At IIED Richard contributed to the publication which first brought the term ‘sustainable development’ into the public sphere. The 1980 World Conservation Strategy report, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, was one of the earliest global blueprints for the conservation of Earth’s living resources.The concept of sustainable development would go on to enter the global discourse in 1987, when the famous Brundtland Report came out – which Richard also helped to draft.