globally.
- Health equity: Through my investment in and work with Vidacentric, we’re pushing for more inclusive access to preventative and predictive healthcare.
- Uplifting Livelihoods For The Global Majority – my work with Truefootprint is looking to support 100 million small holder farmers move to regenerative agriculture and meet EUDR compliance.
- Energy access: Supporting FOAK solutions like UTILI-Trees that tackle energy access while showing positive impacts on e-SAF and key energy transition sectors.
- Climate compliance: Helping companies transition from pledges to credible actions, including high-integrity offsets and biodiversity metrics.
9. How do you involve your friends, family, or community in your efforts?
They get pulled in, whether they like it or not! From planting trees to picking up beach plastic to joining our community events, it’s all hands on deck. My friend’s son recently tracked “his” trees I gifted for his birthday on EcoMatcher and gave one to his teacher as an end-of-year gift that melted my heart. A lot of trees now get gifted in my family!
10. What new sustainability goals do you have in mind for the future?
- Strengthen partnerships across the GCC to deliver large-scale restoration at pace.
- Broaden client support to embed net-zero strategies into operational and investment decisions.
- Help family offices and corporates access credible offsets and nature credits with my partnership with Earth Exchange in the UAE
- Expand our presence in Saudi Arabia this year in alignment with the Saudi Green Initiative.
- Accelerate the deployment of Susteco Technologies across key sectors, including oil-produced water, soil remediation, regenerative aquaculture, and biochar production for land and carbon restoration.
- Stop watching too much main stream media as I find the rhetoric and the noise both distracting and disheartening.