Stellar speakers announced for National Manufacturing Summit to drive move to net zero

2 February, 22

Broadcaster, writer and environmentalist Jonathon Porritt CBE and Hugo Spowers, founder of innovative hydrogen car company Riversimple are two of several leading industry and political keynote speakers appearing at the second annual National Manufacturing Summit, which will focus on the transitions UK manufacturing will make, towards a net zero future.

Other speakers announced for the seminal event include Lord Bilimoria, president of the CBI and founder of Cobra Beer; Katherine Bennett CBE, chief executive of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Lloyds Bank chairman, Robin Budenburg; Make UK chair Dame Judith Hackett, and the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

Climate and environmental journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle will open the summit on Day Two and Day one will be compered by journalist and broadcaster Daisy McAndrew.

Porritt, who is co-founder of Forum for the Future, is a well-known commentator on sustainable development which he promotes as an achievable goal through cleaner technology and fair economic growth.

Following on from COP26 and the successful inaugural National Manufacturing Summit last March, the 2022 conference will be an opportunity to discuss a framework to deliver sustainable manufacturing, the opportunities provided by advanced and emerging technologies to help the urgent need to move to net zero, as well as the need for the UK to remain globally competitive.

The summit, at the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre on February 8 and 9 will be a hybrid event featuring live, face-to-face presentations and discussions. The 2022 event will concentrate on three core themes providing a focus on the UK’s progress to net-zero. The themes will be “Field to Fork”, “Factory to Door”, and “Fossil Fuels to Renewables.”

MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman OBE said the summit was the perfect opportunity for the manufacturing sector to reflect on past achievements, but more importantly to come together to create a vision for the challenges that lie ahead.

“The event will acknowledge our national significance and frame our shared priorities. The agenda will be broad, engaging and interactive covering a wide range of manufacturing issues, but the over-arching theme will be sustainable manufacturing and the drive for a net zero carbon economy. We will celebrate the resilience of UK manufacturing as well as its ingenuity and diversity and demonstrate how those qualities combined with emerging technologies can enable change for a sustainable future,” he said.

The 2021 National Manufacturing Summit was a virtual event attended by more than 1,500 delegates who joined in discussions with industry leaders, experts, influencers, academics and politicians representing all four nations of the United Kingdom.

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