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dr. Helen Kopnina
dr. Helen Kopnina
Helen holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (2002) and leads the Sustainable Business program at Northumbria University, where she integrates research with impactful teaching. Her work focuses on environmental education, linking biodiversity to business through inter- and transdisciplinary approaches spanning education sciences, natural sciences, and management. With a Scopus H-index of 54 and several articles exceeding 800 citations, her research, particularly critiques of Education for Sustainable Development and ecopedagogy, has shaped curricula and pedagogical strategies across institutions. She coordinates funding bids, provides consultancy for businesses and NGOs, and serves on scientific committees including the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management. She coordinate funding bids, provides consultancy services for businesses and NGOs, and participates in scientific committees and a Commission on Ecosystem Management of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).Northumbria UniversityNewcastle Business School CCE1NE1 8ST Newcastle upon Tyne, UK email helen.kopnina@northumbria.ac.ukTelephone: +31-645585957 Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.nl/citations?user=pE0rWdgAAAAJ&hl=nlORCID-iD: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7617-2288Scopus author ID: 11541014500Web of Science ResearcherID: C-2997-2013LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
dr. Helen Toxopeus
dr. Helen Toxopeus
Dr. Helen Toxopeus is an associate professor of Business & Sustainability at Utrecht University School of Economics and board member at the Sustainable Finance Lab, a Dutch academic thinktank. She holds a PhD on financing sustainable innovation from Erasmus University Rotterdam and has a background in the financial sector. Her research is at the crossroads of business, finance and sustainability, with a strong empirical grounding on business models and financing for urban nature-based solutions.
She has lead roles in large consortium projects (e.g. NATURESCAPES, ReGeNl) to realize synergies between research and impact, often in empirical contexts on nature-based, place-based sustainability transitions. She has published in Research Policy, Small Business Economics, Business Strategy & the Environment, Landscape & Urban Planning, Global Environmental Change, Journal of Environmental Management, Environmental Science & Policy, Nature-based Solutions, Nature Scientific Reports and Cities, among other journals.
In 2026 she received the Agnites Vrolik Award at Utrecht University, for the impact that she realizes through her research on financing urban nature while working with local, national and global actors.
Justice in urban nature financing
Abstract:In this keynote, dr. Helen Toxopeus will draw on her urban nature research to draw out key tensions and insights regarding the interplay between financing and justice in urban nature-based solutions (NBS). In the face of insufficient public financing for urban nature, calls are abound for covering this ‘funding gap’ through private actor resources. However, increasing attention is paid to the fact that such hybrid funding also affect long-term (including justice) outcomes, incurring structural changes in governance - rearranging decision-making powers, responsibilities and risks. In-depth case study work suggests approaches to secure justice outcomes while drawing in private actors into urban nature implementation and maintenance. Finally, looking beyond public-private (hybrid) funding arrangements unravels a more diverse set of potential funding arrangements across public, private and civic actors, with diverse consequences for justice outcomes.
She has lead roles in large consortium projects (e.g. NATURESCAPES, ReGeNl) to realize synergies between research and impact, often in empirical contexts on nature-based, place-based sustainability transitions. She has published in Research Policy, Small Business Economics, Business Strategy & the Environment, Landscape & Urban Planning, Global Environmental Change, Journal of Environmental Management, Environmental Science & Policy, Nature-based Solutions, Nature Scientific Reports and Cities, among other journals.
In 2026 she received the Agnites Vrolik Award at Utrecht University, for the impact that she realizes through her research on financing urban nature while working with local, national and global actors.
Justice in urban nature financing
Abstract:In this keynote, dr. Helen Toxopeus will draw on her urban nature research to draw out key tensions and insights regarding the interplay between financing and justice in urban nature-based solutions (NBS). In the face of insufficient public financing for urban nature, calls are abound for covering this ‘funding gap’ through private actor resources. However, increasing attention is paid to the fact that such hybrid funding also affect long-term (including justice) outcomes, incurring structural changes in governance - rearranging decision-making powers, responsibilities and risks. In-depth case study work suggests approaches to secure justice outcomes while drawing in private actors into urban nature implementation and maintenance. Finally, looking beyond public-private (hybrid) funding arrangements unravels a more diverse set of potential funding arrangements across public, private and civic actors, with diverse consequences for justice outcomes.
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