On the 18th of March, Bristol City Council, Bristol Environmental Technologies Sector (BETS) and Bristol Green Capital held the successful 'Oil, Carbon and Opportunity' event.
For the programme and presentations, see document links on right hand side of this page.
A summary of panel Q&A discussions and workshops will follow next week.
One of the first events events of its kind in the country, it sought to explore how the Council, businesses, organisations and city partnerships can work together to reduce energy demand, increase energy generation and achieve 40% citywide carbon reduction targets for Bristol City.
The 40% target, unanimously agreed by Full Council late last year, is one of the most ambitious local targets in the country, but businesses were impressed by the council's determination that the changes should help spur the city to increase economic competitiveness, as well as building on Bristol's reputation as a Green Capital and a leading low carbon economy.
Well over 100 key businesses and organisations from a cross section of Bristol's economy came to hear experts on the potential solutions to make our homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient and to create a step change in the generation of sustainable energy across the City.
The event was opened by the Leader of the Council, Cllr Barbara Janke, and Chaired by the Chair of Bristol Environmental Technologies Sector, Alan Bailey. Speakers included senior representatives from Regen SW, the regional sustainable energy agency, the Energy Saving Trust, Centre for Sustainable Energy and the Strategic Director of City Development for Bristol City Council.
Their contributions gave delegates a unique insight into the commitment from the City to become a prosperous, low carbon economy, the solutions for creating significant carbon savings and the opportunities presented by this new area of business. In the breaks at the event, and in the networking that followed, there was a definite buzz to the room as businesses rubbed shoulders with current and future collaborators in delivering profitable low carbon projects.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Barbara Janke, who presented the Council's vision for Bristol as a successful, low carbon city, said:
"I was impressed by the weight of information and the richness of the debate from delegates. Businesses have heard the evidence base and they've heard our commitment on this issue and have welcomed the Council's committed and active leadership. Now that we've heard some of their responses, we need to work together to get the right solutions in place to make Bristol a prosperous, energy secure, Green Capital."
Alan, Bailey, Chair of Bristol Environmental Technologies and Services Sector, Managing Director of Environmental Lean Solutions
"This important event is the beginning of a valuable dialogue between local government, businesses and the experts who can provide the solutions. I was really impressed by the quality of both the delegates and the debate. Bristol is a national leader in partnerships to drive low carbon business and is quickly establishing itself as a major European hub for green industry. The coming years will see the City build on this and grasp the opportunities created by a transition to a successful lower
carbon economy. Together we can create profitable solutions for Bristol and the region."
In coming months more detail will be announced on Bristol's plans to meet the 40% carbon reductions and create more business opportunities in the transition to a low carbon economy. This can only be achieved through working closely with businesses and organisations. This event is the beginning of a more involved dialogue to make Bristol a prosperous sustainable City, more will follow.
Notes to editors:
Bristol Green Capital - www.bristolgreencapital.org.uk
is a partnership led organisation to move forward sustainability in the city. It is led by an independent group of representatives from businesses and organisations in the city. Is is given support from Bristol City Council and Bristol Partnership.
Bristol Environmental Technologies Sector (BETS) - www.bristol-ets.co.uk - is a 200 strong membership organisation for cleantech sector businesses, delivering environmental services or goods across a wide range of sectors. It's function is to support and promote the development of this fast growing sector of business in the city, creating more opportunity through collaboration. It is led by an independent group of representatives from a cross section of businesses, organisations in the sector aswell as local government and academia, with representatives from both universities.
Bristol City Council has recently agreed 40% carbon reduction levels for the whole City by 2020 from 2005 levels. This is more ambitious than the national targets 34% by 2020 from 1990 levels
Bristol City Council have produced an outline plan to start achieving these targets: the Climate Change and Energy Security framework
The plan - which will now go out for consultation - includes:
See: http://www.bristolgreencapital.org/news/climate-change-and-energy-security-forefront-debate
for more details
Regen SW is the region's sustainable energy agency - www.regensw.co.uk - and a not-for -profit business.
Their mission is to speed up the transition to a low-carbon economy in South West England, by:
They help develop all aspects of the sustainable energy industry in the south west by giving independent advice to decision makers; acting as a sounding board for developers; supporting demonstrator projects across a range of technologies at both micro and utility scale; and stimulating an informed public debate about sustainable energy.
the Energy Saving Trust - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk - is an independent, UK-based organisation focused on promoting action that leads to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions - a key contributor to man-made climate change.
They are the source of free advice and information for people across the UK looking to save energy, conserve water and reduce waste.
The organisation is not tied to any particular commercial organisations or driven by political or corporate motivations.
the Centre for Sustainable Energy - www.cse.org.uk - is a national charity helps people and organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors meet the twin challenges of rising energy costs and climate change.
Their mission is to share knowledge and practical experience to empower people to change the way they think and act about energy
They do this by giving advice, managing innovative energy projects, training others to act, and undertaking research and policy analysis.
At any one time they have between 50 and 60 different and separately funded projects under way. All of these are helping people and communities to meet real needs for both environmentally sound and affordable energy services.