“This is a place where sustainability and business seamlessly come together”
- Helen Godwin, the New Mayor of the West of England
At this year’s Festival of Sustainable Business, Helen Godwin joined other regional green business and public sector leaders in calling for rapid and coordinated decarbonisation across the South West, highlighting its potential to act as a motor for growth.
Opening the Festival, Helen noted: “From advanced manufacturing to green tech – innovation is being pioneered all over the West of England. We need the pathways into greener jobs to support this sector to grow, and are working with colleges, training providers and employers to get this right, committing to a regional green skills academy for the region.”
Sessions throughout the day highlighted how decarbonisation acts as a driver of innovation, from using seaweed to replace fossil fuel packaging, to creating more comfortable and healthier homes with retrofit solutions.
"Conversations today highlighted that despite political headwinds, there are bright spots all around the region. By bringing organisations together to learn and be inspired by each other, we can connect up these sparks of innovation and galvanise action – irrespective of sector and business size.”
The challenges and opportunities of the energy transition were highlighted by Ecotricity, who also sponsored the event, noting that businesses can take concrete action to reduce their environmental impact by switching to a renewable energy tariff.
Paul Bowtell, Ecotricity’s Senior Manager – Sustainability, said: “Businesses know they need to get to net zero, but understandably need help with the how. We want to show that this journey is achievable for all, even small business, and support them along the way.”
Retrofit was also a key topic throughout the two-day Festival, with Retrofit West announcing their Green Construction Training Grants which enable construction businesses to meet demand for domestic energy upgrades.
Simon Andrews, Managing Director of Retrofit West, highlighted: “Retrofitting is a crucial tool in the fight against climate change, benefitting the community, reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, creating local jobs, and improving the health and well-being of residents. It also represents a key business opportunity, to support the extensive supply chain needed across the South West.”
The two-day event spanned a paid-for Conference and free-to-attend Exhibition, including a Construction Talks Stage, Climate Play workshops and 1:2:1 Consultancy sessions. Talks covered key topics such as access to funding, innovations and technologies reshaping industries, retrofit, the future of energy and the power of storytelling, and over 35 solutions providers exhibited to attendees.
The need for action was brought to life during the Opening Ceremony. Children from May Park Primary in Easton joined the stage to challenge businesses to listen to future generations and engage with their ideas, thanks to Future Leap’s non-profit partnership with Green Schools Project.
Future Leap Consulting led a number of workshops on understanding carbon jargon, communicating climate action and practical steps to decarbonisation.
The Weston Stage also featured workshops on avoiding greenwashing with Ambitious PR and Burges Salmon, navigating the ESG backlash with a diverse panel of contributors and on leading change in sustainability with the University of Bath School of Management and the Women in Sustainability Network.
Interactive, thought-provoking and imaginative sessions were led by Climate Play.
