Kaya Axelsson
Director of Impact
Profile
Kaya Axelsson is Director of Impact at Oxford Net Zero, where she leads work to translate research into policy, standards and real-world action. Her work focuses on the governance of net zero and how organisations can drive the wider systems change needed to achieve global climate goals.
Kaya plays a leading role in shaping international standards for corporate climate action. She was a lead technical author of the ISO Net Zero Guidelines and led development of the seed draft for ISO 14060, Net Zero Aligned Organisations. She continues to contribute to ISO 14060 and the Science Based Targets initiative’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard.
Alongside her role at Oxford, Kaya is Chief Strategic Officer of Race to Deliver, the next phase of the UN-backed Race to Zero, focused on moving the global net zero community from commitment to implementation and systems change.
Her research explores the evolving governance of corporate climate action, including how companies can influence markets, policy, innovation and value chains. She was a lead author in the Spheres of Influence framework as to how companies can leverage their impact for global climate outcomes, and of the Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting.
With more than 15 years of experience in social and environmental sustainability, Kaya has an served Oxford as an expert convener, bringing people and organisations together to translate ambitious ideas and rigorous research into meaningful impact.
Kaya contributes regularly to media on net zero governance with recent expert comments in Forbes, the Financial Times, the Guardian and a BBC One panorama documentary on carbon markets.
