Our Founder
Kate Hutchinson is a 32-year-old female entrepreneur based in Leeds, leading one of the UK’s most dynamic communities for sustainability, regeneration, and inclusive economic growth. With over 10 years of experience in building and supporting business communities, Kate saw an opportunity to support the growing green economy back in 2022 and promptly started to build The Sustainability Community.
Her vision for TSC started as a festival of events in Yorkshire, with a belief that if we celebrated the journey of sustainability, more people would be attracted to the possibilities available through the growing green economy, accelerating the transition. This quickly took off, and has now become a programme of national events bringing together leaders from across the public and private sector to share knowledge, connect and grow the green economy.
Kate grew up in post-industrial Barnsley in the 1990s and 2000s — a world far removed from climate summits and ESG strategy. That upbringing shaped her belief that the green transition must work for everyone — not just for the privileged few. It’s this belief that fuels her work and resonates powerfully in her speaking engagements.
The membership business she has created brings together leaders across business, government, and communities to accelerate sustainability — not just in theory, but in practice. She also collaborates closely with combined authorities, corporates, and grassroots change-makers on their strategies, networks and ambitions to drive real-world impact.
Speaking Opportunities
Kate speaks with warmth, clarity, and conviction. Her sessions combine personal storytelling with strategic insight, leaving audiences informed, energised, and inspired to act. As a young female entrepreneur in the sustainability sector, Kate brings a fresh perspective on leadership and growth. She champions diversity as a driver of innovation, ensuring that different voices and experiences are part of shaping the green economy.
Kate regularly speaks at national conferences, corporate events, team away days, and community gatherings.
Popular topics include:
Selling Sustainability to the Masses
Making the green economy relevant through stories of jobs, pride, and economic renewal.What Post-Industrial Towns Like Barnsley Can Teach the Green Movement
A personal journey from a daughter of Yorkshire to national sustainability leader — and why post-industrial Britain holds the key to a just transition.How to Build a Movement
Lessons from scaling a national ecosystem of sustainability leaders, events, and partnerships.Women in Sustainability Leadership
A candid look at confidence, negotiation, mindset, and purpose-led leadership.Why Sustainability Should Be a Business Priority
How to embed ESG into core strategy, win hearts and minds, and drive stakeholder engagement.
Kate has spoken for me at a number of our events, and delivers with confidence, warmth and passion. She possesses that rare and rather magical ability to capture and engage an audience, whatever topic she is covering. She is authentic and where appropriate, very witty. She made my audience laugh more than once! Any event professional will understand how vital it is to have that level of confidence in your speaker, and Kate can certainly deliver. Not only does she hold and own a room, as an event professional herself, she brings exceptional attention to detail, taking on board and understanding any messages or mentions needed. When she hosted our business growth gathering event, she worked with me to develop her speaker brief making sure everything was perfect, timed to the second and we had every aspect covered. She hosted a 6-hour event from start to end effortlessly, maintaining her polish and professionalism throughout. I would highly recommend Kate for your speaking engagements.
Daneile Moore, Marketing Manager at AD:Venture
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