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It has now been over a month since Innovation Zero 2024, and as we now work towards next year’s editions, we’d like to take the time to reflect upon our event and consider feedback we’ve received over recent weeks.
We’re pleased that we received a huge amount of positive feedback from our attendees, and continue to grow our event year-on-year. We’ve showcased and awarded some of the most innovative, exciting and disruptive low-carbon solutions in the cleantech space, hosted thought leaders including world-class climate scientists, global corporates, both national and international ministers, and connected low carbon innovators with buyers and investors.
That being said, we’re eager to address constructive feedback we’ve received, noting that we have a responsibility as a platform in regards to the organisations with which we partner.
When we launched our inaugural event in 2023, we set out to be a platform for leaders across the net zero ecosystem to come together and accelerate meaningful action towards a low carbon economy. We’re proud that over the past two years, we’ve united thousands of speakers and attendees to drive forwards these conversations.
Having rapidly expanded and achieved so much in such a short space of time, we’ve come to realise that we are now an important and influential player in the low carbon space. This means we cannot simply be a neutral, voiceless platform; the actions we take and choices we make have an impact, and our audience expects a high level of consistency and transparency from us. The net zero agenda is incredibly important and affects the livelihoods of the entire global community, as well as all plant and animal life. As the largest event in the UK focused on the future low carbon economy, we now want to highlight the extent to which we embed the goals and agenda of the UNFCCC within our own values and principles, and share how we are working to promote innovation across policy, finance, business and technology.
A huge concern felt by many attendees is the commercial partners with whom we collaborate; this has not gone unnoticed by us, and we empathise with these concerns. We support the position of the IPCC in regard to the role of fossil fuels in the future economy and therefore don't want to imply support for those engaged in new extraction by featuring their logos as event sponsors.
On this note, Innovation Zero will no longer accept sponsorship involving brand exposure from companies continuing to invest in new fossil fuel projects. Organisations, including those mentioned above, will be allowed to exhibit or participate in the programme where they have innovative low carbon solutions to present.
In terms of how our event functions as a platform for open dialogue and challenging conversations, Innovation Zero will continue to champion voices who work to hold businesses and policymakers to account. While our purpose is to bring together the policymakers, funders, corporates and innovators who comprise the key stakeholders of the low carbon transformation, we continue to support the critical role of activism in accelerating action towards a more sustainable future. We look forward to bringing more people into our climate conversations, including indigenous voices, youth leaders, and those of all political persuasions.
Moreover, Innovation Zero renews its commitment to champion gender and ethnic diversity across its programme, and pledges to continue delivering an increasingly diverse line-up across our speaker roster, after achieving 40% female speaker representation in 2024. Many industries still lack diversity in the C-suite, with women and BIPOC facing a lack of opportunities to become leaders.
We therefore want to take the lead on influencing these structures by offering underrepresented groups a platform and a voice, and celebrating the women, BIPOC individuals and teams currently leading the net zero transformation. We are also continuously working to ensure our event operates onsite in an environmentally responsible way.
We encourage you to reach out to the team if you have any questions.