Mrs. Mardi McBrien is Senior Director, Enhancing Transparency, Corporate Performance & Accountability (CP&A) at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), based in London, United Kingdom. Mardi joined WBCSD in July 2025.
At WBCSD, Mardi leads the Enhancing Transparency Track, a key initiative that supports members in navigating complex regulatory developments, delivering transparent and decision-useful reporting, and fostering long-term value creation.
Mardi brings a wealth of expertise with over 15 years of leadership in sustainability disclosure and reporting. Most recently, she served as the Chief of Strategic Affairs and Capacity Building at the IFRS Foundation. In this role, she was involved in the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board and directed various capacity-building initiatives. Previously, she led the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) for over a decade. As Managing Director of the CDSB, she was instrumental in developing the inaugural global framework for investor-focused climate and sustainability reporting, contributing significantly to initiatives like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Mardi’s work has been widely recognized. In 2024, she was named Environmental Finance’s Sustainability Thought Leader of the Year for the EMEA region. She also featured in the ESG Foundation’s “Ones to Watch” list in 2021 and received the UK Environmental Campaigner of the Year award from the Sheila McKechnie Foundation in 2013.
Over the course of her career, she has participated in numerous sector-based working groups such as the UK’s Transition Pathway Taskforce Steering Group, the Corporate Reporting Dialogue, the IIRC and GRI Stakeholder Councils. She has completed the Financial Times Non-Executive Director qualification (master equivalent) in 2019/2020, as well as UK charity governance training. She is also an active member of the Women on Boards and Chapter Zero networks in the UK.
Mardi started her career as a Forester in Australia. Mardi holds a Bachelor of Forest Science & Bachelor of Environmental Science, Agroforestry, hydrology, politics, risk management from the University of Melbourne and MSc in Agricultural Economics & Development from SOAS University of London.
Mardi currently holds the following Advisory and Board positions:
· XBRL, Vice Chair, International Board of Directors.
· ICAEW Sustainability Committee Member.
· AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard v3 Working Group Member.
· Standards & Integrity Committee, Accounting for Nature.
· Vice Chair Governors, Riverside Primary School, London.
· Fellow, The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
· Founding Board member of WOCAN – Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management / W+ Standard.