Climate Action Summit – Delivering a Net Zero Future

12-13th October 2022

Urgent emissions reductions are required to meet climate targets. However, a climate strategy that focuses solely on reducing emissions is not enough and will likely fail to realise opportunities to incorporate ongoing reporting requirements, realise efficiency and cost savings, and demonstrate holistic climate leadership.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) and a circular economy model offer comprehensive and practical principles that can minimise climate and environmental-related risks and foster business resiliency, while advancing companies’ progress towards achieving net zero emissions across their value chain. While these concepts are not new, they are now emerging in the business space as key drivers for restoring and protecting biodiversity, ensuring climate justice, and building a truly sustainable economy.

About the Summit

This two-day hybrid event brought together business, government, and civil society leaders to demonstrate effective solutions for achieving net zero. The Summit focused on two inter-linked themes – Nature-based Solutions and Circularity – that contribute to company mitigation strategies and the achievement of science-based emissions targets while building overall business resilience, and broader environmental and societal resilience.

The Summit sessions addressed several questions:

How can Nature-based Solutions and the Circular Economy facilitate the transition to net zero, and how can businesses implement them?
How does circularity promote the conservation and regeneration of nature?
How can these concepts be used to mitigate climate-related risks and ensure business resilience?
How can business go beyond requirements to foster greater societal benefits?
How can finance be mobilised to scale and support these solutions?

A summary of the key takeaways from the sessions can be found here.

Day 1: Circular Economy – 12^th October

Day 2: Nature-based Solutions – 13^th October

12th October 09:30 - 10:45 BST

The opening session of the UN Global Compact Network UK's Climate Summit provided a high-level overview of practical solutions for reducing emissions and supporting a just transition to net zero, including nature-based solutions, the principles of a circular economy, and other low-carbon/green technological advancements.

Sanda Ojiambo
Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer
United Nations Global Compact

Dr. Márcia Balisciano
Chief Sustainability Officer, Global Head of ESG and Corporate Responsibility
RELX

Neliswa Hare
Race to Resilience Business Engagement Lead
COP27 UNFCCC Climate Champions Team

Sean Lockie
Climate and Sustainability Services Director UKIMEA
Arup

John Atkinson
Associate Director: Environmental Protection
AstraZeneca

David Saddington
Head of International Nature Campaign COP26
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

13th October 09:00 - 10:30 BST

This event featured presentations on how businesses can measure and report on their impacts and dependencies on nature, as well as how they can incorporate this knowledge into decision-making, planning, and risk-management. The session introduced frameworks like TNFD and the Natural Capital Protocol and how these fit in to regulatory elements like the new UK Environmental Act and sustainability disclosure requirements. Business practitioners also presented case studies on how they are using these reporting frameworks and considering nature in their operations.

Mark Gough
Chief Executive Officer
Capitals Coalition

Sarah Dyson
Head of Corporate Responsibility
GSK

Andrew Mitchell
Vice Chair
TNFD Stewardship Council and
Founder & CEO
Equilibrium Futures

Annabel Nelson
Head of ESG Policy & Disclosure
M&G plc

12th October 11:15 - 12:30 BST

This session explored the various metrics, tools, and methodologies available to support companies to understand their circularity performance and areas where they can improve to minimise waste, utilise and keep products in use longer, and subsequently reduce emissions and pollution.

Jacco Verstraeten-Jochemsen - resized 300px (002)

Jacco Verstraeten-Jochemsen
Business Solutions Lead
Circle Economy

Wouter van Tol
Head of Government, Community Affairs & Sustainability
DS Smith

Suzanne Kuiper
Senior Sustainability Manager
KPMG Netherlands

Climate Action Summit - 6 Implementing Nature-based Solutions

13th October 11:00 - 12:30 BST

This session focused on how to identify and implement credible, effective Nature-based Solutions (NbS) schemes, and how these can not only be used to offset remaining carbon emissions that cannot be addressed with mitigation, but also move a company towards net positive. It featured presentations from companies taking part in the Net Positive Project for a conversation on what it means to be net positive, and what business benefits can be realised by using NbS to achieve its principles.

Dr Sally Uren OBE
Chief Executive
Forum for the Future

João Teixeira
Sustainability Manager
Natura &Co Latam

Didier Bergeret
Director, Sustainability
The Consumer Goods Forum

Vanessa Maire
Global Head of Regenerative Agriculture
Diageo

Climate Action Summit - 3 Business Models

12th October 13:30 - 15:00 BST

The third session in the UN Global Compact Network UK's Climate Action Summit explored how products, systems, and business models can be designed to eliminate waste before it is created and maximise utilisation of energy and materials to reduce emissions and pollution.

Harald Friedl
Cement and Aluminium Lead
COP27 Climate Action Champions Team

Sokhna Gueye
Head of Packaging UK & I
Nestlé

Matt Manning
Head of Circular Economy
BT Group

Mark Lancelott
Director
PA Consulting

Climate Action Summit - 7 Investing in Nature

13th October 13:30 - 14:45 BST

To support the global need for expanded investment in nature and conservation, this session explored how and why businesses should mobilise capital for nature-based solutions. It looked at the benefits that companies may experience in investing in natural capital connected to their operations, and how this builds business resiliency. The event also examined growing investor expectations and requirements for nature and biodiversity to be considered in investment portfolios, and how this supports net zero commitments.

Jessica Smith
Nature Lead
UNEP Finance Initiative

Greta Talbot-Jones
Associate Director, Responsible Investment
Aviva Investors

Cécile Girardin
Director
Nature-based Insetting,
Technical Director
Nature-Based Solutions Initiative

Climate Action Summit - 4 Finance Mobilisation updated

12th October 15:30 - 16:45 BST

In this session, a range of financial actors and businesses discussed how they see the circular economy as an opportunity to create long-term value. The role of different actors in scaling up financing for a circular economy and how to overcome current barriers was also explored.