Whatever the weather

Hundreds of South West businesses gathered to hear about innovation in environmental technologies and how climate change affects the corporate world at last week’s ‘Whatever the Weather’ conference.

 

The event, held at the Exeter Innovation Centre, focused on the business challenges and opportunities associated with climate change.

 

The speakers from industry and academia talked about a range of topics, including the future of renewable energy, sustainable building, water systems and environmental innovation - putting into context the innovative ideas that could be used in green technology and low carbon energy generation in the future.

 

Associate Partner at IBM, Andrew Carey, gave a keynote speech on IBM’s viewpoint, called ‘Perspectives of a Smarter Planet’, while the Met Office’s Climate Adaptation Team Lead, Hazel Thornton, outlined best practice in climate adaptation projects.

 

The event was chaired by Richard Miller, who is Head of Sustainability at the Technology Strategy Board, and who speaks at sustainability events all over the country. Miller was recently the guest speaker at the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network event at London Wetlands Centre.

 

Speaking recently, he has said, “The Government has set the challenging target of an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the UK by 2050.  With 45% of the UK’s CO₂ emissions coming from buildings, we need to stimulate innovation towards achieving these goals.  A key challenge is to ensure that building designs lead to physical buildings that perform as intended.”

 

Just outside south Somerset, Exeter is one of the largest cities in the region, and home to the Met Office.

 

Call Into Somerset now on 0845 122 2066 to register your interest in the renewables renaissance in Somerset.