“Sustainability in 21st Century Cities” co-hosted by The Future Economy Network and Smith & Williamson!
On the 24th October, The Future Economy Network hosted the 3rd in a series in partnership with subscribers, Smith & Williamson, investigating the most pressing issues and upcoming developments affecting low carbon/sustainability issues.
The event focused on sustainability issues facing cities and provided an opportunity to discuss whether Bristol is keeping up with world trends with ex-Mayor George Ferguson, Mike Rawlinson Founder of City ID and Alan Bailey, Director of The Future Economy Group.
The event was chaired by Dave Mouncey, Partner at Smith & Williamson and a member of the firms’ sustainability group. He gave a small insight into what Bristol City Council have done to improve sustainability in the city and their plans for the future.
Dave then introduced ex-Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, who gave a short presentation about the trends he has seen overseas and compared them with Bristol. He highlighted how Bristol is great at supporting independent businesses and how important it is to inform the younger generation and children about sustainability and environmental impact. He emphasised how Copenhagen has set their carbon target and budgets 15 years earlier than the UK, and their forward-thinking energy strategy.
Mike Rawlinson, Founder of City ID, then gave a presentation about how Bristol’s environmental ideas have been taken around the world. He stressed how there is a link between liveable cities, sustainability and the quality of life. He gave us facts and figures and has suggested that 70% of the worlds’ population will live in cities by 2050. He highlighted sustainability plans in international cities such as New York and Moscow.
After the presentations Dave chaired a very interactive panel discussion where George and Mike were joined by Alan Bailey, Director of The Future Economy Network. Alan has worked in the low carbon/sustainability sector for many years and shared his experience from a business perspective.
The event, as always had plenty of time for that all-important networking over wine & nibbles, supplied by Smith & Williamson. Huge thanks to all our speakers for a very informative, relevant and interactive evening and many thanks to all of those who took time out of their evening to attend.