Net Zero Week Festival 2022

Register here to join us for our annual 'Net Zero Week Festival', on Thursday 7th July for a day of insightful content from sustainability and industry experts and an outdoor festival taking place between 12-2pm and 5-9pm.

We have lots of activities planned including:

• Full day agenda of panel discussions in our Canary Wharf office, featuring expert speakers from renewable generators, leading corporates, energy consultants, sustainability experts and fascinating examples of climate action!
• Vegan street food and an eco-bar serving locally sourced food and beverages
• Music entertainment from DJ Sassy Wylie
• EV demos and lots more!

How to register

Please register via EventBrite where we have the following ticket options available:

• An All Day Delegate Pass provides you with access to the entire event from 9am - 9pm, including the content streams indoors to the outdoor festival activities at lunch time and into the evening. We expect these to go quickly so we also have a 'Wait List' up and running.
• Our sustainability and energy experts presenting on the day should register for a Speaker Pass, providing all day access to the indoor panel discussions and outdoor festival activities. 
• Festival Passes are available for anyone who would like to join us outside at lunch time or in the evening for the outdoor festival activities only. 

Upon registration, you’ll receive an email confirmation with travel information and details for arrival and registration on the day. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Agenda and Speakers

9:30am – Welcome Address: The Net Zero Transition 
The energy crisis has challenged the UK energy sector like never before and whilst we’ve navigated unprecedented price volatility, we share a long-term goal to reach net zero. Net Zero took centre stage in November 2021 at COP26, where global leaders reaffirmed their commitment to 1.5C, outlining their action plans to progress the green agenda. Robert Groves kicks off our Net Zero Festival with some key market insights and expert views, covering the growth in deployment of renewable generation across the UK, the increasing commitments from corporates to deliver net zero pledges and how SmartestEnergy are supporting our customers and partners in the transition.
Robert Groves, CEO, SmartestEnergy

10am – Panel 1: The Climate and Energy Price Crisis
In our first panel discussion of the day, our subject matter experts and guest speakers share their views on the current market conditions since the shortage of gas supplies last winter and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We look to the future with the energy price cap confirmed from October and increasing non-commodity price forecasts that are putting pressure on businesses and consumers. Will the energy crisis impact the drive towards the UK’s net zero goals? What do we need from a regulatory perspective to support the future energy system for both generators and consumers?
Chair: James Graham, VP Sales, SmartestEnergy
Panelists:
Trader, SmartestEnergy;
Alex Walmsley, Head of Pricing, SmartestEnergy;
Rowan Hazell, Senior Consulting Analyst, Cornwall Insight

11am – Panel 2: Turning Net Zero Ideas into Action
In this session we uncover the commercial opportunity from the net-zero transition, from both sides of the table – the generator and the consumer. One of our long-term corporate customers will be sharing their net zero commitments and their action plan to succeed, including a collaborative commercial approach with SmartestEnergy to enhance their green electricity supply. On the generation side, we’ll hear from Virgin Money, sharing their expert views on financing the green agenda and the bankable opportunities available to independent renewable generators.
Chair: Angus Widdowson
Panelists: 
Nick Edgar, Senior Director - Growth Finance & Renewable Energy, Virgin Money;
Soren Peterson, Head of Power Sales, Low Carbon;
David Mead, Associate Director, Utilities (Property and Asset Management), JLL

2pm – Panel 3: Net Zero – what’s it all about?
Our outdoor ‘silent disco’ panel discussion features a host of fascinating speakers who have a shared passion for climate change, innovative perspectives on net-zero and real-life experiences to share. They’ll be discussing what net-zero means to them and how individuals, businesses and the sector as a whole can make meaningful changes in the race net zero? There’s no plan B for Climate Change – or is there?
Chair: Matt Stadlen, Interviewer for Let’s Talk Decarbonisation^TM , Journalist and Former LBC Presenter.
Panelists:
Caroline Marriage, participant of the 2041 ClimateForce Expedition to Antarctica;
Kendra Quinn, Sustainability Expert and Impact Lead, NotPla;
Pete Bicknell, Architect, 22 Bishops Gate;
William Smith and Megan Groom, Students, Cambridge University

3pm – Breakout sessions:

I&C Breakout Session: Power and REGOs today V's the future supply proposition
In this session, we'll be exploring the scenarios and opportunities for I&C businesses as the system evolves. SmartestEnergy's subject matter experts will share a view of the REGO market, reveal our new bundled renewable supply product offering, uncover the value in Carbon Offsetting and look at initiatives such as B-Corp. We'll also explore the role we as a supplier can play in supporting energy consultants and helping corporates achieve their wider net-zero commitments in the future.
Chair: Owen Moulton, SmartestEnergy
Panelists:
Vishnu Aggarwal, VP Origination and Renewables Trading, SmartestEnergy;
Deian Ashworth, Head of Product Development, SmartestEnergy

Smart Generation Breakout session: Financing the Net Zero transition
The Net Zero Strategy has committed the UK to decarbonising its power sector by 2035, creating opportunities for renewable energy generators and those right across the smart energy space including battery developers. But is the financial environment right to deliver this? What does the future generator revenue stack look like and what action is needed to tackle the barriers that exist for investors and developers? In this session we'll be delving into the CfD mechanism and exploring alternative commercial structures such as Corporate PPAs, to make the changes needed for the future.
Chair: Leigh Brown, Business Development Manager, SmartestEnergy
Panelists:
Alex Walmsley, Head of Pricing, SmartestEnergy... and more to be confirmed!

4pm – Panel 4: What’s the answer?
Our closing panel will cover the key themes raised throughout the day to answer the all-important question, what’s the answer to Net Zero? We’ll discuss the perspectives from both the consumer and generator side of the table, highlighting areas of product innovation, policy intervention and regulatory industry change needed to succeed in the transition to net-zero.
Chair: Juliet Morgan, Sustainability Consultant
Panelists: 
Jim Scott, Co-Founder, Grid Edge... and more to be confirmed!