Fantastic to have hosted our 2nd annual Climate Leaders Forum at the UK House of Lords this week, alongside David Over.
Ahead of COP16 and COP29, we brought together a range of sustainability leaders, climate tech founders, industry bodies, policy makers and journalists to focus on sustainability implementation and the levers that we need to push and pull to effectively achieve net zero.
We were first joined by Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, who set the context for the current state of the world, with a solid dose of realism, followed by optimism on the ever increasing efficiencies and downward cost curves across solar panels and battery developments, and how we have had a decade long revolution of technological possibility.
It was brilliant to then hear from Hannah Jones, CEO of the The Earthshot Prize and long term sustainability leader and Founder of Volans, John Elkington. They emphasised the evolution of corporate sustainability from compliance to a strategic imperative. There was specific emphasis on data-driven decision-making, storytelling and how sustainability should be integrated into roles of the entire leadership team.
Our roundtable discussion explored 11 different topics pertaining to sustainability leadership. This included:
📏 Measuring and Reporting Impact, Chaired by Ben Knight (MIEMA, CEnv), Leonardo
⚡ Navigating Energy Policy, Chaired by Alyssa Gilbert, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment
♻️ Circular Economy, Chaired by Ben Dixon, Systemiq Ltd.
🌳 Nature and Biodiversity, Chaired by Jenny Poulter, Volans
🚀 Innovating and Scaling Solutions, Chaired by George Darrah, Systemiq Capital
🌍 Carbon Markets, Chaired by Joe Cruttwell, Patch
🫂 Stakeholder Engagement, Chaired by Elizabeth Corse, DisCom
⚙️ Supply Chain Sustainability, Chaired by Mark Hodgson, Earthbase
💰 Sustainable Finance, Chaired by Tony Greenham, British Business Bank
📈 Navigating Shareholder Pressure, Chaired by Georgia Stewart, tumelo
🛰️ The Responsibility of Technology, Chaired by Sophia Kesteven, Tech Zero
We heard about the Crown Commercial Service’s work on Government procurement for net zero and the leading work they are doing with CSOs, from Joe Tilley.
We concluded with Brennan Spellacy, CEO and Co-Founder of Patch and Helen Avery, Director at the Green Finance Institute, covering the intricacies of the carbon removal market and the importance of transparency and quality assurance to restore trust. A common thread though-out the event was the emphasis and mechanisms at hand to protect and restore nature.
A huge thank you to Patch, Systemiq Ltd. and Systemiq Capital for supporting the event, and to the London Tech Week and Tech Nation team, Freddie Slade, Brad Mulvey, Ailsa Taylor Mealings and Marianne Hoemke.
We will be publishing a report, following this event soon.