Delivering world class net zero business support in the Midlands

Audience: This face-to-face event is aimed at local leaders involved in commissioning and shaping provision to support the transition to a sustainable, net zero economy.

The event will explore how regional policy makers, local politicians and business programme providers can better support firms to make the shift to net zero in the new funding landscape.

Organised by University of Derby with the support of Midlands Engine, East Midlands Chamber and Sustainability West Midlands, the event will use lessons learned from years of pro-environmental enterprise support (PEES) provision to explore how to provide companies with access to world-class business support, ensuring our region remains at the forefront of the transformation to the sustainable economy of the future.

In addition to face-to-face engagement with a range of experts, delegates will be provided with signposts to a wealth of existing material, access to the latest research, brand new resources and access to a national network of PEES experts.

This event will help you commission high quality provision, access funding and optimise the design and delivery of business support towards net zero, by explaining:

• The current trends in business sustainability and clean growth based on 8 years of regional business surveys and explore the implications in a policy context.

• What businesses want and need on the journey to net zero. We will explain what research tells us about the barriers and enablers to firms progressing on the journey to net zero.

• How finance and funding streams can be leveraged to support the SME journey to net zero. We will provide information about the latest developments in the funding landscape.

• What are the most effective approaches to business development and what ‘leading practice’ in pro-environmental enterprise support looks like.

• What resources and help are freely available. We will showcase some of the best existing resources and materials available to firms and launch a new set of resources on the University Net-Zero Pathway for SMEs.

• How to benchmark PEES provision in your area against leading practice nationally. Delegates will be invited to contribute to the University of Derby PEES action framework and maturity model work.

• Why multi-stakeholder collaboration is crucial to delivering progress at the pace and scale needed to achieve national net zero targets. Delegates will be invited to join a national network pro-environmental enterprise support (PEES) experts.

A light lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their current experiences of commissioning, funding and delivering pro-environmental enterprise support and explore the challenges and opportunities of the new funding regime. As well as establishing greater collaboration across the Midlands, a key aim is to identify existing examples of impactful business support provision that can act as a springboard to amplify existing leading practice in net zero and clean growth business.

• What businesses need on the journey to net zero - Dan Carins, West Midlands Combined Authority
• Helping SMEs to access Green Funding & Finance - Speaker tbc
• What does 'world-class' pro-environmental business support look like? - Dr Fred Paterson University of Derby
• Levering the funding landscape to deliver world class provision - Dan Carins, West Midlands Combined Authority
• Place-based support towards the net zero transition: Towards effective policy - Dr Polina Baraonva, University of Derby
• How to benchmark and build your capability to deliver pro-environmental enterprise support (PEES) - Dr Fred Paterson, University of Derby

There will also be expert contributions from:

• - D2N2
• - Nottingham Trent University
• Anna Bright - Chief Executive,
• Diane Beresford - Deputy Chief Executive,

A small number of stalls are available for organisations that support this arena. Please contact [email protected] for more details.

The Venue:

University of Derby are hosting this event at the beautiful Exchange venue in Birmingham City centre. Find detailed directions here.

Note:

As this is an in-person event, please only sign up if you can definitely attend. If you have registered but can no longer attend, please email [email protected] as soon as possible. Any delegates who do not turn up to the event on the day without prior notification may be charged.

You may be interested to hear stories from the front line of low carbon business support in our Low Carbon Business Podcast - available on all the usual podcast platforms.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Exchange, 3 Centenary Square, Birmingham, United Kingdom