Donald Henry

Professor Donald Henry AM is the Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism at the University of Melbourne, with affiliations to the Melbourne School of Design and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. He assumed this role in 2014, drawing on a distinguished career in environmental leadership. Prior to joining the university, Henry served as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 1998 to 2014, where he spearheaded national efforts on conservation, climate change mitigation, and sustainable policy reform. Earlier, he directed the Global Forests Program at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington DC, collaborating with the World Bank to protect 250 million hectares of the world's forests. His professional journey began in the 1980s with environmental campaigning in Queensland, establishing him as a key figure in bridging non-governmental organizations, governments, and international bodies.

At the University of Melbourne, Henry's academic interests center on environmentalism, with a particular emphasis on climate change impacts, emissions reduction strategies, international climate agreements such as the Paris Accord and COP negotiations, and sustainable urban planning. He has contributed scholarly insights and articles to Pursuit on critical topics, including Melbourne's contributions to global climate action, Victorian state leadership on emissions targets, climate vulnerabilities in the Philippines, India's renewable energy transition plans, and the implications of U.S. policy shifts under the Trump administration. Henry is a member of the cross-faculty working group at the Melbourne Biodiversity Institute and works closely with the Centre for Sustainability and Business at Melbourne Business School, advising major corporations like BHP and NAB on low-carbon transitions, scenario analysis, and integrating sustainability into core business strategies. He also serves on the international board of Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, directing its Australian operations and conducting training workshops on climate science. In recognition of his impactful work in protecting Australia's environment and native wildlife, he was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2018. Through public lectures, committee roles, and partnerships, Henry fosters collaboration between academia, business, and communities to drive effective climate policy in the Asia-Pacific region.