Vodafone Business to host Sustainability Summit in partnership with Extreme E

The Innovation for Impact Sustainability Summit, to be held at the Barbican Centre on 31 January 2024, will focus on the ever-growing role of technology in accelerating climate action. Extreme E, who are the official partners for the event, will be joined by guest speakers including the Carbon Trust, to showcase how innovative enabling technologies can be embraced to help accelerate sustainability journeys.

Extreme E’s Managing Director, Ali Russell, will be one of the guest speakers at the ‘Innovation for Impact’ Summit highlighting how, as the championship’s Official Technology Communications Partner, Vodafone Business has supported the series’ on and off track operations through its technological platforms and developments.

In each location it visits, Extreme E aims to leave behind a long-lasting positive impact by working with local organisations and the series’ own Scientific Committee to develop environmental climate action initiatives.

Continuing projects with Vodafone Business include an new IoT-based early forest fire detection system launched in Sardinia in 2022 with supporting environmental organisation MEDSEA. The number of sensors was expanded, and the technology was upgraded during 2023.

In 2023 at the Hydro X Prix in Scotland, both teams collaborated to deploy advanced technology to highlight the issues Atlantic salmon face as a result of climate change, modelling innovative and sustainable practices. Sophisticated sensor systems were installed to monitor water quality as part of the Hydro X Prix Legacy Programme to protect the waters of the River Nith.

The headline speaker for the Summit will be Liz Bonnin. Bonnin is a science and natural world expert and broadcaster, celebrated for her award-winning blue chip projects including Drowning in Plastic and Blue Planet Live.

Bonnin will share her learnings and experience of over 40 years of environmental and wildlife programming, particularly the roles of healthy ecosystems, climate change, biodiversity loss, the way we consume, the changes we can make as consumers and investors and the systemic change needed to truly solve all of our environmental crises.

Extreme E drivers Hedda Hosås, Kevin Hansen and Patrick O’Donovan will also be in attendance at the Summit to underline the importance of sustainable motorsport, while additional planned talks include:

• The importance of a healthy planet, and how we can act to support the planet and secure our future
• The climate and nature crises, and how businesses can be part of the solution
• Collaboration, innovation and the role of technology in hitting net zero

Professor Richard Washington, founding member of Extreme E’s Scientific Committee, and Julia Palle, Vice President for Sustainability at Extreme E and Formula E, will be panelists for a discussion on how technology can enable scientific research and development on sustainability, alongside Miryem Salah, Chief Data Officer and Head of Digital & Transformation at Vodafone.

Ian James, Managing Director and Team Principal, NEOM McLaren Electric Racing, will add a further Extreme E presence to the event by participating in a panel focusing on how technology can help large businesses achieve sustainability goals. James will be joined by representatives from Aviva Suez UK.

Further information on Vodafone Business’ Sustainability Customer Summit can be found online: https://marketing.business.vodafone.co.uk/2024-innovation-for-impact.