Earth Set

REGISTER for the next Earth Set event on Tuesday, 8th October:  "Net Zero UK: Progress or Pipe Dream? Join the debate" Kindly hosted by our friends, Ohme, at Wellington House, 125-130 Strand, London WC2R 0AP SIGN UP here: https://lnkd.in/e_eWrKSV - Are we truly on track to meet our net zero goals, or are we falling into a cycle of empty promises and missed opportunities?  - The climate crisis is intensifying, and businesses, governments, and innovators face a stark choice: lead the way or be left behind. - Join us for a panel discussion where industry experts will tell it how it is and suggest what needs to change.  This is not your typical "green" conversation — it’s a wake-up call for those ready to take real action. Panellists: Matilda Becker - Strategic Partnerships Director at Oxford Net Zero Mark Campanale - Founder & Director of the Carbon Tracker Initiative Sophie Vipond - Head of Communication and Engagement for the Climate Change Committee Moderator: Prashant Rao - Senior Editor, Semafor Fiona Howarth Jonny Page 🌱

Last night's Earth set meeting was awesome! In a dynamic panel discussion, moderated by Bloomberg Green journalist Olivia Rudgard, three prominent leaders in green skills—Julian Critchlow, Sophie Lambin 🪁 Lambin, and Mat Ilic—highlighted the urgent need to address the UK’s green reskilling challenge as the nation transitions to a low-carbon economy. Julian Critchlow, a partner at Bain & Company, shared research that shows that 4 million UK workers will need to be retrained by 2035 - far more than estimated - with a focus on energy, transport, and home heating sectors. For this to happen the UK must overcome the substantial mismatches from where we are now in terms of where these jobs are located, what skills we need to do them, how fast they need to happen and the bottlenecks that this pace will cause. An enormous opportunity, but requiring strong partnerships between government and businesses to drive reskilling programs and leverage opportunities in emerging green sectors. Sophie Lambin, co-founder of Kite Insights expanded on the idea that climate change affects every industry. She advocated for businesses to integrate climate-conscious decision-making into all job roles, not just those traditionally seen as “green.” She also pointed out that fostering climate literacy across all sectors would empower employees to contribute to their organisation's sustainability goals, regardless of their role, as many felt that they lacked agency and knowledge to make change in their current employment. Mat Ilic, CEO of Greenworkx, provided a practical perspective on the reskilling infrastructure required to meet these demands. Greenworkx focuses on retraining programs and partnerships with businesses to prepare workers for green jobs. Ilic stressed the need for accessible and scalable training solutions, particularly for workers in industries most affected by the transition, such as manufacturing and oil & gas to ensure there is a just transition for workers as well as consumers. All agreed, the audience too, that closing the green skills gap is not just about creating new jobs - especially for young people - but about fundamentally reshaping the UK's workforce. With thanks to Olivia, all the speakers, Octopus EV and their super helpful staff for hosting us, as well as all the attendees. Look forward to seeing you all next month when we debate Net Zero - more details soon. Fiona Howarth Jonny Page 🌱

REGISTER for September's Earth Set Panel Discussion: Cultivating Green Skills in the UK, Tues 3rd September, 6-9pm Tickets here: https://lnkd.in/evKdvWFU As the UK strides towards a sustainable future, the demand for green skills and jobs is accelerating, underscoring the necessity for a workforce that is both capable and adaptable to the emerging green economy. This shift is integral to achieving the UK's ambitious climate targets, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The transformation within industries such as renewable energy, clean transportation, and sustainable agriculture is generating new job roles that require specialised skills. This presents a pivotal opportunity for growth and environmental sustainability, but also poses significant challenges in terms of workforce transition and skills development. The discussion will provide insights for policymakers, educators, industry leaders, and stakeholders involved in workforce planning and development - and for those looking to transition their own career. "Four million UK workers will require retraining by 2035 to close ‘green reskilling gap’" from a Bain report: Accelerating Together: How the UK Workforce Can Get Net Zero Done. --> Julian Critchlow, Bain & ex-UK Civil Service will be with us "8 out of 10 employees are ready and willing to take action on climate change in their jobs"... "But fewer than half felt ‘very’ or ‘quite able’ to take action" from Kite Insights report --> Full report: Every job is a climate job --> Sophie Lambin, CEO at Kite will be with us "30 million more green workers are needed globally by 2030 for us to reach net-zero and prevent catastrophic climate breakdown." Greenworkx have a mission to tackle the green skills emergency by powering 10 million people into green jobs in 10 years --> Mat Ilic, Greenworkx CEO will be with us Panellists: Julian Critchlow, Advisory Partner, Bain & Company Sophie Lambin 🪁, CEO, Kite Insights Mat Ilic, Co-founder and CEO, Greenworkx Moderator: Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg

To mark London Tech Week, Earth Set was delighted to welcome investors and green tech entrepreneurs for a series of presentations delving into the intricacies of scaling up First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) finance initiatives, amid increasing scrutiny. We heard about the research and innovation system in the UK, researched policy recommendations for how to better support FOAK initiatives, cultural attitudes in the UK towards investment, and how companies are practically taking advantage of different financing options. The networking session afterwards provided plenty of scope for interesting discussions touching on the themes of the evening.  Our sincere thanks to Amy Rennison, James Eaton, Swarnali Mitra, Sarah Mackintosh, Mo Niknafs, Sarah Tennison, as well as all who attended.

REGISTER for June’s Earth Set: Cultivating Green Skills in the UK Join us on Tues 4th June, 6.30 - 9.30 pm in central London for a leading panel discussion on Green Skills. As the UK strides towards a sustainable future, the demand for green skills and jobs is accelerating, underscoring the necessity for a workforce that is both capable and adaptable to the emerging green economy. This shift is integral to achieving the UK's ambitious climate targets, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The transformation within industries such as renewable energy, clean transportation, and sustainable agriculture is generating new job roles that require specialised skills. This presents a pivotal opportunity for growth and environmental sustainability, but also poses significant challenges in terms of workforce transition and skills development. Our panel of experts include: Julian Critchlow, Advisory Partner, Bain & Company and ex-Director General at BEIS (UK Govt) Julian Lambin, Head of Research & Insights, Kite Insights & Hurd Mat Ilic, Co-founder and CEO, Greenworkx Prashant Rao (moderator), Senior Editor, Semafor Registration link: https://lnkd.in/eMEFu-Rp

Last week, Earth Set members got together to bounce ideas and challenges off others to gain fresh perspectives. Breaking out into small, diverse groups, attendees engaged in active listening and questioning in structured problem-solving sessions, helping everyone to go further, faster. Ben Macdonald Paige Mullen Monika Sieminska Jo Swift Sophie Lambin 🪁 Callum Hopkins Amber Rignell Olivier Bourdin Carmel Rafaeli Celia Francis Katie Brewis Jennie Dodson Yasmeen Cohen Clive Merifield Russ Morgan Fiona Howarth

How can we bring the built environment in line with a decarbonised future? For April's Earth Set, we were joined by Lucie Heath (moderator), Stephen Lorimer, Puja Balachander, Stuart Ferguson and Becky Lane at Sustainable Ventures to discuss the challenges and solutions to making our homes and commercial properties fit for the planet. Lucie opened by asking the panel what they saw as the greatest challenges in retrofitting: - Too many options available. Faced with many options, consumers can be overwhelmed by the products and services available. This can also result in an inconsistent and piecemeal approach to retrofitting, when a consistent whole-of-property approach is needed.  - Skills gap. Speaking about their experience of the commercial retrofit sector, one panellist highlighted the need for reliable trade professionals and larger businesses who can install technologies at scale, in order to meet the challenge.   - Reforming Energy Performance Certificates (EPC). Since EPC models energy usage, rather than actual usage, the data is not as reliable as we would like it to be. Building visits are a much better substitute. Comparing data between site visits and EPC would allow us to better understand and monitor the accuracy of an EPC rating. For the second half of the discussion, the panel turned their attention to how we communicate and build support for retrofitting: - Building trust is crucial. Comparing retrofit technology to the early uptake of EVs, the panel agreed that providing consumers with positive experiences will lead early adopters to promote the benefits among their circles, compensating for unrepresentative negative media stories.  - Communicating the lived experience. Noting that retrofitting will not always immediately lower bills, environmentalists should speak to the lived experience of owning a climate-friendly home; namely as part of a comfortable and healthy lifestyle. Our sincere thanks to our fantastic hosts Sustainable Ventures, panellists and everyone who attended. Fiona Howarth, Jonny Page 🌱Amy Rennison