Towards net zero – the role of government, the challenge for business

Recorded: 18 January 2021 (10:30 - 12:15 UK time)

What’s this webinar about?

The road to net zero presents numerous challenges and will require collaboration between policy owners, business leaders, SMEs, societal stakeholders and those that can mobilize finance to accelerate the transition.

As part of BSI’s Net Zero Week, this general introductory webinar explores the legislative drivers that are framing the UK Government’s response to net zero and how organizations can best adapt, both strategically and operationally. We ask what tools and techniques will help, and how greener investment (in projects and people) can be prioritized.

Presentations are followed by a round table discussion and Q&A.

This session is relevant to all sectors, but especially decision-makers in:

• The built environment
• Transport/mobility
• Food
• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Energy
• Digital

What will participants gain?

• First-hand insights into the UK Government’s thinking in relation to achieving net zero
• Help with developing net zero strategies
• New contacts and leads on how to finance and accelerate the transition
• The opportunity to have your questions answered by our experts
• A post-event copy of all presentations and a recording of the webinar

Agenda

BSI Introduction to the day – David Fatscher, Head of Sector (Environment, Social & Governance), British Standards Institution (BSI)

How can organisations develop Net Zero strategies – Ben Kellard, Director of Business Strategy, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Net Zero Tools and Pathways – Nick Blyth, Policy & Engagement Lead, IEMA

The role of government in supporting the transition to Net Zero – Deputy Director, Clean Growth, Green Finance and Behaviour Change for Net Zero, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

The role of finance in accelerating the transition – Kate Levick, Associate Director for Sustainable Finance, E3G

Round Table – Discussion

Q&A to the panel from attendees

End of the webinar

David Fatscher has over 30 years' experience in B2B/B2C publishing and digital media in a career that has included positions at Reuters Business Information and VisitBritain, the UK’s national tourism agency. He is currently Head of Sector for Environment, Social and Governance at BSI 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 including environmental management, energy management, waste and resource management (circular economy) and sustainable finance.

Ben leads CISL’s business strategy advisory work.  He has a passion for shaping organisational purpose and strategies that unlock people’s desire to improve their own and others wellbeing, while sustaining the environmental foundations the organisation relies upon.  Doing so prepares organisations for the future.

He does this by helping organisations such as O2, Unilever and Burberry to develop and implement holistic leading strategies.  Ben draws on over twenty years of experience as an organisational consultant, to involve a range of stakeholders to develop shared responses to complex and ambiguous sustainability challenges.

He also acts as a critical friend by drawing on evidence and examples of leadership to challenge companies such as the Co-Operative Group, Unilever and Ecover to develop bold ambitions. 

He recently convened a round table of purpose and sustainability experts to explore how the concepts can work together, resulting in a joint statement.

 Prior to joining CISL, he spent eleven years at the international sustainability not for profit, Forum for the Future, where he led their international strategy work that involved defining organisational leadership and directing partnerships and strategy projects.   Prior to Forum, Ben was an organisation development consultant at Ashridge Business School, before joining HBOS as a change consultant, where he supported executive directors through significant change and managed their Masters programme. 

Nick is Policy and Practice lead for IEMA, on Climate Change, Natural Environment and Corporate Sustainability, collaborating across professions, partners and stakeholders.  He is also the Convener of ISO’s new Climate Change Coordination Committee and led the establishment of ISO Working Group 15 for ISO14068, a developing International Standard on carbon neutrality. Nick has developed a range of professional guidance including the development of IEMA’s GHG Management Hierarchy and with partners to develop UK principles for Biodiversity Net-Gain.  In 2016, he led the transition of IEMA to encompass a broader Corporate Sustainability focus, and managed IEMA’s merger with the Global Association of Corporate Sustainability Officers (GACSO). He has developed profession-based evidence in support of major policy developments such as Mandatory Carbon Reporting and participated in developing BSi Climate Change related guidance and standards (such as PAS2060 and PAS 2050).  Nick has multi-sector experience and is both a fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and is a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and a registered Environmental Auditor.

Amy leads BEIS’ work on clean growth, green finance and behaviour change for net zero, including a recent focus on green recovery. Since joining the civil service in 2010 following a focus on the regulatory response to the financial crisis in the Financial Services Authority and HMT, Amy has worked in a variety of business, energy and climate policy roles including as private secretary to the then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sir Vince Cable. Since 2013, she has specialised in climate change and energy policy, working on the 2015 Paris negotiations and leading the development of the 2017 Clean Growth Strategy.

Kate Levick leads E3G’s activities on Sustainable Finance, aiming to promote and accelerate low-carbon sustainable investment worldwide.

Prior to joining E3G Kate was the Global Director for Policy Engagement at CDP, a not-for-profit that operates a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Kate founded and grew the CDP policy engagement team to work on issues including climate action, sustainable finance and deforestation as well as playing a key role in attracting major government grants. Before joining CDP she worked for the UK government’s Office of Climate Change helping to develop international and domestic climate policy, following several years working for BP Plc in a variety of commercial and environmental roles. Kate has an undergraduate degree in Classics from the University of Oxford and a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development from Forum for the Future / Middlesex University.