Building a Climate Action Plan
2024-07-17 17:00 - 18:00 (Europe/London) | Online event
By invitation to Livery Climate Action Group Single Points of Contact.

Bridging The Gap: Client-Centric Designs & Sustainability In The Construction Industry
2024-08-27 11:00 - 11:45 | Online event
One of the Lord Mayor’s Lectures in the Knowledge Miles series
Background: In the evolving landscape of the construction industry, clients often find themselves at a disadvantage, navigating a complex maze of jargon, quotes, and profit-driven decisions. This lecture will explore how independent design firms can bridge this gap, advocating for the client’s best interests while promoting sustainable practices. Drawing on a decade of experience as a freelance interior designer and founder of Zetta Scope Interiors, we will discuss strategies to enhance transparency and client understanding, ensuring projects meet budgetary and environmental goals. Participants will gain insights empowering them to make informed decisions and drive positive change in the industry.
Speaker:
Juna Margariti is an accomplished interior designer and the founder of ZSI, a firm dedicated to client-focused design and sustainable practices. With a decade of experience in design, Juna has collaborated with various industry stakeholders, advocating for client interests and fostering transparency in project execution. Passionate about reshaping industry norms, she is committed to empowering clients and promoting a greener future through innovative design solutions.

Building Urban Resilience
2024-09-02 11:00 - 11:45 | Online event
One of the Lord Mayor’s Lectures in the Knowledge Miles series
Background: Building urban resilience in the face of environmental, socioeconomic, and political uncertainty and risk has captured the attention of politicians and practitioners across disciplines and scales. Resilience is both a goal to aspire to and a state of mind. Resilience to climate change has come to mean resilience to extreme heat on one side and flash flooding on the other. In this talk, Samer proposes to unpack the meaning of resilience, how it is defined, and how the resilience capacity building agenda relates to that of sustainable development.
Speaker:
Professor Samer Bagaeen is the LCAG Single Point of Contact for the Chartered Surveyors. He is a Technical Director in Town Planning & Stakeholder Capability at Arcadis and previously worked as an Associate Director with the Rockefeller Foundation resilient cities network supporting a number of cities on their resilience journey. He is Professor of Planning & Resilient Systems at the University of Kent and Visiting Professor in Urban Resilience at Imperial College London. He was invited into RICS Fellowship in 2012. He is a Trustee of the Royal Town Planning Institute and on his second term as a Design Council Expert, supporting the Council’s Design for Planet Mission. Samer was elected to Brighton & Hove City Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. He presently sits as an Independent.

LCAG All-SPOC Meeting
2024-10-07 17:00 - 18:00 | Online event

Globalising Net Zero Aviation: Leveraging The City Of London To Meet Paris
2024-10-08 11:00 - 23:45 | Online event
Details and Registration here: https://www.greshamsociety.org/webinar/12240/
Background: The City of London could take a different approach to Europe and the US and enable aviation to lead on its future energy requirements by establishing a Green Aviation Finance centre. The heart of green finance should act as a linchpin to regularise innovative finance that binds together the aviation and energy sectors in a way that creates the necessary global capital flows (north and south) to deliver zero emission energy infrastructure specifically for aviation’s future. It is an opportunity to build on the City’s ability to foster apolitical, economic relationships in a way that Westminster cannot.
The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli is pleased to extend an invitation to all to participate in Knowledge Miles: The 695th Lord Mayor’s Lectures, an online webinar series exploring the connections of the Square Mile and how its knowledge clusters are addressing diverse global challenges.

Speakers:
Dr Wang Shen has more than 10 years of experience in energy technology, energy transition, energy-related project finance & project development, and sustainable finance. Dr Shen was a research geophysicist working at TOTAL Energies and was widely recognized as a leading expert in Full Waveform Inversion, high performance computing, and 3D seismic imaging. He has published more than 30 peer-review papers and conference abstracts in the field of energy exploration & production. Dr Shen obtained his attorney license in 2016 and worked at White & Case LLP as a project finance and M&A lawyer. He has in-depth legal experience in LNG, CCUS, hydrogen, and renewable energy related project finance & project development. Since 2019, Dr Shen was the senior director of catastrophe risk management working at a leading reinsurance company. He has pioneered in applying catastrophe risk management tools to mitigate climate-related risks.

As Chair of the inter-Livery Green Aviation Task Group in the City of London, Captain Robert Seaman has led on delivering the report on Globalising Net Zero Aviation – leveraging London to meet Paris. As an airline Captain on the Airbus A320 fleet, Robert has been sustainability pilot for his airline. As director of Greentail, he leads the development of innovative net zero financial solutions for the aviation sector.A previous fourteen-year career as a Head of Policy Advice on National Security matters in the UK Civil Service, Robert’s portfolio included UNFCCC negotiations, Geoengineering as well as Climate Change implications for political stability, food, water and energy (in)security

Captain Paul Heathcote is a career aviator with experience in a wide variety of aviation, environment and management functions. A current A380 captain who is passionate about the long-term future of aviation. Chairing an Industry Aerospace Technology body and lecturing in sustainable aviation since 2014. Paul also is on an advisory board for mechanical engineering. Paul remains curious about the system-wide practical interaction between technology, capital and environmental impact.

International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Wildlife Trust of India
2024-10-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Tower Suites Hotel, 100 Minories, London, EC3N 1JY, United Kingdom
Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of London and former IFAW trustee invites you to an evening in support of
The International Fund for Animal Welfare
and
The Wildlife Trust of India
Generously sponsored by
Tony Matharu and Blue Orchid Hospitality
Friday, 18 October, 2024
6:30 – 8:30pm
at Tower Suites Hotel
100 Minories, London EC3N 1JY, United Kingdom
Bowl foods and beverages will be served.
Register using this link or visit website below:

LCAG Annual Conference 2024
2024-10-22 12:00 - 19:00 | Merchant Taylors’ Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8JB, United Kingdom
The Livery Climate Action Group Conference 2024 will tackle ‘Planning for a Resilient Future’.
The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli will throw down the opening challenge.
Click here for tickets

Restoring Nature in the UK's National Parks
2024-10-24 18:00 - 19:15 | Online event
The Worshipful Company of Water Conservators
You are cordially invited to join the Water Conservators’ October Webinar
Restoring Nature in the UK’s National Parks
Thursday 24th October 2024 6.00pm to 7.15pm
Presented by Naomi Conway, Director, National Parks Partnerships
And Ross Powell, Palladium Group
Broads National Park
About this Webinar
The UK’s National Parks, landscapes such as the Cairngorms, Lake District and Dartmoor, that cover 10% of Great Britain, are a vital nature resource. But nature is struggling in them, and action needs to be taken to restore peatland, plant more woodland, improve water quality and increase biodiversity. In 2021, the National Parks launched a collaboration with Palladium called Revere. Revere scales nature-based solutions to restore landscapes across the UK’s National Parks and beyond to tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. This webinar will share Revere’s key learnings and will highlight why innovative partnerships between those restoring nature and the private sector are so crucial.
Learn more about the Water Conservators at https://www.waterconservators.org/
About the Speakers
Naomi Conway is Director of National Parks Partnerships (NPP) providing strategic leadership for national partnerships between the commercial sector and the UK’s 15 National Parks. In this role she has helped to establish ‘Revere’, an awardwinning collaboration between NPP and Palladium that is leveraging private finance at scale to restore nature in protected landscapes. Prior to NPP, she was Head of Development at the National Portrait Gallery, and also Development Director at the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts.
Ross Powell is helping to deliver private investment into UK nature at an unprecedented pace and scale as part of Palladium’s Nature-based Solutions team. Ross’ role is to identify ethically aligned business and investment partners and connect them with the portfolio of high quality, large-scale projects within the UK National Park network and beyond. He helps businesses and investors engage with UK nature.
Register For This Webinar
To attend this webinar, you will first need to register via the link below to Eventbrite.
Attendance is free, there is no charge to attend. You will then receive a return email from Eventbrite with the details to join the webinar via zoom. You need to keep those details to join the webinar. Any problems contact rob.casey1@hotmail.com at least 24 hours before the start of the webinar.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1039452318867?aff=oddtdtcreator

Restoring Nature in the UK's National Parks
2024-10-24 18:00 - 19:15 | Online event
The Worshipful Company of Water Conservators
You are cordially invited to join the Water Conservators’ October Webinar
Restoring Nature in the UK’s National Parks
Thursday 24th October 2024 6.00pm to 7.15pm
Presented by Naomi Conway, Director, National Parks Partnerships
And Ross Powell, Palladium Group
Broads National Park
About this Webinar
The UK’s National Parks, landscapes such as the Cairngorms, Lake District and Dartmoor, that cover 10% of Great Britain, are a vital nature resource. But nature is struggling in them, and action needs to be taken to restore peatland, plant more woodland, improve water quality and increase biodiversity. In 2021, the National Parks launched a collaboration with Palladium called Revere. Revere scales nature-based solutions to restore landscapes across the UK’s National Parks and beyond to tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. This webinar will share Revere’s key learnings and will highlight why innovative partnerships between those restoring nature and the private sector are so crucial.
Learn more about the Water Conservators at https://www.waterconservators.org/
About the Speakers
Naomi Conway is Director of National Parks Partnerships (NPP) providing strategic leadership for national partnerships between the commercial sector and the UK’s 15 National Parks. In this role she has helped to establish ‘Revere’, an awardwinning collaboration between NPP and Palladium that is leveraging private finance at scale to restore nature in protected landscapes. Prior to NPP, she was Head of Development at the National Portrait Gallery, and also Development Director at the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts.
Ross Powell is helping to deliver private investment into UK nature at an unprecedented pace and scale as part of Palladium’s Nature-based Solutions team. Ross’ role is to identify ethically aligned business and investment partners and connect them with the portfolio of high quality, large-scale projects within the UK National Park network and beyond. He helps businesses and investors engage with UK nature.
Register For This Webinar
To attend this webinar, you will first need to register via the link below to Eventbrite.
Attendance is free, there is no charge to attend. You will then receive a return email from Eventbrite with the details to join the webinar via zoom. You need to keep those details to join the webinar. Any problems contact rob.casey1@hotmail.com at least 24 hours before the start of the webinar.
The link to Eventbrite is under the “Website” heading below.

Fuellers Sunday - 3 November 2024
2024-11-03 14:45 - 18:30 | Lost Property Hotel, St Paul’s, 3-5 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7AA, United Kingdom
Fuellers Sunday
Sunday 3 November 2024
The Master[-elect], Elena Oderstone invites you to join her for Fuellers Sunday.
This will start with a Celebration Afternoon Tea near St Paul’s Cathedral before moving to St Andrew by the Wardrobe, which is the first Grade I listed church in the whole of London to go fully carbon neutral following extensive renovations.
Details for the day can be found here and you are encouraged to book early.

Nature Finance UK Conference 2024
2024-11-05 09:00 - 18:30 | IET, Savoy Place, London
The City of London Corporation has positioned London as a global centre for nature finance, a topic that underpins action on climate. Members of the Livery Climate Action Group and their colleagues are invited to participate in the Nature Finance UK Conference on 5th November at a special discounted rate. Now in its seventh year, this is an important forum for professionals involved in financial innovation for the stewardship of land, water and nature: financial services providers, asset owners, investors, corporates, land managers and market enablers.
To receive a 20% discount on the event, the coupon code LiveryClimateActionGroup can be used when booking at https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/event/nature-finance-uk-2024/

Lord Mayor's Coffee Colloquy: SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production
2024-11-05 09:15 - 11:15 | Mansion House, London, London, United Kingdom
The 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli 2023-24 Mayoral Theme “Connect to Prosper” celebrates our multiple knowledge miles, showing that the UK is a place where problems come to be solved. The Coffee Colloquies will demonstrate this, bringing together varied voices from in and around the city to talk about how their work supports the achievement of one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through fast-paced transfer of knowledge, and with a focus on connections and networking, the Coffee Colloquies will invigorate our knowledge miles as the World’s Coffee House.
UCL (University College London) are delighted to host this panel event on Sustainable Development Goal 12- ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. The panel will be chaired by Professor Paola Lettieri (Pro-Provost, UCL East); Paola will be joined by a range of UCL academics as well as colleagues from Newham Council and the Green Alliance who will be showcasing their research and how their work supports the SDG. Do join us for a coffee afterwards for an indepth discussion of the themes raised by the presenters.
The panel will be introduced by host Alderman Alison Gowman.
Book on Eventbrite.

Biophilic Design Conference
2024-11-12 08:30 - 22:00 | The Barbican, London, The Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS, United Kingdom
Never before has there been such an interest and urgent need to improve our physical and mental wellbeing, productivity and creativity as well as to reach net zero and mitigate climate change to create sustainable businesses and cities.

Join us for the first ever Biophilic Design Conference run by the Journal of Biophilic Design at the Barbican London on 12th November 2024.

Bridging the gap between research and practice – Explore the positive impact of Biophilic Design on the mind, body, environment and economy.

Keynote Speaker – TV presenter Oliver Heath
“I’m delighted to be presenting the keynote speech at the Biophilic Design Conference, particularly at time when the natural world that we are so reliant on is under such threat. With a growing awareness of the need for deeper nature connections across all aspects of our lives and building sectors, there is so much to learn from our peers, be that evidence, practice, case studies and approaches. Join us to engage, contribute, and learn.”

Many other respected speakers in this field from NHS, Dept of Education, CEO of London Wildlife Trust, Maggie’s Care Centres, British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), Living Future Europe, Stop Ecocide International, Stride Treglown, Buro Happold, plus leading architects, landscape architects and designers, planners, futurists, city councils, ecologists, wellbeing experts and more.

Mathew Freeman, President of BIID (British Institute of Interior Design) “The Biophilic Design conference is an educational opportunity for those at the fore, to share new developments and inspire those who seek to utilise nature’s influence and prioritise health and wellbeing.”

Learn how we can use Biophilic Design in city and town planning, every workplace, school, hospital simply. How we retrofit Biophilic Design and aim to weave Biophilic Design into the very fabric of buildings and cities from the outset before ground is broken and cement mixed.

Plus after the lights go down, in the Barbican conservatory there will be the world Premiere of “The Green Book: The Biophilic Suite” composed and performed by acclaimed musician Javier Rodriguez, commissioned by us and inspired by the Barbican.

Booking link here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/journalofbiophilicdesign/1205337

Electric Dreams 2024: celebrating women in energy
2024-11-12 12:30 - 21:00 | IET, Savoy Place, London
Join us at the IET for an electrifying day of celebration dedicated to women in energy – past, present and future – with an evening keynote by Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, chair of both the Climate Change Adaptation Committee and the Carbon Trust. Register here.
Afternoon panel sessions, with refreshments: 1pm – 5pm
Evening keynote lecture, drinks and networking: 6pm – 9pm
(During the registration process, please select to attend either the afternoon panel sessions (£15), the evening keynote lecture (sponsored), or both.)
Speakers at the afternoon panel sessions – all passionate advocates of diversity in engineering – include Anne Locker, Sahar Danesh and Ann Oakley (session 1); and Lesley Rudd, Yasmin Ali, Kenneth Dunn and Titi Oliyide (session 2). The panels are chaired, respectively, by Henrietta Heald and Dawn Bonfield, and each concludes with a Q&A.
The event marks the centenary of the founding on 12 November 1924 of the Electrical Association for Women (EAW), with Caroline Haslett at the helm. The EAW set out to educate all women in the new science of electricity, to relieve them from domestic drudgery, and to liberate them to pursue careers outside the home.
Branches sprang up across the UK and elsewhere, and the organisation – which helped to introduce labour-saving electrical items into millions of households – continued to thrive for 60 years, becoming a powerful engine of 20th-century feminism.
Building on the unique legacy of the EAW, Electric Dreams 2024 is a nationwide festival that highlights the achievements of women working in the energy sector today and examines the nature of their increasingly important roles in the transition to Net Zero.
Panel 1: What did the electricity pioneers of the past do for us?
Anne Locker, the Library and Archives Manager at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), relates the history of the Electrical Association for Women (EAW) and how it transformed the national conversation around electricity in the home.
Sahar Danesh, a chartered engineer and senior manager at the British Standards Institution (BSI) specialising in digital and emerging technologies, explains the role women have played in shaping standards to ensure that everyday household items are safe to use.
Ann Oakley, professor of sociology and social policy at University College London (UCL), is the author of more than 40 books, most recently The Science of Housework. She sets the achievements of the EAW in the context of the movement for science-based housework that swept Europe, North America and other countries in the early 20th century.
Henrietta Heald (chair) is the author of Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines, a centenary history of the Women’s Engineering Society.
Panel 2: Women and the energy transition
Yasmin Ali, a chemical engineer who develops and manages renewable energy projects, has delivered more than 100 talks about engineering and energy. She reveals the mission that inspired her first book, Power Up, which takes readers across the globe to reveal the bigger picture behind international energy systems.
Kenneth Dunn, an educator and community development activist, outlines how the introduction of a heat-retention cook bag – made by local women from local organic waste – has transformed the cooking process and energy use in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
Titi Oliydie, a senior process safety engineer, was named in 2023 the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year. She demystifies the facts and fallacies about the green hydrogen industry, where she is a safety and operations lead in innovative electrolyser technology.
Dawn Bonfield (chair) is professor of practice in engineering at King’s College London, working with young engineers to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Lesley Rudd, the Chief Executive of Electrical Safety First, has worked in the energy industry all of her career. Lesley explains in this presentation how ESF strives to achieve its mission of ensuring everyone in the UK can use electricity safely in their home and provides some insights into her own career and what influenced it.
Public lecture by Baroness Brown of Cambridge
Together in electric dreams: tackling climate change
2023 was the hottest year on record – and 2024 is on track to beat it. We are seeing the global impacts of the changing climate. In 2022 we had 40oC temperatures in the UK, in September 2023 we had record temperatures globally – 1.77o above pre-industrial levels, and in April 2024 in India over 900 million people queued to vote in a 47oC heatwave made 45 times more likely by human-induced climate change.
Urgent action is required if we are to have a chance of delivering the goals of the Paris Agreement. Historically the UK has been a leader in climate action, directed by the Climate Change Act 2008, and the UK’s legislated 5 yearly Carbon Budgets. The 2020s were to be the decade of climate action with ambitious emissions reduction commitments set for 2030 in the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to COP 26 in Glasgow. We are almost halfway through the decade and we have some catching up to do.
Underpinning the decarbonisation of our economy is electrification – involving dramatic changes to our use of energy, decarbonising the electricity system and doubling its current size in the next 25 years.
The lecture will look at the growing impacts of climate change, underlining the need for urgent action. It will examine the implications of electrification for the UK’s path to Net Zero by 2050. Finally, it will touch on the need for adaptation even if we achieve the global goal of the Paris Agreement.

A Digital and Flourishing Built Environment
2024-11-13 18:00 - 19:15 | Online event
Join us to hear from Professor Dave Philp and Neil Thompson who will talk us through the challenges and opportunities of a digital Built Environment, including:
What is the Built Environment? Why is it different to Construction? The role of Digital Twinning and the application of Data, Technology and Change Management. Approaches to new build and existing estate. The challenges of Big Data. Social Value creation opportunities. Examples of developments. Current state of the UK market and Government Regulation.

Speakers:
David Philp MSc BSc FCIOB FICE FRICS FCInstES FGBC. Chief Value Officer – Cohesive
With over 30 years in industry, David is a Chartered Construction Manager by background. He has previously worked with Balfour Beatty, Mace and AECOM. As CVO at Cohesive he is responsible for driving customer-centricity and creating sustainable value for clients across their asset lifecycle and portfolios. David has been involved in delivering innovative projects, digital change strategies and digital asset management strategies across the globe in the UK, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Australia and the Baltics. He was seconded to the UK Cabinet Office in 2011 as Head of BIM Implementation and has been a key contributor to the UK public sector BIM mandate (GCS 2011-2016) he was also Chair of the Scottish BIM Delivery Group through the Scottish Futures Trust delivering the BIM requirements of the Scottish Government. He is chair of the CIOB Innovation Panel and CIOB AI report. He is also an Honorary Professor at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Neil Thompson FIET MCIOB MDAMA.Director, Digital Integration & Delivery Infrastructure, Asset Management atAtkinsRéalis.
Neil is part of the leadership team responsible for a global transformation program which involves identifying and sharing digital innovation, creating new business opportunities and service lines, and encouraging cultural shift across an organization of over 55,000 employees. Neil’s passion lies in determining how to improve the design, build and operation of social & economic infrastructure, through integrated technologies and services. Tackling the productivity problem using his background as a construction manager, engineer and economist, he is working to redefine business models, harness robotics and apply digitally driven engineering. A chartered construction manager and engineer by background, Neil’s professional experience spans personal entrepreneurship, roles in global contractors and consultancies and work with SMEs. He has an MSc in Construction Economics and is an honorary associate professor at the Bartlett, University College London.

Register with Eventbrite.

LCAG All-SPOC Meeting
2024-11-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Online event
Catch-up meeting for Livery Climate Action Group SIngle Points of Contact only

Science-Based Targets, Greenwashing and Brownscraping: Net Zero in the Private Sector
2025-01-14 18:00 - 20:00 | Barnard’s Inn Hall, United Kingdom
Many companies are now required to have a “Science-based Target” for their emissions, but how do we stop these from becoming greenwashing exercises or, worse, incentives for “brownscraping” – concentrating polluting assets to hide them from environmental scrutiny? Instead of decarbonising companies and their financial portfolios, this lecture discusses the need to decarbonise products and services themselves. A company must be able to explain how they plan to stop what they sell from causing global warming – the rest is detail.
Speaker: Professor Myles Allen, Gresham Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment (2022-)
Professor Myles Allen took his first degree in Physics and Philosophy, followed by a doctorate in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, both at the University of Oxford. He has worked at Oxford for most of his career, with early stints at MIT and the UN Environment Programme in Kenya, and is currently Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative.
He has contributed extensively to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including as Coordinating Lead Author for the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. He has published extensively on how human and natural influences on climate contribute to observed climate change and extreme weather risk, and the implications for adaptation and mitigation policy.
He was awarded the Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2010, and in 2022 a CBE for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Register for attending the venue or online here:

11th LIVERY EDUCATION CONFERENCE FOR HEADTEACHERS
2025-01-21 08:30 - 12:30 | Merchant Taylors’ Hall, 30 Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8JB, United Kingdom
The theme of the conference is “Helping young people enter the job market”.

Our speakers will include the Director of Education from the Careers and Enterprise Company on their current plans together with an employer who is working with them and a school representative discussing work experience.

With space for 50 delegates from interested Livery Companies and 50 senior staff from secondary schools, the aim is to follow the presentations with collaborative round table discussions, developing and engendering possible collaboration and action points for the year ahead. Lively debate has informed the outcomes of the previous conferences and new school/Livery links have subsequently been fostered in a range of ways.

Livery Schools Link (LSL) has built up successful collaboration between Livery Companies and schools e.g. The continuing popularity and steady growth of our annual LSL Careers Showcase Event at Guildhall and the growing use of our HELP careers app. Please visit www.liveryschoolslink.org.uk for more information.
More information available here.

SPOC Forum
2025-01-21 17:00 - 18:00 | Online event
A discussion and feedback on the draft Guidance Note for SPOC Roles and Responsibilities

Why Does Britain Have a Water and Sewage Crisis?
2025-02-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Barnard’s Inn Hall, United Kingdom
The discharge of raw sewage into rivers, as well as major water companies’ financial problems, have become serious political and social concerns for the public.
British cities have faced similar challenges in the past, most notoriously the ‘Great Stink’ in London in 1858 that led to the construction of Bazalgette’s sewer. Then in the nineteenth century, many cities adopted ‘gas and water socialism’, taking utilities into public ownership.
This lecture asks, why did this happen, and through assessing the current system of regulated private ownership, also asks, should there be a return to public ownership?

Speaker: Professor Martin Daunton, visiting Gresham Professor of Economic History.

Martin is a British academic and historian. He was Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, between 2004 and 2014. He is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge.He has written two books on the history of taxation in Britain – Trusting Leviathan and Just Taxes, and co-edited with colleagues in Berlin a volume of essays on the political economy of public finance in leading OECD countries since the 1970s. His book The Economic Government of the World, 1933 to 2023 was published by Allen Lane in 2023.
Register for attendance in person or Online here.

Climate Change: Material Choices for more Sustainable Products
2025-03-04 11:00 - 15:30 | Furniture Makers’ Hall, 12 Austin Friars, London, EC2N 2HE, United Kingdom
Materials have arguably the greatest impact on a product’s sustainability credentials so what are the latest developments and considerations to support greater environmental and social responsibility?

This event is focussed on examining some of the established and widely used materials in the furniture and furnishings sector. Experts from the industry will host sessions on foam, textiles, wood, leather and more.

Admission
Furniture Makers Company Members: Free (request promo code)
Non-members: £25
Lunch included.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/material-choices-for-more-sustainable-products-tickets-1117900974909?aff=oddtdtcreator&mc_cid=7d94417b29&mc_eid=da3dd7bb36

How to Manage Greenwashing Risks
2025-03-12 12:00 - 12:45 | Online event
Heart of the City: Lunch and Learn Online
On 12 March, join us for an online, expert-led Lunch and Learn: How to Manage Greenwashing Risks, where we’ll explore what greenwashing really means, the risks it poses, and how to ensure your sustainability claims are credible.
Confused about greenwashing? Join us as we explore its meaning, risks and how SMEs can manage its challenges with practical solutions with our guest speakers, Julia Cripps and Hannah Piper at Hogan Lovells.
This session will explore communication strategies, the value of third-party certifications (such as ISO norm, B-Corp and Science Based Targets initiative [SBTi]), and small, actionable changes that could make a big difference to SMEs. With examples and a practical approach, we’ll help you strengthen your brand’s integrity and avoid costly mistakes.
Register here

SPOC Forum - Biodiversity in the City
2025-03-24 17:00 - 18:00 | Online event
Join LCAG Core Group and SPOCs to hear about Biodiversity activities in the City of London with Ben Bishop, Environmental Resilience Officer at the City of London Corporation.
Register here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/lcag/1512323

Data Centres - Implications for Water Sustainability
2025-03-26 18:00 - 19:15 | Online event
Presented by Tom Cheesbrough, Manager, Design Integration EMEA, Vantage Data Centers
This webinar will examine the rapid growth of the data centre sector exploring the purposes of data centres, their construction and operation and their environmental impact. Data centres in Europe and the US are significant consumers of water, primarily for cooling purposes, with estimates suggesting that UK data centres use approximately 0.5 to 1.5 billion litres of water annually. However, these figures can vary based on the size of the data centre, the cooling technologies employed, and local climate conditions. As the demand for data processing continues to grow, so too does the emphasis on sustainable practices, including water management in data centres.
Reserve your place here.

In-person Lunch and Learn: Navigating the Net Zero Journey for SMEs
2025-03-27 12:00 - 13:30 | Planet Mark Offices, 39 Tabernacle Street,, London, EC2A 4AA, United Kingdom
Heart of the City and Planet Mark In-person Lunch and Learn
Join Heart of the City and Planet Mark to kick-start your SME’s net zero journey with actionable insights and networking opportunities – complimented with a free lunch!
This special Lunch and Learn, co-hosted by Heart of the City and Planet Mark, is designed to help SMEs take meaningful and practical steps toward sustainability. Gain actionable insights into measuring and managing your carbon emissions and leave feeling confident and empowered to implement changes that benefit both your business and the planet.

Register here.

Does Net Zero Mean the End of Livestock Agriculture?
2025-04-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Barnard’s Inn Hall, United Kingdom
Diet and agriculture are borderline untouchable “third rail” issues in the climate debate. But with the global food system contributing up to an extra degree of warming by 2100, they cannot be ignored. Sensible policies are hindered by carbon footprinting conventions that distort the impact of methane – in both directions.
This lecture explains how understanding methane’s true impact shows that a sustainable livestock industry could be compatible with a stable climate, although it would still need radical change.
Speaker:
Professor Myles Allen took his first degree in Physics and Philosophy, followed by a doctorate in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, both at the University of Oxford. He has worked at Oxford for most of his career, with early stints at MIT and the UN Environment Programme in Kenya, and is currently Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative.
He has contributed extensively to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including as Coordinating Lead Author for the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. He has published extensively on how human and natural influences on climate contribute to observed climate change and extreme weather risk, and the implications for adaptation and mitigation policy.
He was awarded the Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics in 2010, and in 2022 a CBE for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Register here.

TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK – IS THERE AN ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS? WHO’S TO BLAME?
2025-05-12 17:00 - 21:30 | Wax Chandlers’ Hall, United Kingdom
With Dr Peter Matthews and Mark Lloyd
This year’s Plumbers’ Annual Lecture at Wax Chandlers Hall will explore the historical context of water management, the stakeholders involved, and the current crisis affecting our inland waters.

The press is full of the alarming state of the quality of our river waters and public trust in water companies is at an all-time low, with many quick to blame water companies for turning our waterways into sewers. But are they the only ones responsible?
In response, the Government has now launched an Independent Commission to assess the water sector and its regulation.
Its goal is to ensure the UK has a sufficiently robust and stable regulatory framework to attract the investment needed to clean up our waterways, speed up infrastructure delivery and restore public confidence in the sector. The Commission’s recommendations are due to be released in 2025.
Our keynote speakers will explore the origins of how we manage inland waters, the various parties involved, the current state of our waterways and the pressing public concerns regarding water quality. A critical examination will be made of the extent of the crisis and the political drivers behind the ongoing challenges with water management.
Looking ahead, we will investigate potential solutions, focusing on how to implement nature based solutions, catchment wide approaches that deliver multiple benefits for best value. What role should the regulators and regulation have, and how can we create a governance framework that fosters integrated, collaborative delivery across the many stakeholders involved?
Finally, we will consider the expectations of the public — how can we meet their demands and align our efforts with their perceptions, both now and in the future?
This Plumbers’ Annual Lecture is not to be missed and promises to be a fascinating evening!
Please note tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Further details here on how to book

Programme
The event will start at 5:15 pm followed by the lecture at 6:00 pm. This will be followed by the drinks reception at 7:15 pm and an excellent dinner at 8 pm at Brasserie Blanc. The evening will end at approximately 9:30 pm.
Who should attend?

Liverymen and guests
Corporate Members and guests
Apprentices, trainees and students (special concessions apply)
Anyone interested in our rivers

Tickets
Lecture Only

£25 Standard (per head)
£15 Students and under 25 (per head)

Lecture and dinner at Brasserie Blanc

£85 Standard (per head)
£75 Students and under 25 (per head)

How to book
Members of the Plumbers’ Company
Please book through the members section of the website.
Non-members
Please book through CIPHE by scanning or clicking the QR code:
https://www.ciphe.org.uk/about/events-diary/wcop-annual-lecture-2025

SPOC Forum
2025-05-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Online event
A discussion on carbon calculation and mitigation with representatives from companies with nuances on approaches taken.
Heart of the City, introduced by Andy Melia (CEO) and Katie Rogers, will talk about the methodology behind counting carbon emissions for small organisations, the drawbacks and compromises needed and the online calculators that give some reliable standard measurements.
Stuart Mitchell, Livery member of WCIT, will present his bespoke but easy to use method for measuring travel and transport emissions.
In 2024, Tylers & Bricklayers commissioned an external audit with “We Are Isla”, to enable them to complete a benchmarking carbon survey at their Christmas Carol Service dinner. The findings highlighted the most effective ways to reduce the carbon impact of the event, and the Company is using that data to inform the content of their Climate Action Plan, and intend to proceed with further carbon measurements of future events. We will hear from Livery member and SPOC Kate Oldridge and Keith Aldis.
On the basis that what gets measured gets managed we will then look at some mitigations and pragmatic steps as well as personal pledges.

SPOCs to register in advance using this link.

London Cycling Festival
2025-05-24 - 2025-05-25 | Various, London, United Kingdom
Many events across London, mainly over the weekend of 24-25 May 2025.
In the CIty of London, Join us at Guildhall Yard on Sunday 25 May for inclusive, all-ages and abilities cycling activities as part of London Cycling Festival. Enjoy family-friendly rides, bike maintenance facilities, information stalls, and bicycle test rides.
See the London Cycling Festival website for full details.
https://lcc.org.uk/events-calendar/

Transforming the materials agenda for a sustainable planet: Opportunities and challenges
2025-06-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Online event
The Whitechapel Lecture:
Speaker: Professor Mark Jolly, FIMMM, FICME, CEng, CEnv
Professor of Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing at Cranfield University
We live in a materials world. Everything we use is made from materials extracted from the planet. Yet, our current way of making and using most materials follows a linear model: take, make, and dispose. This unsustainable approach is pushing the planet’s limits—if our production and consumption behaviours remain unchanged, we would need 2.75 worlds to meet our demands. But we only have one. To secure a sustainable future, we must transition to a circular materials world, where we minimise the extraction of raw materials and maximise the reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling of existing materials. Achieving this transformation requires innovations in mindsets, technologies, business models, and systems.
Register here
