Rebecca Heaton
Biography
Rebecca Heaton has held leading sustainability roles in major UK corporations, embedding sustainability into business strategy, and overseeing compliance, reporting and auditing. She has a BSc and PhD in Forestry, bringing deep specialist expertise in this area, and has been recognised with honorary degrees from Bangor and Loughborough for her contributions to climate change policy and corporate sustainability.
She sat on the UK Climate Change Committee from 2017 to 2021, advising the government to set a net zero target for 2050. She also served on the Natural Environment Research Council from 2020 to 2024.
Forestry Commissioner
Forestry Commissioners have a number of specific statutory duties and powers, summarised in the Forestry Act as:
- promoting the interests of forestry
- the development of afforestation
- the production and supply of timber and other forest products
In practice, these mainly relate to providing incentives (grants), regulation though controls on felling, plant health issues and managing the public forest estate.
The Commissioners have a legal duty to seek a reasonable balance between the production and supply of timber and the interests of conservation. In promoting the multiple benefits of forestry, they also seek to take careful account of people’s needs and wishes, including local communities.