The Team
Dr Daniel Tormey
Ph.D., P.G
Dr. Dan Tormey is an international expert in strategic planning, clean energy, water resources, land management and environmental policy with over 25 years of experience including several years working in Australia on these issues.
He has a PhD from MIT in geochemistry and geology and a bachelors degree in civil engineering and geology from Stanford. For the City of Los Angeles, Dan is supporting the Comprehensive Plastics Reduction Program. His team successfully gained approval of 4 major plastics reduction projects and is now developing the technical basis for the entire program, to be completed in 2024.
In these projects Dan provides not just technical skills, but multi-criteria decision analysis for the team, leading education and outreach planning and content development, and providing high-level guidance of the pros and cons of different plastic items considered for bans or controls, and types of recycling and reuse options for developing a green economy within the City, with an emphasis on 100% diversion of waste going to landfills.
For a major native American tribe, Dr. Tormey is overseeing the operation and development of a facility that regenerates spent activated carbon through a process very similar to pyrolysis. Clients turn to Dan for creative and reliable solutions to their most challenging environmental problems, and he has successfully completed many first-of-their-kind clean energy projects and special studies for complex assignments. He is unusually multi-disciplinary in his approaches and advice.
Dr. Tormey’s experience allows him to rapidly benchmark global best practices on numerous environmental issues.
He has advised governments in China, Australia, western Europe, and several African countries on climate change adaptation and conservation of lands and waters, primarily through his affiliation with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a UNESCO advisory body. He led a major Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan development process in the Lake Tahoe Basin, which included 2 states, numerous communities and NGOs, and the public. Dan’s technical expertise and communication style led to a successful development of the scientific basis for the adaptation planning and facilitated meetings and workshops.
His work includes a keen awareness of Environmental Justice and work with disadvantaged communities, regional planning, and adaptation to climate change. He has served as a technical expert in state and federal court, including testimony in Federal Court on questions related to environmental takings in water supply and sustainable yield coastal erosion, and testimony in state court on contaminant assessment, fate and transport, risk assessment and remediation.
Other litigation and testimony have included water quality and quantity, water rights, and Endangered Species Act issues. Dan has also led environmental analysis and technical support for the City of Los Angeles’ Enhanced Watershed Management Plan; supporting 100% Reuse of Recycled Water; and projects leading to a program called Safe, Clean Water.
Michael Chessells
Michael Chessells is an environmental professional with 35 years’ experience facilitating industrial and infrastructure projects progress from concept through design, approvals and delivery. He specialises in system integration at the project interface by translating environmental risk and regulatory requirements into clear engineering actions, coordinated work packages and decision-ready documentation.
Across his career, Michael has directed multi-disciplinary teams and sub-consultants, provided senior peer review across most environmental sub-disciplines, and led stakeholder and regulator engagement at all levels. He has held senior roles including Operations Manager (Western Australia), Technical Director, Sector Leader (Environment), and National Discipline Leader for Environment within a major engineering consultancy which required a strong understanding of how environmental, engineering and delivery constraints interact on real projects.
Michael’s technical work includes environmental impact assessment and approvals, environmental management systems and audits, water management planning, and incident/spill response coordination where serious environmental harm could occur. He is also recognised for commercial discipline by delivering assignments on time and on budget, and building and leading teams and businesses in consulting environments.
Richard Bingham
Richard Bingham is an engineering and industrial process executive with more than three decades of experience in thermal equipment, furnace systems and related process plant. He has held senior roles including Group Director at Prestige Thermal Energy and Technotherm, as well as earlier management and engineering roles with Efco Furnaces in South Africa and the UK. His experience spans project engineering, procurement, site installation, commissioning, contract management and business leadership.
His project background includes work across furnace and heat-treatment systems, pyrolyzers, waste to energy applications, gas trains, condensers, scrubbers, vacuum installations, autoclaves, dryers, and associated controls and ancillary systems. He also has experience across industries including metals, chemicals, catalyst processing, waste treatment and broader industrial thermal applications in multiple countries. In the Carbon Circularity / Pilbara Circularity context, his background is practical thermal process design, equipment development, installation and commissioning experience.
Cameron Keane
Cameron Keane is an entrepreneur and business leader with a strong track record of identifying opportunities, solving complex challenges, and bringing together the right people to execute high-impact ventures. His background spans multiple industries, where he has consistently demonstrated an ability to turn concepts into commercially viable businesses.
At Carbon Circularity, Cameron plays a key role in driving strategic direction, partnerships, and project development. He is particularly focused on advancing innovative solutions within the circular economy, including large-scale waste-to-resource initiatives across mining, plastics, and industrial sectors.
Known for his practical mindset and deal-making ability, Cameron excels at connecting stakeholders, structuring opportunities, and navigating projects from concept through to execution. His leadership is centred on creating scalable, commercially sustainable solutions that deliver both environmental and economic value.