Sustainability is a priority for the whole economy, but even more so for companies in the digital infrastructure space. Building on the work of our Committed to Climate Action campaign, this event will be the first in techUK's new Data Centres of the Future Series and the latest in a series of events on sustainable cloud computing.
Set against the backdrop of net zero targets, supply chain pressures, instability in the wholesale cost of electricity, and a Government that recently announced a national mission to reduce the UK’s energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030, digital infrastructure providers and the customers they serve have a positive role to play in helping the tech sector be as sustainable and energy efficient as possible.
Digital infrastructure has a reputation for being highly energy efficient, improving processing power year on year with only a modest increase in energy demand. Cloud service providers have also become leaders in the drive towards decarbonisation by harnessing the power of multi-tenant architecture and as-a-service consumption.
In this half-day event, techUK will host leading industry experts from the data centre and cloud industry to discuss the key issues in delivering sustainable digital infrastructure and explore best practice for driving down energy consumption and moving away from less sustainable legacy infrastructure.
This event will take a holistic lifecycle view of sustainability, looking at strategies to minimise the environmental impact of digital services and data storage, from design and build of a data centre, through to cloud service operation and consumption. We will cover the drivers of the renewed interest in sustainability, including new technologies, regulation, and stakeholder pressures.
Agenda:
09:00 - 09:15 Arrival, Coffee and Networking
09:15 - 09:30 Opening Remarks - Adrian Bradley, KPMG
09:30 – 10:00 Presentation - Emma Fryer, Partner, ERM
10:00 – 11:00 Panel Discussion - Data Centres Design and Build. How do we build cloud infrastructure with sustainability in mind?
-
Pip Squire - Head of Energy and Sustainability, Ark Data Centres
-
Elena Avesani - Head of Global Sustainability Strategy, Oracle
-
Charlotte Hutchinson - Cloud Sustainability Specialist, Google
-
Peter Newburn - Technical Director and Market Lead for Mission Critical, Atkins
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15 – 11:45 Presentation and Q&A – Steen Dalgas, Senior Cloud Economist, Nutanix
(Public Sector Sustainable Digital Transformation - NHS)
11:45 – 12:15 Presentation and Q&A - Adam Turner, Head of Digital Sustainability, Defra
(Public Sector Sustainable Digital Transformation)
12:15 – 13:15 Networking Lunch
13:15 - 13:45 The developing legal and regulatory framework of ESG in the UK and beyond - Kerry Stares, Partner & Director of Responsible Business and Cara Imbrailo, Partner - Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
13:45 - 14:45 Panel Discussion: How do we deliver and consume cloud computing sustainably?
-
Alex Staton - Azure Principal Specialist, Energy Industry, Microsoft
-
Paul van der Lingen - Director, Cloud Solutions Architect, Office of the CTO , NetApp
-
Joseph Langford - Strategy Director, UK&I - VMWare
-
Manish Gupta - Lead Decarbonization Architect - Atos
14:45 – 15:00 Closing remarks - Paul van der Lingen, NetApp
15:00 - Finish and networking
Luisa C. Cardani
Luisa C. Cardani
Luisa C. Cardani is the Head of the Data Centres Programme at techUK, aiming to provide a collective voice for UK operators and working with government to improve business environment for the data centres sector.
Prior to joining techUK, Luisa worked in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as the Head of International Data Protection, where she led on the development of elements of the UK's data protection and privacy policy. In her role, she was also the UK official representative for the EOCD Privacy Guidelines Informal Advisory Group.
She has held a number of position in government, including leading on cross-cutting data provisions in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and in high priority cross-departmental projects when working in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
She holds an M.Sc. from University College London's Department of Political Sciences.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 07587 210 799
- Website:
- www.techUK.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisacardani
Adam Young
Adam Young
Adam joined techUK in September 2021 working in the Climate, Environment & Sustainability Team.
Adam has a Masters in Climate Change: Science, Environment and Policy from King's College London, as well as a Batchelor's degree in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Kent.
The Environment Programme encompasses many different areas of the tech market and policy sphere. Climate change is the highest policy priority for the programme, with ethical resourcing, supply chain due diligence, build environment digitalisation and economic circularity becoming increasingly prominent in the programmes activities.
Before working at techUK Adam worked in the NHS. His interest in nature and conservation led him to going on several conservation projects abroad including Peru and Fiji, working with caiman and tropical fish. When Adam is not saving the planet, he is either playing music, at the gym or playing cricket in the summer.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-young-28047a160/
Chris Hazell
Craig Melson
Craig Melson
Craig is Associate Director for Climate, Environment and Sustainability and leads on our work in these areas ranging from climate change, ESG disclosures and due diligence, through to circular economy, business and human rights, conflict minerals and post-Brexit regulation.
Prior to joining techUK he worked in public affairs and policy has an avid interest in new and emerging technologies. Craig has a degree in Ancient History from King’s College London and spends his time watching Watford FC and holding out hope for Half Life 3.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2172
- Twitter:
- @techUK,@techUK
- Website:
- www.techuk.org,www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://uk.linkedin.com/in/craig-melson-25479936,https://uk.linkedin.com/in/craig-melson-25479936
Lucas Banach
Lucas Banach
Lucas Banach is Programme Assistant at techUK, he works on a range of programmes including Data Centres; Climate, Environment & Sustainability; Market Access and Smart Infrastructure and Systems.
Before that Lucas who joined in 2008, held various roles in our organisation, which included his role as Office Executive, Groups and Concept Viability Administrator, and most recently he worked as Programme Executive for Public Sector. He has a postgraduate degree in International Relations from the Andrzej Frycz-Modrzewski Cracow University.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2006
- Twitter:
- @techUK
- Website:
- www.techuk.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-banach-50139650
techUK – Committed to Climate Action
Digital transformation is critical to the decarbonisation journey of organisations in every sector. Across supply chains and sectors, industries are converging with tech partners to find innovations that reduce carbon emissions and unlock efficiencies that drive down energy use. techUK focuses on the application of emerging technologies and data-driven decision making in traditional forms of infrastructure to deliver innovative environmental outcomes. For more information on our Climate, Environment and Sustainability Programme, please visit Climate Action Hub.
