Net Zero: Big ideas at the Big Debate

by Mark O’Halloran, iLaw

If there’s a city in the UK which should be leading the way on transitioning to Net Zero, it must surely be Brighton. 

Afterall, how much do we pride ourselves on our green credentials, with our Green Party-led Council and the only Green Party MP in the country? What’s certain though is that this is not a partisan, party political issue. It involves all of us, challenging ourselves in how we run our businesses and how we live our lives. And so it was at this year’s Big Debate. 

As the Chair, Richard Freeman of always possible made clear the debate wasn’t about trying to build a consensus, but dissecting and exploring ideas in a safe space where every voice would be heard. Richard’s hope was that each of us who attended would be inspired to do something specific as a result of the debate.

We heard from a panel representing the spectrum of stakeholders. First up was Kirsten Firth, Sustainability Projects Officer at Brighton & Hove City Council. Kirsten leads on the Council’s Carbon Neutral 2030 plan, which she admits is very much a work in progress. The Council itself is responsible for only a small percentage of the city’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so it needs to work closely with businesses and individuals across the city.

Peter Newell, Professor at University of Sussex, represented academia. He runs the Rapid Transition Alliance whose aim is to spread “evidence-based hope” by sharing examples of impactful change around the world. Peter explained the need for massive reductions in carbon-demand, not just switching to improved products like electric vehicles – global subsidies for fossil fuels continue to run at US$11,000,000 per minute! Proof enough of Peter’s assertion that the voices of the oil, coal and automotive industries continue to drown out the voices of SMEs and local communities.

The next panellists, from two very different businesses, gave us some hope for how things could change. Camille Pierson, Founder of The Float Spa, told us about her company’s journey towards sustainability, which began in 2007. Driven by her customers and the Japanese-inspired philosophy of Kaizen (continuous improvement), Camille and her team identified and rooted out single-use plastics across the operation, even where that meant initially losing revenue, such as no longer selling water in disposable bottles. The upside however has been a more loyal customer-base who now happily bring their own bottles for refills. 

Shoreham Port was represented by its Chief Executive, Tom Willis. With two cement plants on-site and heavy HGV traffic to and from the Port, you might think Tom would ask for time to adapt. Far from it. Tom explained how the Port was run by a Trust, rather than a private company, and sees itself as embedded within the local community – with people living within its boundaries. 

Tom is leading a project to create a hydrogen plant for the Port which will in future power all their heaviest vehicles, with all lighter vehicles switching to electric. Tom told us about a wider initiative to encourage more goods transport around the UK by ship rather than door-to-door HGV, as a single cargo vessel could replace up to 300 trucks for most of the journey.

We learnt the significance of the Port’s two cement plants when Victoria Vasiliauskaite from event sponsor Roadways, told us that cement making alone accounts for 8% of global GHG emissions. On a more positive note, she told us about Roadways’ new approach to road building, taking a leaf out of the Ancient Romans’ book and using a volcanic ash component to reduce CO2 emissions by 40%-70%.

The floor debate was lively and challenging (as we had hoped for!) Here is just a sample of ideas that caught my attention:

• Fund people to place solar panels on South-facing roofs

• Design all products and activities to be low-carbon, rather than retrofit solutions

• Accept expansion of Rampion wind farm 

• Reuse Centres, not just Recycle Centres

• Every person and business should have a carbon allowance

• Support the Edible Cities Network

• Be happier with fewer things. Eat less meat. Buy local and organic.

There were many more. Closing thoughts were delivered by Steve Creed, Co-Founder at Circular Brighton & Hove, who described how at least 45% of the reductions we need in GHG emissions will have to come from how we make things, and use land. Steve said that only by truly collaborating with each other can businesses build a circular economy for everyone’s benefit.

In a final call to action, Sarah Springford, Brighton Chamber CEO, announced that everyone would be invited to become one of the Chamber’s Net Zero Champions. 

For my part, I’ve been proud to be a Net Zero Champion for some months now. So I told myself I really had to put my effort where my mouth was and make one significant change in response to participating in the Big Debate. After discussing it at home, we agreed it was time to sell the car and not replace it. 

Mark O’Halloran is Consultant at iLaw. The Big Debate: Net Zero was run by Brighton Chamber. To find out more about net zero in Brighton, head to brightonchamber.co.uk/net-zero-in-brighton