The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) is bringing together business, government, education and clean growth experts for a special event focusing on clean growth in the South East during COP26, which takes place between 31st October and 12th November 2021.
During South East Futures: What Does Clean Growth look like in the South East? on the 3rd November, attendees will hear a keynote address from Sir Jonathon Porritt, renowned sustainability activist and writer on how we can still achieve economic growth and progress for the South East economy through clean technology, new models of economic growth, investment and innovation.
They will also hear from Andrew Griffith MP as UK’s Net Zero Business Champion and Jonathan Withey from Planet Mark.
Attendees will listen to a series of debate panels that showcase existing activity to deliver clean growth in the South East across a range of themes and to consider where the future opportunities lie for the region in this new economy.
This event will educate, inform and consider the role we can play in the public and private sector to support the transition to Net Zero, to meet the UK targets in place and how we can embrace this moment to recover and grow a future economy in a sustainable and considered way.
South East LEP Chair Christian Brodie said:
“As the economy starts its recovery from the pandemic, our focus must undoubtedly turn towards clean growth, and ensuring that we are doing all we can now to combat climate change. In the South East, we are uniquely placed to focus our efforts across several important areas of climate change: our coast, our ports, our rural areas and key sectors that are working hard to enact changes.
“This event will provide an excellent forum for businesses and South East partner organisations to hear about all of these areas, and how clean growth is being delivered in our region, as well as providing insight into what we can do collectively to fight climate change. This affects every aspect of our communities—our new housing developments; how we live and work; and what the public looks for from businesses as awareness grows and sustainable and clean living become the norm.”
The South East LEP is well placed to help coordinate and galvanise clean growth and has a unique role to play in convening partners and in championing clean economic growth initiatives via advocacy, engaging business and industry and in supporting specific projects.
The LEP’s recent Economic Recovery and Renewal Strategy focuses heavily on clean growth as a guiding principle in SELEP’s commitment to rebuilding the economy. Its cross-cutting nature means that it guides the LEP’s work across all areas, and forms one of SELEP’s seven key objectives: “To put clean growth and climate change at the heart of what we do.”
The LEP’s Clean Growth Working Group is a cross-organisation public/private group, which has built a project pipeline to identify priorities, opportunities, constraints and issues for clean growth within the South East.
This clean growth event will precede the SELEP AGM, which provides an opportunity to learn more about the work of the South East LEP over 2020-21 and, in particular, how we have supported the South East business community during the pandemic and into recovery.