How can new and emerging green businesses, related to nature recovery/biodiversity, be incentivised and encouraged?

The Government envision the essential national nature recovery network to be realised predominantly through private finance at the local levels. In part, the monies accrued from ’biodiversity net gain’ (Environment Act 2021) during planning applications, will pay for strategic habitat enhancement and habitat creation. However, there are missing green business/ industries needed to finance, design, implement/ deliver, manage, administer, and monitor such land-based improvements. There are also missing products and digital capabilities for larger projects, and diversified commercial consideration of land being profitable. How can markets be stimulated and encouraged to develop in these areas?

How do you see the introduction of conformal cooling into single use plastics producing the savings and reducing the carbon footprint of high volume production.

Agemaspark Ltd invested in a 3D metal printer in 2020 for the sole purpose to introduce conformal cooling into plastic injection mold tooling. our success in reducing the cycle time by as much as 20% has proven that this technology has a part to play in helping reduce its impact on the environment. we have developed a hybrid solution to existing tooling by removing the top half of existing cores and printing a conformal cooled top. i have attached some power points but have many more examples if required.

What does the future of low-carbon vehicles look like for vehicles that only return to a regular hub on a weekly basis?

We undertake archaeological excavations all around the country. These sites are typically in the middle of fields in rural locations and the team return to various accommodation arrangements at the end of each day. In the scenario that there is a sizeable journey to site in the first instance, it’s not possible to charge EVs on site and no guarantee of charging facilities at the end of the day.

How can local government ensure robustness of infrastructure for the next decade, to cater for the multiple form factors of micromobility classes.

My companies are working with a UK university currently to categorise the multitude of new technologies, form factors and uses of available micromobility on the market currently. How can we as businesses, institutions and academics best influence proposals for local government consideration when planning segregated or specific use lanes for non polluting vehicles. So as to minimise aggregated costs, time, negative impact streams and confusion?

How can we increase the safety for younger riders of electric bicycles and scooters in the UK?

Electric England Ltd has by necessity evolved to become a training and education supplier to local schools who share our vision of greatly educated riders, quality controlled and safe vehicles, and support by local government for investment in infrastructure. How can we best implement, promote and establish partnerships to engender the change needed for a UK network of hubs supporting these primary drivers?

Are secondary raw materials and alternative fuels truly sustainable for glass and other fondation industries, from an environmental, economic and availability basis.

A great deal of work has been carried out by many researchers including by ourselves and colleagues in Professor Bingham’s group at Sheffield Hallam University to understand the technological possibilities of alternative materials and fuels to decarbonise foundation industries. Pilot and industrial scale trials have successfully shown that waste materials can be used to make glass, ceramics and cement of comparable quality to products made from traditional raw materials. Whilst alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biooils have been used to run industrial scale glass furnaces for short periods with no changes in performance. In addition to the technological questions there are questions regarding whether sufficient of these materials and fuels are available to meet industrial demand and can they be processed and delivered in a sustainable method. For example is it possible to meet industrial demand for hydrogen from green sources, can waste ashes be cleaned in an environmentally friendly manner as a substitute raw material for glass or ceramic manufacture. We are aware of a number of studies in this area but there doesn’t seem to be much work linking the technological research to the economics and sustainability research by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in both areas.

What is required of reclaimed/ recycled materials, so they can be used with or instead of fireclays for brickmaking, to reduce the amount of virgin material dug for to make buff bricks in the UK?

Fireclays suitable for use in brick-making generally produce buff products. Traditionally these clays were quarried alongside open-cast coal mining so those with permission to dig are becoming scarcer. These clays are used at several of Ibstock’s factories.

How can I explore and exploit the use of VR/AR/XR/AI technologies to engage audiences in new and exciting ways whilst also lowering my carbon footprint.

As an SME running a national/international festival in Sheffield, how can I explore and exploit the use of VR/AR/XR/AI technologies to engage audiences in new and exciting ways whilst also lowering my carbon footprint. I have a commitment to achieve net zero by 2030.

Many festivals have a high carbon footprint due to international air travel by performers/audiences, single use plastics for catering and high production and transport costs which are heavy on emissions and energy consumption.

No Bounds Festival is an award winning Music, art, technology festival in Sheffield UK. We explore and celebrate inclusivity, diversity and innovation in our programming and place environmental concerns at the centre of our thought processes. Now in our 6th year we are driving towards net zero in all our actions. We think reducing travel is a fundamental issue, hence the exploration of digital technologies to help us achieve our goals.

Hope Works is a warehouse venue/culture hub in Sheffield celebrating it’s 10th year in 2022. Voted 90 in the top 100 clubs worldwide in 2022 we are a major talent pipeline in the Northern Powerhouse, creating jobs and sustainable careers in the creative industries. We open year round and were supported by CRF funding as a vital part of the Northern Creative sector.

Novel methods for Lithium recovery from black mass

As a processor of lithium-ion batteries, we produce large quantities of black mass, containing the cathode material from the battery. This black mass contains several valuable metals, including cobalt and nickel, that can be refined in a relatively straightforward manner. However, there is no simple, cost-effective method for recovery of the lithium. We would like to explore ways of recovering lithium from this material.

Separating base metals from precious metals

As a recycler of precious metals, we receive many streams that contain a mixture of base and precious metals. Some of these are more straightforward to deal with than others; for example, tin and titanium are very difficult to separate chemically from the precious metals that they are normally mixed with, and the processes that are available use extremely hazardous chemicals. We would like to explore novel methods for separation of these materials from each other.

How can our community asset building find ways to reduce our energy consumption towards net zero?

SADACCA is located in a multi-use community space in a former factory. The building is very large and it includes a day-care centre, recording studios, large public event space, bar, kitchens, offices, meeting rooms, gardens, courtyard, and other spaces. We have a vision and drive to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. We recycle, grow some vegetables in our day-care garden and an allotment. We use lighting as little as possible too. However, many of our traditional foods are imported from West and Central Africa as well as the Caribbean. Many of our imported foods are in single use plastic. In addition, the energy efficiency of the building poses an ongoing challenge both in terms of our carbon footprint, but also in terms of the rising costs associated with the energy crisis. How can we start to redress our carbon footprint here and create a more sustainable way of working?

How can we reduce the use of single use plastics?

SADACCA is located in a multi-use community space in a former factory. The building is very large and it includes a day-care centre, recording studios, large public event space, bar, kitchens, offices, meeting rooms, gardens, courtyard, and other spaces. We have a vision and drive to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. We recycle, grow some vegetables in our day-care garden and an allotment. We use lighting as little as possible too. However, many of our traditional foods are imported from West and Central Africa as well as the Caribbean. Many of our imported foods are in single use plastic. In addition, the energy efficiency of the building poses an ongoing challenge both in terms of our carbon footprint, but also in terms of the rising costs associated with the energy crisis. How can we start to redress our carbon footprint here and create a more sustainable way of working?

What is the next step in decarbonising logistics? We have a fleet of HGVs and delivery vans that we want to decarbonise but what technology/technologies should we look to invest in that will future-proof our business?

Transport makes up the majority of our scope 1 emissions, at around 3000 tonnes CO2. We have a fleet of over 100 vans and HGVs and we want to decarbonise the majority of our fleet in this decade, but current electric HGV solutions do not provide sufficient range to travel between our sites with a full load. What new, innovative technology could we look at, and which technologies are the most promising for decarbonising logistics?

Extracting graphene from car parts for reuse has recently been in the news. How can we utilise this and other innovative materials extraction techniques, e.g. for plastics, to improve on our current recycling rate for vehicles (96.4%)?

As a business, we break end of life vehicles (ELVs) for parts which then go back into the supply chain as recycled parts to repair vehicles and keep them on the road, and we recycle the metal components from these vehicles. The recent work by Ford Motor Company and Rice University to extract graphene from vehicle parts and recycle it back into the vehicle manufacturing process has caught our interest. We’d like to understand how we could improve our current recycling rate using the same process and other ways of recycling the hard-to-treat materials of vehicles such as plastics.

What is the best way to distil the climate crisis into an impactful but time-sensitive context for senior management to help them understand the need for change and inspire them to take action?

We deliver Carbon Literacy Training to our colleagues and to external organisations, however the course is quite long and busy senior managers cannot always dedicate a large chunk of time to take part. How can we distil the urgency of taking climate change action into a smaller session to inspire them to take action as a business and as individuals?

In order to hit the 2050 targets, what do you see is the most important part of a SMART factory strategy?

With so many elements of a SMART strategy – its hard to know where to start.

How do we engage people with the Countryside Code to safeguard landscapes and species for future generations?

As Yorkshire’s second largest landowner, we’ve seen first hand the anthropogenic disturbance linked to a decreased awareness of the Countryside Code. This is fast becoming one of the greatest contributors to biodiversity decline and engaging people with the Countryside Code will be key to safeguarding biodiversity for the future. Engaging people with the Countryside Code will hopefully empower people to be Ambassadors and Custodians of the natural environment.

How do we make landscape scale management financially sustainable and gain buy in from third party landowners?

Policy making rhetoric is turning towards ”Landscape scale” management, but balancing the needs of various landowners (moorland shooting estates, forestry, agriculture and water industries) is bringing conflict between ownership boundaries. Whilst some funding mechanisms are in place for targeted management interventions, it is difficult to connect the dots to deliver bigger, better and more connected land management.

Can we address “shifting baseline” syndrome through arts and culture to remind people how the English Countryside used to be?

Shifting baseline syndrome is the temporal shift in the perception of species richness and diversity within the countryside. Each generation has a different memory of how the countryside used to be, whether it’s decline of wrynecks through the 19th and 20th century right up to the decline in insect life in the late 20th/ early 21st century, everyone has a perception of wildlife diversity. As spoonbills, storks and more species begin to breed in the UK, we have an opportunity to address the loss of these species and use them as inspiration for further wildlife conservation. Arts and cultural projects may help engage and inform future generations.