Net Zero Festival: Winning net zero hearts and minds in the age of coronavirus

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: Lucy Siegle quizzes evian's Shweta Harit, Sustainable Restaurant Association CEO Andrew Stephen, Pernod Ricard's Vanessa Wright, MP and PRASEG chair Bim Afolami, and Social Market Foundation director James Kirkup

Few foresaw a global pandmic on the scale of Covid-19 taking hold in 2020, which has swept up the global economy and business priorities in its path.

Yet at the same time, the urgency to tackle the climate crisis has only intensified, and this creates a particular challenge for progressive businesses striving to forge a pathway forwards to net zero: how do you continue to win partners, politicians, politicians and the public over to the decarbonisation cause amid such pressing short-term health and economic concerns?

At BusinessGreen's recent Net Zero Festival, journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle  quizzed a range of business leaders and experts on their views including: evian's global brand vice-president Shweta Harit, Sustainable Restaurant Association CEO Andrew Stephen, Conservative MP and PRASEG chair Bim Afolami, Pernod Ricard's VP for global sustainability and responsibility Vanessa Wright, and Social Market Foundation's director James Kirkup.

The fascinating discussion, which is a must-watch for anyone involved in business sustainability, is available to view in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the world's first Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 30 September featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand through the Net Zero Festival website.

More on Management

How European music festivals continue to turn up the volume on sustainability

How European music festivals continue to turn up the volume on sustainability

A Greener Future’s (AGF) latest Festival Sustainability Report highlights steps European festivals are taking to reduce carbon footprints

clock 11 April 2025 • 5 min read
'Financial cakeism': Study finds reluctance to give up fossil fuels undermining financial firms' climate ambitions

'Financial cakeism': Study finds reluctance to give up fossil fuels undermining financial firms' climate ambitions

New survey from South Pole finds nearly three-quarters of financial institutions have no plans to reduce fossil fuel exposure over the next decade, despite their growing desire to decarbonise portfolios

clock 10 April 2025 • 4 min read
Josh Mihill: 'Making a few mistakes and helping one another along the way is all part of the process'

Josh Mihill: 'Making a few mistakes and helping one another along the way is all part of the process'

Josh Mihill, co-founder of Honest Mobile, discusses how some of most exciting green ideas come from young entrepreneurs disrupting outdated industries

Stuart Stone
clock 01 April 2025 • 7 min read