Brian Kilkelly

How widespread are the risks to infrastructure assets from climate impacts, and what are we doing in mitigation? These are the central questions we're addressing at our free Climate Resilience of UK Assets Through Standardization webinar on 23 September. We're also examining the role of standards. If this is of professional relevance to you, join us by reserving your place here: https://gag.gl/yPN6QK #NetZeroWeek #Decarbonization #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateResilience #InfrastructureAssets #BSIWebinar

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I've been on them as a guest, mostly recently the thought-provoking Wicked Problems with Richard Delevan, but never presented them myself: podcasts, that is. So when the opportunity came along from Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment to team up with Sepi Golzari-Munro I said yes immediately. The concept was to explore the case for long-term investment in the kind of stuff most people don't think about: infrastructure, the fabric of the nation, Britain's arterial networks of power, transport, water and...sewage. I hadn't realised how far behind we'd fallen and how profoundly it'll affect our opportunities for growth, for meeting the challenge of Net Zero, and for riding out the storms of climate change. Working with producer Helen Lennard, we quickly came up with a plan for three episodes: How did the Victorians get this right? What are other major economies doing about it? And what should Britain do now? And, as we approached contributors, we were struck by their eagerness to take part. We were on the right track investigating an under-reported, undervalued but essential element of any strategy for the future. Floating on the horizon, as we embarked on the project, was the recent decision by the Labour Party to do the opposite of what we were talking about by dropping its £28 billion green investment plan. One of our guests, Dimitri Zenghelis, was co-author of a paper that explained very cogently why a plan of that scale was exactly what the country needed. He outlined the key difference between spending that's on day-to-day needs and investment in the future that'll bring benefits for decades. The format was revelatory. After a career of journalistic compression - trying to cram ideas into a few short minutes, or even less than a minute - this was a chance to be more expansive and expressive, to let people speak and to tease out issues with questions that in news broadcasts would been have far too long. A good friend suggested that the best podcasts have "a bit of grit" between the presenters. In that we failed - I don't think Sepi and I found much to disagree on. In fact from her perspective of experience in Whitehall and think-tanks, and mine in the BBC newsroom, we found common ground on the imperative for Britain to be as far-sighted as our ancestors and our competitors. Our very first interview got off to a slightly hysterical start. Barbara Evans holds the grand position of Professor of Public Health Engineering at Leeds University but, when discussing sewers, said she hated the politeness of 'poo' and the American version 'poop'. So we settled on 'shit'. Quite right. In an instant, nearly 40 years of BBC sensibility were flushed away. Please listen and let us know what you think. The episodes are below or wherever you normally get your podcasts. https://lnkd.in/eJTXKYzb

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Sustainable Industrial Futures Grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) This is a £26 million (80% full economic cost (FEC)) seven year, flagship investment focussed on tackling cross-sectoral research challenges rooted in excellent, leading-edge engineering, physical and environmental sciences and transdisciplinary approaches to enable the transition of UK industrial manufacturing processes and operations to net zero. Major progress is required to make significant advances in industrial emissions in the UK and UKRI aims to drive a sustainable industrial future, shifting the UK away from environmentally detrimental industries and processes to more sustainable and circular alternatives. https://buff.ly/45VPSPl #funding #investing #fintech #technology #sustainability #growth #cybersecurity #environment #food #automation #automotive #recycling #nutrition #medicine #robotics #farming #augmentedreality #neuroscience #grants #ukgrants #startupgrants #businessgrants #ukgovernmentgrant #sme #smegrant #businessfunding #smefunding #technologygrant #innovationgrant #capti #captiinnovation #gamechanging #gamechanginginnovation #disruptiveinnovation #smartgrant #ai #manufacturing #sustainable #innovation #telecoms #semiconductors #business #IUK #InnovateUK #SmartGrant #InnovateUKfunding

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It's encouraging to see the UK government leading the way in enhancing transparency and accountability in ESG ratings. As we in Bosnia and Herzegovina navigate our own path in green finance and company management, these developments serve as a valuable reference. 💡 Increased clarity in ESG scoring methodologies will enhance trust and foster better investment decisions but also help with SDG goals and mitigate the effects of climate change. 🌱

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