October 17th at the GEC, Dublin
10:00am to 5:20pm
Presentations
And Topics
Its Time
To Act!
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Helping You To Lead Effective Transformation At Your Business
It’s Time To Act! Take advantage of this great opportunity to learn from leading Irish, UK and US sustainability experts.
Over the day, we will bring you on a journey, from getting started with a proper plan, to setting goals, investigating opportunities, and showcasing sustainability technologies. Learn from real-world case studies.
Please Note: Details about each presentation, the running order and the speakers may chance before the event.
Get Started With A Proper Plan
The day starts off by launching the Techies Go Green Climate Action Roadmap. A step by step guide for better climate action outcomes
Educating Staff And Fostering A Sustainability Culture
We show you how to introduce an effective sustainability culture in your organisation through education & encouraging greater staff participation
How Do You Get Started On Your Sustainable Journey?
This fireside chat will look at how two IT companies got started on their sustainability journey.
Opportunities for businesses that act on climate change
For those that embrace the transition to a low-carbon business model, this can provide opportunities for growth, innovation, enhanced reputation and increased efficiency.
The Circular Economy
How can we accelerate on circular economy transformations for sustainable business success?
Green Champions Challenge
Wrap up the days learning with a team challenge with real-world scenarios and problems to solve in the pursuit of greener solutions.
Scroll down for full details on all of our presentations and panel discussions throughout the day including our much anticipated fireside chat with renowned author, environmentalist, and activist, Paul Hawken
Find Solutions At Our Lightning Talk Sessions
Follow up with a one-to-one meeting with our attending industry experts to discuss your needs
Dr. Shane McGuinness will explain how Nature & Biodiversity Solutions enables companies to meet their ESG reporting requirements and offers collaboration opportunities between the corporate sector and nature restoration efforts.
Navigating the Legal Maze of Green Claims
This session will delve into the complexities of green claims, offering insights on how to ensure sustainability statements are both authentic and legally sound. Learn about the evolving legal frameworks and strategies to mitigate activist and regulatory scrutiny and protect your brand's reputation.
UrbanVolt, the leading provider of affordable clean solar energy will introduce their Solar as a Service model and how they offer companies access to reap the benefits of solar energy for no upfront cost.
Ethico will explain its sustainable investment solutions that promote positive social and environmental outcomes, while also working hard to deliver returns.
10:20am – 11:00am
Get Started With A Proper Plan
Moderator
Shane McDonnell
Strategy & Communications Consultant, MCI Consulting
Introducing The Techies Go Green Climate Action Roadmap
In this session Michael O’Hara and our panel will launch our Techies Go Green Climate Action Roadmap and introduce our great member supports to help with its implementation.
This presentation and panel discussion will explain how a climate action plan can provide competitive advantages for your businesses including enhanced brand reputation, cost savings, regulatory compliance, access to new markets, and enhanced investor confidence.
The session will introduce key climate action steps including stakeholder engagement, education, auditing, goal setting, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting, disclosure and transparency.
Announcing Our Community Portal: We will launch our online Techies Go Green members area where businesses can access our Climate Action Roadmap, the supporting Action Guide, presentations by industry experts, community forums and a directory sustainability solutions providers.
Donal Quinn from ENSO and Earthology Founder, Sarah Blake will discuss best practice on how to communicate your climate action goals to customers and other stakeholders. How to introduce a policy of transparency and disclosure and promote open dialogue with stakeholders, and how to avoid accusations of greenwashing through regular disclosure and getting proper accreditations using organisations like B Corp.
Donal Quinn
Founder of ENSO, Sustainability support services for businesses
Sarah Blake
Earthology Founder, Sustainability Consultant, Carbon Literacy, Climate Education
Michael O’Hara
Co-Founder & Membership Ambassador,
Techies Go Green
Gerard Clutterbuck
Operations & Strategy,
Techies Go Green
11:30am – 12:10pm
Introducing A Sustainability Culture
With Case Studies From
Moderator
Conor Daly
Co-founder and Director of Nature & Biodiversity Solutions & Sustainable Energy Ambassador at
Techies Go Green
Educating Staff And Fostering A Sustainability Culture Is The Best Investment For Change - Where To Start And How To Roll It Out Companywide
Raquel Noboa
Founder & CEO Fifty Shades Greener
“Education and training is the foundation of all cultural change and it can empower individuals and organisations to make better choices for the planet, and all the people living in it. “ - Raquel Noboa Founder & CEO Fifty Shades Greener
In this presentation and panel discussion Raquel Noboa Founder & CEO Fifty Shades Greener will look at how empowering individuals in a company through education, skills training and encouraging participation can create a sustainability culture and improve outcomes. We will also look at two case studies in publishing and hospitality and learn how they successfully introduced a sustainability culture in their organisations.
Andy Miller
CEO
Activemind
Former Folens CEO, Andy Miller shares his first hand experiences and perspectives on his remarkable sustainability initiative, Folens Goes Green and its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025. Andy discusses how Folens sustainability journey began with recognising the importance of empowering our employees where they provided comprehensive Green Skills training. Andy will show how, through lighting and equipment audits, insulation upgrades, and staff training, and solar installation they achieved a remarkable 30% reduction in electricity consumption since early 2022 and the challenges of phasing out their diesel car fleet and opting for electric vehicles (EVs).
Donal Minihane
Managing Director
Hotel Doolin
Donal Minihane will discuss how he managed the process of achieving Ireland's first certified carbon-neutral hotel status for Hotel Doolin and their efforts to reduce water and energy usage, minimise waste, and support local businesses by sourcing food locally.
Donal will discuss how, under his leadership, Hotel Doolin won Ireland's Greenest Hotel at the Gold Medal Awards, and the Sustainability Team of the Year 2021 at the Green Awards. He will discuss how Hotel Doolin is now embarking on a higher commitment to become a Net Zero Hotel by 2029, recognising that carbon neutrality or carbon negative is not enough as it does not take into account the majority of their Scope 3 emissions.
12:10pm – 12:40pm
How Do You Get Started?
With Case Studies From
Moderator
Francis O’ Haire
CTO, Climb Channel Solutions
How Do You Get Started On Your Sustainable Journey? - Two IT companies Tell Their Story
Featuring Jenny Latimer from Highgate IT Solutions and John Gladstone from Softcat PLC, this fireside chat will look at how two IT companies got started on their sustainability journey. They will talk about their approach to measuring their greenhouse gas emissions, setting actionable goals and how they have communicated their sustainability achievements to their stakeholders.
Jenny Latimer
Head of Alliances & Operations at Highgate IT Solutions
As Sustainability Lead at Highgate IT Solutions, Jenny Latimer will discuss how they got started on their sustainable journey including the task of setting realistic and actionable goals, communicating them to stakeholders, how they track and transparently communicate their progress and how they have achieved Carbon Neutral Plus. As a fully remote working organisation, Highgate IT Solutions is a great example of a company with a considerably smaller carbon footprint than it would have if Highgate were to have a premises (as Highgate produces no emissions in Scope 1 or 2). Jenny will discuss the steps taken to measure two important Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions categories – Homeworking and Business Travel, and also they developed a process which tracks all travel emissions through an expenses policy.
John Gladstone
Sustainability Lead, Softcat PLC
Softcat PLC supplies a broad range of ICT technology solutions and services from its eleven locations in the UK and Ireland. As Sustainability Lead, John Gladstone will discuss how they got started on their sustainable journey and the challenges identifying, measuring and addressing the wide range of emissions sources in a large multisite organisation like Softcat PLC. John will discuss how Softcat became the first IT company in Europe to have its Net Zero targets approved by SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative). In 2022 Softcat was one of only 35 companies in the world to have their net-zero targets approved by SBTi and only six companies across all sectors in the UK had their targets approved.
12:50pm – 1:20pm
Future Proof Your Business
Future Proof Your Business - Opportunities for businesses that act on climate change
Moderator
Francis O’ Haire
CTO, Climb Channel Solutions
Philip Connolly
Associate Director in KPMG Sustainable Futures
All too often, climate change is solely discussed as a significant risk. But, for those that embrace the transition to a low-carbon business model, this can provide opportunities for growth, innovation, enhanced reputation, increased efficiency.
Philip Connolly will discuss how those companies that take action now are the frontrunners in gaining a competitive advantage.
This session will focus on embracing renewable energy options, transitioning to energy-efficient technologies, adopting innovative practices, and better management of resources to reduce operational costs and carbon footprints. Philip will also look at how good ESG data management can open opportunities in supply chains, product development, shareholder value and gaining market share.
Philip is an associate director in KPMG Sustainable Futures and has worked in the Irish energy sector for 10 years. Philip has worked with several corporates in Ireland on their decarbonisation strategies and energy procurement.
2:30pm - 3:20pm
Embracing The Circular Economy
Moderator
Francis O’ Haire
CTO, Climb Channel Solutions
How can we accelerate on circular economy transformations for sustainable business success?
Join us for a lively discussion on the growing importance of the circular economy where we investigate how can we accelerate on circular economy transformations for sustainable business success? Moderated by Francis O’Haire, you will have the opportunity to put your questions to our panel.
Paul McSweeney
Founder & CEO, The ZeroNet
James Tombs
Senior Business Development Manager, Vyta
Agnese Metitieri
Circular Economy Ventures Lead at Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR)
3:20pm - 4:30pm
Test Real-World Scenarios
Test Real-World Scenarios In The Green Champions Challenge!
This interactive session is a dynamic and engaging collaborative team challenge designed to raise awareness and understanding of the critical environmental issues facing tech companies.
Dr. Ciaran O’Carroll
Sustainability Consultant at Change by Degrees, Lecturer in Sustainability Leadership at Technological University Dublin
Participants will be grouped into teams and presented with real-world scenarios and problems that tech companies encounter in their pursuit of green solutions.
The winning team will be awarded the inaugural 'Techies Live' Green Champions trophy.
Dr. Ciarán O’Carroll is a prominent figure in the realm of sustainability and business and a sustainability consultant at Change by Degrees and a lecturer in Sustainability Leadership at Technological University Dublin. Ciarán will contribute his extensive knowledge and experience to this challenge, making this session a not-to-be-missed opportunity to test preconceptions and find opportunities when addressing climate action and sustainability in your business.
4:30pm - 5:15pm
In Conversation With Paul Hawken
Host
Francis O’ Haire
CTO, Climb Channel Solutions
Join us for an insightful and thought provoking live online conversation with Paul Hawken
Keynote Speaker
Paul Hawken
Environmentalist, Entrepreneur, Author, and Activist
Paul Hawken is a renowned author, environmentalist, entrepreneur, activist and founder of Project Drawdown, a non-profit dedicated to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. Paul is a best-selling author, who has written eight books, as well as dozens of articles, op-eds, and other papers concerning the environment, the ethical responsibility of business, and social justice.
Paul will discuss Project Drawdown and his most recent book, Regeneration, which presents a transformative approach to addressing the climate crisis by integrating justice, biodiversity, and human dignity into actionable solutions. The book emphasises the importance of an inclusive movement that engages all of humanity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse environmental degradation. Paul outlines practical strategies, such as regenerative agriculture and renewable energy, to create a sustainable future. The goal is to end the climate crisis within one generation by fostering a global commitment to regeneration, which not only combats climate change but also promotes social equity and economic resilience.
This is a unique opportunity to put your questions to Paul about his work and insights.
Find Solutions At Our Lightning Talk Sessions
10:20am – 10:30am
Dr Shane Mc Guinness
Peatland Finance Ireland
Lightning Talk 1
Dr Shane Mc Guinness of Peatland Finance Ireland, ERINN Innovation and Lecturer in Sustainability, University College Dublin
Shane will explain how Peatland Finance enables companies to meet their ESG reporting requirements, such as the CSRD in the EU and how they can pave the way for impactful collaboration between the corporate sector and nature restoration efforts.
This lightening talk is sponsored by Techies Go Green Partner—Nature & Biodiversity Solutions.
Arrange a one-to-one meeting with Shane during the day.
Silver Sponsor
11:10am – 11:20am
Ciaran Hughes
CFP, Ethico
Lightning Talk 2
Featuring Ciaran Hughes, CFP, Ethico
Ciaran will introduce Ethico, the ethical investment company and how they give businesses a better way to manage their company’s finances. Ethico offers sustainable investment solutions and pension options that promote positive social and environmental outcomes, while also working hard to deliver returns.
Arrange a one-to-one meeting with Ciaran during the day.
Gold Sponsor
12:50am – 1:00pm
Justin Jacober
CEO, Urban Volt
Lightning Talk 3
Featuring Justin Jacober, CEO from Urban Volt
Justin will introduce UrbanVolt, the leading provider of affordable clean solar energy. Using their Solar as a Service model, Justin will explain how they offer companies access to reap the benefits of solar energy for no upfront cost. By turning sustainability into a service, making it easy to rapidly reduce a company's carbon footprint. UrbanVolt also offers an innovative Light as a Service, we upgrade your lighting without the need for costly upfront investment.
Arrange a one-to-one meeting with Justin during the day.
Gold Sponsor
1:30pm – 1:40pm
Giles Crown
Partner, Taylor Wessing
Lightning Talk 4
Featuring Giles Crown, Partner at Taylor Wessing
ESG has evolved in tandem with technological advancements and Taylor Wessing is at the forefront of this convergence, playing a pivotal role in upholding responsible and sustainable practices while driving innovation and progress. Their advisory expertise extends to domains where technology intersects with ESG, including health-tech, clean-tech, climate-tech, artificial intelligence, and life sciences.
Arrange a one-to-one meeting with Giles during the day.
Silver Sponsor