Net Hero Podcast – With Sumit Bose

‘Businesses want certainty from their energy providers’

In a future net zero podcast, Anthony Ainsworth, Chief Operating Officer for npower Business Solutions told us that sustainability will help businesses grow
 
We’re going to have to speed up the planning process to meet net zero targets.
This is what Anthony Ainsworth, Chief Operating Officer, npower Business Solutions said in this episode of the future net zero podcast.

Big Zero Show Briefing: Start somewhere!

In this podcast I talk about starting your sustainability journey and how sometimes just wanting to start is enough...
Team up. And start.
That's the way to get to net zero says Fitzoy Hutchinson, who is in charge of sustainability for the famous Celtic Manor Resort.
In this brief chat we discuss the issue of supply chains and the challenges of getting emissions down if budgets are tight. Fitzroy has worked in the NHS and now in hospitality, where there are huge challenges and also expectations from their consumers be that patients, or tourists.
He told me how he is trying not to punish his suppliers, rather encourage them to join the Celtic Manor pathway to net zero. We also discuss how to cut back without costing the earth for your organisation.
When I ask Fitzroy his top tip for those trying to cut emissions, he responds adeptly: "What can you do? Do the best you can!"
Come and hear more from Fitzroy when he speaks at the Big Zero Show on July 2nd.

A look back at the energy industry with Kenny and nick

In this podcast, Kenny Hallet, Head of Sales Development and Nick Parr, Head of Major Business Commercial join the team at Future Net Zero to give a quick market update. They look back at the past few years to talk through the energy market and how we’ve got to where we are now!
They discuss the landscape through covid, the war in Ukraine and an energy crisis to market stability and normality in 2024, touching on how as a business we managed daily spikes, changing consumer appetite for energy procurement and how we’ve diversified our product offering to strike a balance between risk and budget certainty.
What happened with demand destruction as working from home became the norm, is the market evolving so that automation, better data, and flexible consumption become common place and is Kenny about to be replaced by AI!? Listen to find out…
 
Podcast highlights:
Kenny has been in the energy industry for 20 years! We couldn’t have anticipated or prepared for the shocks of the last few years. The energy crisis took the market by surprise, it’s been a long recovery buts it’s raised the profile of energy.
Nick states customers and suppliers have had to understand what the risks are and how to get through these. We saw markets spike on a daily basis, which created a challenging environment for everyone.
Demand destruction has been significant, and we’ve learnt how to reduce our demand. With a milder winter, we’ve an abundance of storage!
Current landscape has been stable, so some customers have planned ahead and reforecast in line with usage.
Talking to your supplier is more important now than ever. We want to take the time to focus and understand people’s needs, some products are complicated, but we can offer reassurance and guidance.
 
Get in touch:
For further information on anything discussed in the podcast, or if you want to explore our products and get some guidance and support on which one is best for your business, get in touch with our team today.
We’ve a comprehensive product line up to meet your procurement needs and a variety of renewable options to get you stared on the road to net zero.

Big Zero Briefing - Ecouraging supply chains

You must take your supply chain with you if you want to get to net zero.
That's what Matteo Deidda from Lloyds Banking Group told me as we discussed how we can take all businesses on the journey to net zero. Matteo will be speaking at our Pathway to Net Zero talks offering a synopsis of the Lloyds group's ambition to halve its supply chain emissions by the end of this decade.
We discussed how it's important for larger companies not to persecute but encourage and help smaller suppliers who are not as aware of what they can do to reduce emissions.
Listen to our short chat and remember to book one of the last free tickets remaining for the Big Zero Show.

Big Zero Briefing - Food for thought...literally

The food we eat. You are what you eat. Eat well be well.
So many phrases revolve around our fundamental need to shove something in our mouths but should there be a new phrase?
Eat for the planet?
In our Pathway to Net Zero sessions at the Big Zero Show, we will be exploring exactly that concept. I spoke to Tom Maidment from Hilton Foods, who will be speaking about the footprint of food used by your business and why it's often ignored by many of us, when looking at our emissions footprint.
However, it can not only be sigificant but also something you can affect directly.
Want to know more, listen in and come along on July 2nd.

Big Zero Briefing - Grabbing carbon the natural way

In this week's briefing I chatted to Simon Manley from UNDO, who will be taking us on a journey through carbon removals when he speaks at the Big Zero Show in July.
If you've not heard of carbon removal, it's a bit similar to carbon capture but often involves passive natural resources to grab the carbon out of the air, in the case of UNDO they are using rocks and natural weathering to do the job.
Check out this quick intro into the topic and why it can be a tool used by businesses of all sizes today, to help them on their pathway to net zero.
Catch Simon in person on day One of the show.
 
 

Big Zero Briefing - Finance

This week we start the first in our series of Big Zero Briefings, where I chat with one of the speakers from the Big Zero Show.
In this episode I chat to leading economist Vicky Pryce as she reveals how financing and your net zero credentials are increasingly interconnected. Vicky will be guiding you through what you can do to find funding for your net zero projects, how policies will affect you and why banks may soon give you a carbon based credit rating!
Don't miss her talk at the show, get your free ticket now.
 

Tootbus the green tourist treat!

Can tourism ever be green?
It's one of those double edged swords, tourism brings wealth and changes lives often in some of the poorest parts of the world, yet the effect of tourists can be damaging to the environment.
London is a world tourism hub with more than 2.5 million international visitors last year, let alone the thousands of Brits who visit the Capital from around the UK. One of the must do things is to jump on a sightseeing bus and cruise the streets and one company, Tootbus, aims to make that tourist experience as low carbon as possible.
I joined Gavin Brooking, the MD of Tootbus on a tour of the city aboard an EV bus and explored his desire to retrofit old buses and make them all low emission, watch and listen and don't forget to subscribe.
Oh and you can see the Tootbus in action at the Big Zero Show grab your free ticket now!
 

A wonderfuel way to clean up things...

Now it's great when you the audience get in touch to tell your net hero story.
That's exactly what Robert Johnson, of Arigna Fuels did and what a tale he has to tell. It's all about solid fuels especially for the rural market in Ireland, where Arigna is based.
Being very open and honest, he explained how they were still selling coal but trying to clean up their solid fuel offering, by moving into something called biochar - a biomass based brickquette which burns almost as well.
In rural Ireland, they have thousands of customers using solid fuels who have no other option and cannot afford to replace their burners with solar panels or heat pumps. But Robert is leading work to try and offer a cleaner fuel with a much lower carbon footprint and fewer emissions.
So is this a waste of energy and resources as we all know we shouldn't be burning stuff? Or is it the right approach to help those who cannot afford to change infrastructure, clean up their emissions?
I admire what they are doing and think it's based on pragmatism and reality, what's your view? Listen in, comment and follow us on social media. And like Robert if you want to feature on the podcast drop me a line.
 

Sky high farming ?

Vertical farming, or farms in the sky, sounds well sexy doesn’t it, conjuring up images of sci-fi clean rooms growing everything from ginger to grapes.
The truth is a little bit less sci-fi but maybe more net zero. Vertical farming allows, in general, salad crops (lettuce, rocket, kale etc), to be grown without soil, in vertical trays up to 6m in height.
As the plants are in a controlled environment there is no need for fertilisers or pesticides and they can be grown all year round.
In this episode I spoke to Jack Farmer from LettUs Grow, who have been using aeroponic (soil free) warehouses to grow crops with on average a 70% increase in yield.
He explained how vertical farming could help developed nations reduce emissions from agriculture and if some of this science can be used in hotter more arid environments.
Listen in an subscribe and don’t forget to share on social media.