CHAIR
Betsan Powys, Political Editor, BBC Wales
Betsan Powys has been the Political Editor for BBC Wales since September 2006 and is responsible for the corporation's daily political output. As one commentator told her recently: "It was tedious for seven years, then I left, you came along and look what happened!"

It has been an exciting period for politics in Wales and Betsan has the daily challenge of developing how the story of Welsh politics is told to people in Wales and beyond.

SPEAKERS
Morgan Parry, Head of WWF Cymru
Morgan Parry is Head of WWF Cymru. Previously he was Director of the North Wales Wildlife Trust, and for 10 years managed country parks, nature reserves, visitor attractions and cycleroutes for Gwynedd County Council. Morgan was a Board Member of Friends of the Earth from 1986-89, and a member of the Environment Agency's North Wales Area Committee 1998-2000. He has served on a number of Welsh Assembly Government advisory committees and working groups, including the Environment Strategy Reference Group and the Cross-sector Climate Change Group. He is a regular contributor to TV and radio programmes on the environment, and is Chair of Cynnal Cymru/Sustain Wales, the Sustainable Development Forum for Wales.

Joe Ravetz, Co - Director of Centre for Urban Ecology, University of Manchester
Joe Ravetz is a Research Fellow in Planning and Landscape. He is a chartered architect with interests and experience in regional planning, economic development, environmental management and community regeneration. He is the co-ordinator of the 'Sustainable City-Region' programme, a partnership between the Town and Country Planning Association, public sector and academic community in the North West. Joe Ravetz is also working on the Economic and Social Research Council's 'Global Sustainability' programme. He has been actively involved in the European Commission's DG12 Integrated Visions project.

To see Joe's speech please click here

Dyfrig James, Regional President for Northern and Central Europe, Lafarge
Dyfrig James is Regional President for Northern and Central Europe for Lafarge's Aggregates & Concrete business. This region includes the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, Russia as well as Baltic and Scandinavian countries. He is also a member of Lafarge's Aggregate and Concrete Division's Global Executive Committee which has a turnover of €5.4bn and is present in 27 countries. He is also a Director of Lafarge University.

He is a firm advocate of improving health and safety standards and a fundamental believer in the industry being part of the solution of a sustainable world.
Dyfrig is a Welsh speaker who hails from West Wales.

To see Dyfrig's speech please click here

Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing
Jane Davidson is the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing for the Welsh Assembly Government. She has a particular responsibility for climate change, sustainable development, the environment, energy, housing and planning.
She was appointed to the Environment, Sustainability and Housing portfolio in July, 2007 and was previously the Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning & Skills.

Climate change will be an integral part of the portfolio and the Minister is keen that it is a focus for the work of all parts of the department. One of the critical issues facing Wales is tackling waste, and this will feature in the legislation of the first year of the new government.

To read the Miniter's speech please click here

PANELLISTS
Mark North, Head of Sustainability & Public Affairs, Lafarge
Mark graduated in Geology from Sheffield University in 1980 and immediately joined Anglo-American/DeBeers as a Diamond Exploration Geologist, working in Namibia and South Africa. In 1984 he returned to the UK to work in the private coal sector in the North East of England and in 1987 joined Redland Aggregates Limited now Lafarge Aggregates Limited. Prior to his appointment to the Head of Sustainability & Public Affairs in March 2007, Mark was the National Planning & Estates Manager responsible for all land, and planning matters and specifically the identification and the permitting of new mineral resources. Mark is a Fellow of the Geological Society, is married with 2 sons and lives in Cambridgeshire.

Andy Middleton, Chief Executive, The TYF Group. Director, Pembroke
Andy works as a facilitator, speaker and creative spark with public and private organisations worldwide to help them draw together social responsibility, leadership and common sense into sustainable solutions that make a practical difference. His experiences as founder and CEO of the award-winning TYF Group have taught him much about systems, change and leadership to give delegates and audiences a powerful and potent mix of reference points and questions that stimulate deep levels of learning and insight. Recent Welsh clients include WAG, CCW, SA Brains, Sony, 3M and local government. Andy lives in St Davids, Pembrokeshire where he's building a zero carbon eco house on the coast with his adventurous family.

Matthew Quinn, Acting Director of the Welsh Assembly Government's new Department of Environment, Sustainability and Housing
Matthew came to Wales in 1998 to set up the Assembly Government's first Policy Unit, subsequently leading on drawing up the strategic agenda, Wales: A Better Country; the Sustainable Development Scheme and Wales Spatial Plan, and revamping corporate policy-making processes. In June 2006 he moved to head up Environment: Protection and Quality division.