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Tech and Net Zero Conference 2026: Event Summary

29 October 20265 min read
Event Round-up
Tech and Net Zero Conference 2026: Event Summary

On Wednesday 21 October 2026, techUK hosted the Tech and Net Zero Conference, bringing together members, government, regulators, academia and investors to discuss all things tech and climate. 

The themes for the day included how companies are moving from commitments to implementation, with climate action increasingly embedded in day-to-day roles rather than sitting with sustainability teams alone. At the same time the political consensus on net zero fracturing and the Government's announcement that morning on drilling at Jackdaw demonstrated the emerging trade offs. 

Key points from the sessions are below: 

Opening keynote: making nature visible in economic decisions 

Kate Levick, Deputy Executive Director and Distinguished Policy Fellow at LSE's Earth Capital Nexus EarthCap), framed nature as "macro-critical infrastructure": systems so important to economic and financial stability that their value, and the risks of their degradation, should be reflected in financial decision-making. 

Drawing on the 2026 Too Big to Fail report, Kate shared EarthCap's research showing up to 24% of the euro area economic output could be at risk in a one-in-100-year drought, and that a multi-breadbasket failure scenario (i.e. significant climate disruption in ‘breadbasket’ regions around the world) could cut UK GDP by 6–8%. She suggested that critical natural systems could be designated in the same way as systemically important banks were after 2008 – that is to say, Global Systemically Important Natural Systems (GSINS), per the Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs). 

Technology is making this all measurable. The Nature Value at Risk (NVAR) framework layers geospatial, satellite and asset-level data to score exposure to nature-related hazards and has been applied to Norges Bank Investment Management's portfolio. The Corporate Resilience Alignment Benchmark (CRAB) uses a peer-reviewed LLM process to assess corporate disclosures against 160 indicators, and feeds into the open-access Resilience Arc platform launched at London Climate Action Week (LCAW).  

Panel: What does climate policy look like under Andy Burnham? 

Chaired by Elisabeth Sullivan, Sustainability Policy Manager at techUK, the first panel brought together Megan Corton Scott, Deputy Director of the Labour Climate and Environment Forum (LCEF), Virginia Sentance MBE, Partner at Flint Global, and Amber Woodward of the Centre for Net Zero. 

Headline: Jackdaw decision

The discussion opened on that morning's decision from the Burnham government to approve drilling at Jackdaw. Panellists agreed that the site had become symbolic, and that the change of leadership at DESNZ, with affordability now the department's driving mission, made the decision possible.  

They noted the Government's position that it can still meet carbon budgets, which will put more pressure on electrification, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and the Warm Homes Plan. The accompanying promise of a £2 billion investment into the new Energy Wealth Fund was welcomed as a signal of long-term direction. 

Labour party mood music  

On the mood at Labour Party Conference, speakers described a confidence to make values-led arguments for climate action, alongside framing the transition as a mission built on jobs, reindustrialisation and devolution. Amber added that at UNGA and New York Climate Week, the conversation globally was about energy security, affordability and competitiveness rather than climate alone. 

Looking to the Budget, speakers were more cautious; Virginia warned DESNZ has been asked to find around £2 billion of savings, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is potentially at risk as fiscal headroom has narrowed. Panellists called for policy levies to be moved off electricity bills, with Virginia citing Flint and MakeUK analysis that every £10/MWh taken off manufacturers' bills could boost the economy by £800 million. Megan expected a "safe pair of hands" Budget focused on small wins and suggested reshaping the Boiler Upgrade Scheme around zero-interest loans or salary sacrifice to widen access.  

Data centre politics and the role of tech  

On data centres, Virginia noted the gap between national Government, which treats them as critical national infrastructure, and more cautious local authorities, and highlighted how larger developments needing bigger connections can help spread grid upgrade costs.  

Megan challenged the sector to invest in public advocacy rather than focusing only on Whitehall, arguing that public consent for data centres cannot be assumed. Amber pointed to Centre for Net Zero modelling showing that flexibility, such as demand response, on-site batteries and solar, and local household assets, could improve speed to power in AI Growth Zones. 

Responding to an audience question on the role of UK tech, Amber shared research on 700 low-income households given solar and batteries: net grid imports fell by 77% and electricity bills by 66%, showing the value of combining UK hardware, software and smart tariffs.  

Panel: Climate adaptation in practice 

After a summer of wildfires and heatwaves, Josh Turpin, Senior Programme Manager for Telecoms and Net Zero at techUK, chaired a panel on how tech can help organisations prepare for a changed climate. He was joined by Isobel Ashbey, Head of Biodiversity and Nature Tech at Cambridge Consultants, Anuradha Damale-Day, Partnerships and Policy Manager (Resilient Earth) at the Satellite Applications Catapult, and Sam Jones, Partner for Low Carbon Markets at DNV. 

Adaptation as a rising concern  

Panellists described how climate risk is already reshaping business. Sam highlighted drought in Europe reducing river levels needed for nuclear cooling and heavy industry, with knock-on effects for supply chains. Anuradha noted the growing "securitisation" of climate, from the new Climate and Nature Security Taskforce to a greater focus on space-based resilience. Isobel observed that heatwaves have been a lightbulb moment for those who now see adaptation as a business opportunity but attention fades quickly once extreme weather passes. 

Adaptation is now discussed far more widely, but panellists questioned how much of that talk is turning into spend. Barriers include short-term funding and political cycles, the lack of a clear definition of a "well-adapted UK", and the fact that the benefits of adaptation often fall outside the organisation paying for it. 

Tech solutions for climate resilience 

On solutions, Anuradha explained Earth observation is already monitoring emissions, drought and flooding, and increasingly by insurers, banks and investors for compliance and verification. Isobel stressed that satellites provide scale but cannot act on the ground, so terrestrial sensors and technologies, from wildfire management to tools that protect workers in extreme heat, are needed alongside them.  

Both highlighted interoperable standards as an area where the UK can lead. Sam set out what it takes to deploy AI safely in critical infrastructure: good data, proportionate assurance, and lessons from projects such as the Ofgem-funded Intelligent Gas Grid with SGN. 

The panel also discussed the resilience of technology itself. Isobel urged organisations to ask how assets procured today will perform in 20 years' time. Looking ahead to 2027, panellists hoped to see Government double down on climate goals despite fiscal pressure, a united cross-departmental strategy on resilience, and a major ramp-up in investment in adaptation innovation. 

Sponsor keynote: Make It a Now Problem – turning digital sustainability into an exec priority 

Rachel Flower, Group Commercial Director, and Alex Drew, Sustainability and Strategic Growth Director at Servita, were joined by Ben Tongue, Greener Digital Lead at NHS England, to explore how to secure executive support for digital sustainability. 

There is currently strong bottom-up support for digital from NHS staff, accelerated by AI and building blocks such as the Technology Code of Practice, Service Standard and forthcoming Government Buying Standards. However, digital sustainability is still too often treated as an optional “extra” that relies on passionate individuals. To reframe it, NHS England is modelling climate risk to digital services, costing it against Green Book standards, using net benefit approaches, and exploring digital sustainability as a health system metric. 

Alex presented Wayfinder, the programme that lets patients manage elective care appointments on their phones. Although sustainability was not in the original business case, independent assessment by Green Pixie found a 93% carbon reduction per appointment compared with paper communication, and over 100 tonnes of carbon avoided. Wayfinder became the first live service to report its carbon impact, and environmental benefits were added to its business case. Ben noted that, given the immensity of the healthcare system, this approach could scale to 20 kilotonnes of carbon saved across the NHS. 

Ben also set out ten "positive synergies" between digital sustainability and other goals, from accessibility and cyber resilience to lower costs, but stressed that robust, quantified case studies are needed to make the case to executives.  

Panel: Investing in climate tech 

Chaired by Catherine Joce, Head of Environment and Sustainability at Cambridge Consultants, this panel explored how to turn the UK's strong research and innovation base into climate tech companies that scale. She was joined by Pru Ashby, Head of Green Innovation at London & Partners, Rob Morgan, Head of Climate Tech at Barclays, and Tom Moran, consultant and independent investor. 

The opportunity  

Pru explained the London climate tech start-ups raised $2.1 billion in 2025, third globally, across more funding rounds than any other city, and climate tech accounted for 12% of all VC investment in London companies. She credited supportive policy, deep pools of corporate and public sector buyers, talent and universities, and convergence with AI, fintech and green finance, as well as emerging sectors such as naturetech.  

Rob added nearly 70% of UK climate tech companies are based outside London but receive only around a third of funding, and urged investors to look to the regions, where much hardware innovation is based. 

Catherine noted that climate tech firms are pivoting to data centre and defence customers to reach market faster, while Rob stressed solutions which decarbonise while serving other sectors are still climate tech. Tom argued for design-led solutions such as data centre heat reuse, and warned that data centres risk being seen as extractive without measured local benefits.  

The challenge  

The panel closed on the "missing middle" or "valley of death" between Series A and first-of-a-kind commercial ventures. Rob called for consistent long-term policy, blended finance through bodies such as GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund to de-risk private capital, and clear regulatory pathways.  

Pru pointed to the Government's new first-of-a-kind programme for climate tech and London's ambition to be a green data centre test bed, while Tom emphasised the mindset shift needed to move from start-up to enterprise scale. 

Presentation: SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard version 2 – what does it mean for tech? 

Oliver Orlik, Europe Engagement Manager at the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), explained how version 2 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard aims to move companies "from ambition to action". SBTi now validates targets for over 12,000 companies, representing 40% of global market capitalisation. 

Key changes include: 

  • Sector and geography-specific pathways aligned to commercial reality, replacing high-level global pathways. 

  • More target-setting options, including alignment targets that reward low-carbon procurement, such as choosing suppliers with net zero goals, for growing companies that cannot predict their future emissions. 

  • An implementation hierarchy: decarbonise your own physical inventory first, then invest at the activity pool level (such as PPAs within the same energy market), then the sector level, and finally in enabling actions such as policy and innovation. 

  • Stricter electricity rules: energy certificates must come from the same regional market and be matched annually, with a move towards hourly matching in future. 

  • A five-year target cycle, with transition plans signed off by the board. 

  • A "best efforts" framework allowing companies to reset near-term targets if they can show they made all available efforts and reported transparently on challenges. 

  • An ongoing emissions responsibility framework, with the largest companies expected to cover at least 1% of their emissions post-2035 through investment in removals or credits. 

  •  An updated certification course for version 2 is expected late 2027. 

Fireside chat: Innovating for grid decarbonisation 

Katie Davies, Head of Energy and Infrastructure Policy at techUK, spoke with Darren Holyoake, Head of Digital Delivery at the National Energy System Operator (NESO), about how tech can support grid decarbonisation. 

Darren said NESO believes clean power by 2030 is achievable but not inevitable. Wind was Great Britain's largest source of generation in 2025, but the grid needs around £70 billion of infrastructure upgrades to be built over the next decade. He stressed technology and physical infrastructure can no longer be planned separately. 

He highlighted progress on digitalisation, including the first Sector Digitalisation Plan and digital architecture work. NESO's Data Sharing Infrastructure, which will go live to 14 beta partners next year and the wider sector in early 2028, will end situations where the same data was collected around 20 times for different systems. Dynamic line rating shows the potential, with data-driven optimisation unlocking an estimated 20–30% more capacity from existing cables. NESO is also piloting AI in its control room to help manage a more complex system. 

On data centres, Darren pointed to connections reform, innovation projects with partners including Google and NVIDIA on flexible demand, and work on where data centres should be located. He urged tech companies to show how their innovations benefit the whole energy system and consumers, and to deliver on much shorter timescales.  

Breakout sessions 

The afternoon featured five interactive breakout sessions across two rounds, giving attendees the chance to dig into practical topics in smaller groups. 

Measuring the carbon intensity of AI, led by Richard Tarboton, Director of Corporate Transition at the World Resources Institute (WRI), looked at the lack of a consistent way to measure and report the emissions of the AI products organisations buy. Attendees discussed fragmented standards, coordinating buyer demand for disclosure, and the case for product-level ratings, and were invited to help shape a new WRI-led programme, supported by partners including techUK.  

Transition planning: insights and steps to take, with Tilly Barkway, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Sage, and Max Finney, Senior Sustainability Manager at Shoosmiths, explored how to build a credible net zero transition plan that goes beyond headline targets. Building on techUK's Tech Towards Net Zero guide, it covered the concrete actions, governance, resources and milestones a good plan needs. Sage used Risilience for their modelling and NGFS scenarios, and here you can find Shoosmith's Climate Futures collection.  

From Protocol to Practice: sustainable decarbonisation for finance, procurement and operations, with Claudio Palumbo, Director, and Sam Foster, Partner in Low Carbon Solutions at ERM, examined how changes to the GHG Protocol and SBTi affect how companies put decarbonisation targets into practice across procurement, finance and operational decisions. 

Protecting future profit: weave climate security into your planning, with Tim Martin, Vice President of Sustainability at Kyndryl, Sam Jackson, Director of Climate Science and Policy at Ecologi, Tilly Barkway, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Sage, and Aliénor de Biolley, Business Associate at Nattergal considered how nature loss and ecosystem decline create business risk, including through suppliers and infrastructure that companies do not control, and how tech firms can turn internal conversations on nature into practical action. 

Data centres, AI and sustainability: what does the evidence say?, with Anthony Levy, CEO and Founder of Circularity First, alongside Claire Robinson, Domain Director of Sustainable Business at Transform UK, Mark Butcher, Founder and Managing Director of Posetiv and Ewan Anderson, CEO and Founder of P2Zero, examined the evidence on data centres' energy, water and local impacts. Participants agreed that transparent, verifiable data and genuine community engagement are key to maintaining the sector's social licence to operate. 

Resources 

Reports and links cited throughout the day, and upcoming techUK events 

Get involved 

techUK would like to thank all of our speakers and attendees, and our sponsor Servita for supporting this year's conference. 

Our Climate and Sustainability programme runs groups and task forces covering climate, nature, circular economy, ESG disclosure and human rights. To find out more or get involved, please contact the techUK Climate, Environment and Sustainability team below.

Craig Melson

Craig Melson

Associate Director - Climate, Environment and Sustainability

Joshua Turpin

Joshua Turpin

Senior Programme Manager - Telecoms & Net Zero

Elisabeth Sullivan

Elisabeth Sullivan

Sustainability Policy Manager