Net Zero Summit & Business Expo

More than 150 people showed their dedication to sustainability at the Net Zero Summit and Business Expo, a day of innovation, inspiration, and action at the iconic Silverstone Circuit.

Hosted by Ngage Solutions, the event was only made possible thanks to a cross-border partnership between West Northants Council and Milton Keynes City Council, which is a testament to the commitment both have for the net zero agenda.

This commitment was also evident in the number of businesses and visitors who filled up the wonderful event space stretched across two floors that overlooked the starting grid of the legendary Silverstone race circuit. The exhibitors were raring to go, arriving bright and early to set up their stands, while some visitors were so eager that they arrived early to start networking. The Net Zero Collaboration Zone was an especially popular place to connect and share ideas with like-minded people, as conversation flowed throughout the day.

Several key themes would emerge:

• The best way to start is to start small
• Don’t try to do everything all at once
• Reach out to experts who can help you every step of the way

The Net Zero Summit was the centrepiece of the day, led brilliantly by Ngage’s Climate Change Programme Manager Dan Cope. Dan revealed the fruits of Ngage’s work to date on our own carbon footprint, proudly revealing that we are on track to meet our Net Zero goals to such an extent that we have now brought forward our target of reaching Net Zero by a whole 10 years, with 2040 now the end goal for achieving Net Zero.

A temperature check of those in the audience for the Net Zero Summit revealed that:

• 56% of people did not know what their business’s carbon footprint was, compared to 44% who did.
• Some sustainability measures are in place a lot more than others:
  • 68% have a plan to reduce waste compared to 23% who have a company travel plan
  • 67% have a plan to implement green tech or energy efficiency measures compared to 42% who have a plan to offset emissions
  • 60% have a CSR or environmental, social and governance plan, while 46% have provided net zero training to upskill employees
• 42% of businesses said they were “very” engaged on the net zero agenda, 41% “moderately” so, and 17% “slightly” so.
• The primary motivations for taking net zero action are:
  • Environmental - 93%
  • Social improvement - 73%
  • Customer demand - 66%
  • Financial / cost reductions - 63%
  • Regulation changes - 52%
• The current barriers facing businesses to progressing on their net zero journey are:
  • Cost of implementation - 71%
  • Time - 66%
  • Lack of knowledge - 60%
  • Lack of a plan - 34%
  • Lack of motivation within the team - 16%

Other challenges noted included a lack of funding, concerns over greenwashing, a lack of suitable public transport, educating staff, finding sustainable replacement packaging, supply chain engagement, differing legislation across borders, landlord/rented office challenges, government support / lack of legislation, and availability of suitable technology.

Cllr. Dan Lister from West Northants Council and Cllr. Shanika Mahendran from Milton Keynes City Council, which declared a climate emergency in 2019, gave wonderful introductions to the Summit that underscored what the day was about: working with like-minded people on common goals, taking real action to future-proof businesses, and showing that there is lots of support available to help businesses reduce their emissions, costs, and carbon footprint.

An engaging conference and panel discussion followed with a brilliant panel of experts who shared their insights and answered audience questions that covered topics from education to how to use AI in a sustainable way.

• Stephane Bazire, Head of Business Sustainability at Silverstone Circuits, who spoke about the footprint created by hundreds of thousands of fans travelling to the venue and the work they are doing to reduce their emissions, including the 1,342 solar panels that power The Wing (our venue for the event) and the on-site generators run on HVO biofuel which help slash emissions by 90%.
• Ben O’Brien, Managing Director of ID Card Centre, who gave a first-hand account of the challenges that manufacturing companies face, including with the disposal of waste.
• Joshua Meek, Chief Impact Officer of Unity Trust Bank, who spoke about the effects of ethical banking and investments.
• Liz Male MBE, Managing Director of Liz Male Consulting, who spoke about how to communicate a sustainability message, and to remember that “we’re all learning from each other”.
• Matthew Frost, Director of Programmes at Cosworth, who spoke about the company’s move to hybrid vehicles and sustainable fuels.

Dan Cope also sat down for an informative chat with Helen Shellabear of Shellwin Real Estate to explore future-proofing the workplace, while sessions run by our Net Zero Advisers Mike King, Mike Brain and Tom McDonald on carbon literacy and carbon footprinting proved very popular.

Now let’s keep the energy and momentum going!

Get in touch with our team at Net Zero Ngage to learn about the programmes of support we have that can help you reduce your energy costs, carbon emissions, and carbon footprint.

Visit our Net Zero MK and Net Zero West Northants webpages to learn more, or contact us directly at 01494 927131 or netzero@ngagesolutions.co.uk.

How to communicate your sustainable practices – and how to do it right

• The Green Claims Code - government guidance on how to make environmental claims in your marketing
• Advertising Standards Agency advice on making green claims
• Check sector-specific guidance, such as:
  • Guide for fashion businesses
  • Guide for the cleaning products sector

What are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?

Another question in the audience Q&A centred on how a business can be sure that it’s capturing its entire carbon footprint. One way to understand this is to become familiar with the terminology of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

These represent differing ways of categorising the emissions that a business produces from its own operations and those created by its supply chain and customers. This helps businesses understand their full ‘value chain’ emissions, or its entire carbon footprint, which is an important part of starting to reduce their carbon footprint.

• Scope 1 emissions are those created by actions taken by the business itself, such as using fuel in vehicles.
• Scope 2 emissions are those emissions that a business produces when it uses electricity, steam, heating or cooling in its buildings and workspaces.
• Scope 3 emissions are those not produced by the business itself but by those in their supply chain.

By pursuing Net Zero, a business can have a knock-on effect on others through their supply chain by encouraging customers and suppliers to think about using more sustainable products or processes.

Get accredited

It can sometimes be necessary for businesses to have certain environmental accreditations in place to be eligible to bid for government contracts, and potentially non-government contracts too. The expert panel were quick to highlight some of the accreditations and standards that businesses can look into, including:

• ISO 14001 - the internationally recognised standard for environmental management systems (EMS)
• B Corp status – which includes measuring a company’s entire social and environmental impact

#OnTheJourney with Spot the robotic dog

Businesses were keen to show that they are #OnTheJourney to Net Zero!

        

While the racetrack was off-limits, there was an eight-lane Scalextric track which proved very popular! And The University of Buckingham’s robotic dog, Spot, created a great buzz wherever it went – and it even had time to show its support for Net Zero Ngage!

  

You can see more photos taken throughout the day on our Flickr page.

Highlights with Cllr. Daniel Lister

What next?

Don’t let the inspiration go to waste!

Keep the conversation going by joining our Net Zero Collaboration Circle on LinkedIn and connecting with other businesses who are #OnTheJourney. Follow our Net Zero Ngage team on X for ongoing inspiration.

Thank you to everyone that is #OnTheJourney to net zero – let’s work together to keep moving forwards, step by step, because tiny steps, taken consistently, can lead to great destinations.

We would love to speak to you about the support available to help you reduce your energy costs, carbon emissions, and carbon footprint. Drop us an email at netzero@ngagesolutions.co.uk.

This event was proudly hosted in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council.