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

Head of Data Centres Programme, techUK

Chris Hazell

Chris Hazell

Programme Manager - Cloud, Tech and Innovation, techUK

Craig Melson

Craig Melson

Associate Director for Climate, Environment and Sustainability, techUK

Lucas Banach

Lucas Banach

Programme Assistant, Data Centres, Climate, Environment and Sustainability, Market Access, techUK


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.

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