Sustainability Conference 2020

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Looking at the bigger picture, climate emergency declarations and the threats to Hampshire.

Speakers:

• Chris Goodall, Author "What we need to do now"

Our first speaker, Chris Goodall is a business person and writer on the energy transition. His most recent book, What We Need To Do Now, was shortlisted for the 2020 Wainwright prize. Previous works have won awards and commendations. He is an angel investor in several low carbon start-ups and was the chair of the UK’s fastest growing car charging company until it was bought by the French multinational Engie in summer 2019. He writes a weekly summary of low carbon news from around the world, available from his web site at www.carboncommentary.com.’

• Maggie Shelton, Ecologist and Community Engagement at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

Maggie works at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust on a National Lottery Heritage Funded Scheme called Watercress and Winterbournes. Working with voluntary and public sector organisations and local communities, Maggie aims to improve and enhance Hampshire's chalk streams, and their winterbournes, of the upper rivers Test and Itchen. The Scheme will ensure these chalks streams are robust, resilient and more able to withstand the pressures of climate change, and drinking water abstraction.

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Exploring how to decarbonise buildings, both new build and retrofit, with some examples of where and how this has been done.

Speakers:

• Paul Phasey, Director at Architecture PLB

Since joining Architecture PLB in 2004, Paul has developed his interest in sustainable design that started whilst studying at the University of Portsmouth. He was winner of the ‘Architecture PLB Sustainability Prize’, awarded to a final year graduate for innovation and excellence in approach to sustainability. He is now a member of the practice’s Sustainability Group and is an accredited PassivHaus Designer. Paul has extensive experience of designing and delivering a range of residential and education projects. Having designed Hampshire’s first certified Passivhaus he is helping the practice design to Passivhaus Plus standards and applying these principles to large-scale schemes, such as student residences.

• Laura Dale and Mark Butt, University of Winchester

Laura joined the University of Winchester in April 2020 and is responsible for overseeing sustainability and environmental issues on campus. This includes managing the University’s environmental compliance, Carbon Management Programme, energy management and procurement, waste management, biodiversity, travel and transport initiatives and student and staff engagement programmes. Prior to joining the university, Laura had been working in the sustainability field in the public sector for the last 12 years, including roles at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and the University of Falmouth.   

Mark is the major capital project manager for the University of Winchester, responsible for campus master-planning, development and project management. In a property and construction career spanning 30+ years, Mark has focussed on sustainable building, working on reuse and new-build projects and in 2014 competed a Master’s in sustainable building at Oxford Brookes University. He has recently enrolled on a Doctor of Business Administration programme, specialising on reuse of existing buildings.

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National decarbonisation of transport and shifting to active travel.

Speakers:

• Paul Walker, Strategic Development Manager at Go South Coast

Paul is the Head of Strategic Development for Go South Coast, part of the Go-Ahead Group; Paul is responsible for developing and delivering bus based projects in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, Swindon and Bournemouth & Poole.  He is also the lead on town planning and transport planning issues. Before going "on the buses" four years ago Paul worked for several local authorities over twenty years across Hampshire and Wiltshire in various transport planning roles delivering major projects, culminating in being responsible for the Highways, Transport and Parking function in Southampton.

• Megan Streb, Partnerships Manager at Sustrans

Megan Streb is Partnerships Manager at the charity Sustrans. She works with local authorities in the South of England, promoting walking, cycling and more liveable neighbourhoods and helping them to create better streets. Megan has worked in community engagement and behaviour change projects since 2009, and says she considers herself to be a ‘keen’ cyclist because she does it every day ­– to work, to the shops and to see friends – despite rarely cycling more than three miles at any one time.

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Decarbonising the gas and electricity grid and the challenge for businesses to become carbon neutral organisations.

Speakers:

• Professor Bakr Bahaj, Professor of Sustainable Energy at the University of Southampton

Professor Bahaj’s work has resulted in over 300 articles, published in academic referenced journals and conference series’ of international standing. In 2013, he founded the International Journal of Marine Energy followed in 2018 by the International Marine Energy Journal for which he is the Editor-in-Chief. In 2012, Prof Bahaj was appointed Chief Scientific Advisor to Southampton City Council—believed to be the first such appointment in the UK. In 2014, he was named by the UK’s Science Council as one of the UK’s 100 leading practising scientists

• Dr Duncan East, Head of Sustainability at Marwell Zoo

Dr. Duncan East, CEnv, FIEMA, is Head of Sustainability for Marwell Wildlife, a conservation charity dedicated to restoring nature, promoting sustainable living and catalysing change. Marwell has active conservation programmes in Tunisia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, China and Polynesia and as well as operating Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, which welcomes over 500,000 visitors each year. Duncan has 25 years’ experience in environmental management and consultancy including ISO14001, low carbon technologies and renewable energy projects, water saving, sustainable and ethical purchasing and delivering training and seminars. Duncan is chair of the Winchester Sustainable Business Network, vice chair of the BIAZA Environmental Impact and Sustainability working group and is co-ordinator of the Solent IEMA / Southampton Green Drinks network. Duncan's PhD research explored methods of measuring and quantifying behaviour change and its potential contribution to achieving net positive impact.