Digitalization and sustainability

Recorded: 7 July 2022 (11.30 – 13.00 UK time)

What’s this webinar about?

A major reason why companies should increase their focus on sustainability is to achieve future competitiveness, yet only about one third of leading organizations have adopted digitalization solutions that enable improved decision-making processes to help them achieve sustainability goals. This webinar will examine why embracing technology, digital solutions and standardization as part of a well-planned and executed sustainability strategy at all levels will lead to better results.

Who should attend the webinar?

• Anyone within the digital and sustainability sector

What will participants gain?

• Some insights into the relationship between sustainability and competitiveness
• How digital solutions can contribute to safe and sustainable operations
• Information on the standards that underpin successful digitalization
• Ideas and leads on how to develop digitalization-based sustainability strategies
• A post-event copy of all presentations and a recording of the webinar

In his role, David sits at the interface between advanced digital technologies and industrial adopters to provide real business impact. David’s focus at Digital Catapult is around supporting industry in making their activities more sustainable, designing for a circular economy and the development of innovative new business models to transform the way the UK industry operates.

David is passionate about using digital technologies to enable positive environmental and social impact and leads Digital Catapult’s Industrial Net Zero Innovation Centre (INZIC), with a focus on supporting the UK Government’s goal of reaching Net Zero by 2050.

David has a PhD from University College London and a degree in chemistry from the University of Surrey.

Dr Maria Nelson in an innovation leader passionate about fostering purposeful collaborations between bright minds from industry, startups and academia. Maria is Head of Innovation and Sustainability at the Aerospace Technology Institute, the UK's leading centre for aerospace research.

Before joining the ATI to build a new innovation function, Maria was Director of Innovation Practice at Digital Catapult, where she and her team delivered a portfolio of deep tech innovation and acceleration programmes for industry leaders and startups. Maria was previously Innovation Programme Manager at Cisco and has a background in strategic communications as well as academia and publishing.

Maria believes that game changing innovation can thrive where three intentions combine: to address real-world problems (especially the wicked ones), to turn high ambitions into tangible reality, and to believe in your direction of travel while taking one step at a time.

David Cuckow is responsible for the UK’s National Standards Body (NSB) global strategy on all things digital, supporting cross-sector industries and government stakeholders to innovate by accelerating the adoption of digital technologies, identifying and codifying best practice in order to transform and improve business, process and culture for both social and economic benefit. Previous roles include Director and leadership positions at SAS, CA, Nortel, Alcatel and Racal.

Sebastiaan has over 15 years of experience within the low carbon industry, working on key policies and initiatives such as the Energy Company Obligation, The Green Deal, Warm Home Discount and the Smart Meter roll-out, collaborating with government and regulators to deliver these policies. 

His career includes senior positions at British Gas, OVO Energy, EDF Energy and VINCI Construction as well as working with rapidly growing start-ups in the low carbon industry. 

He is currently the Associate Director of Energy with the British Standards Institution and engages with key stakeholders from government, industry and NGOs to define BSI's strategy for market-driven best-practice solutions on a range of topics and initiatives including; enabling the transition to Net-Zero, supporting and accelerating the decarbonisation of transport, and supporting and enabling innovation in energy.