Innovation Zero sustainability heroes gather to fight climate change

03 May 2024 by Acre
blog author

​Sustainability innovators and changemakers flocked to London this week for a major net zero conference, where there was a heavy focus on solutions for a low-carbon future.

The Innovation Zero event (30 April - 1 May) is the UK’s largest net zero industry event in the capital, hosting thousands of attendees to discuss the acceleration of climate change solutions for a net zero future.

Innovative solutions presented over the two days spanned the full breadth of the sustainability landscape, including energy, transport, finance and advanced tech, carbon markets, food and agriculture, oceans and water and industrial.

The event, at London Olympia, showcased hundreds of expert speakers spanning the sustainability sector including:

  • The Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

  • Mike Pitts, Deputy Challenge Director, Innovate UK 

  • Greg Jackson, CEO, Octopus Energy

  • Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chief Executive, Green Finance Institute

  • Sweta Chakraborty, CEO North America, We Don’t Have Time

What is Innovation Zero?

Innovation Zero provides a major platform for discussion on key sustainability issues, bringing the innovations and tech to the forefront that will help the UK meet its net zero goals over the coming years.

Hundreds of exhibitors highlighted their cutting-edge solutions and technologies that are helping businesses and organisations reduce their emissions and progress net zero targets.

A new addition is the Innovation Gallery, where more than 20 leading green tech start-ups and sustainability businesses demonstrated their latest inventions to tackle the climate crisis. These include Adaptavate, Carbonplace, Chimney Sheep, Climatiq, Exiger, HeatHorizon, Hubl and Last Energy.

The Innovation Zero Awards was also launched at the event, officially supported by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The awards showcased ground-breaking solutions and low carbon technologies to help fight the climate crisis by reducing or eliminating businesses’ carbon footprint.

Paul Dunne, Innovation Zero CEO and co-founder said: “The introduction of this years’ awards, showcase, and Innovation Gallery features are aimed at enhancing networking and discovery among innovators, corporate sustainability leaders, investors and policymakers and we’re looking forward to seeing the positive impact these additions will have on our collective journey towards achieving net zero.”

What else is new at this year’s event?

Innovation Zero joined ranks with tech start-up Ideaonomy, enabling attendees to use an AI-enabled portal to view, rank and publish sector challenges and share solutions with industry peers.

Matt Hastings, founder and CEO of Ideaonomy, said: “An Ideaonomy is essentially an interconnected, collaborative cross-sector innovation ecosystem enabling companies and organisations to share resources, communicate, collaborate and also compete at the same time.

“We facilitate new innovations connecting in really unusual and interesting ways so that organisations can collaborate, solve problems and ultimately try and get ourselves out of the hole that we have found ourselves in as a species.”

If you attended Innovation Zero, we would love to hear from you to discuss some of the more robust innovations that will fight climate change and boost a greener economy.

Did you showcase your innovation at the event?