Yorkshire Sustainability Festival: 10th – 21st June 2024
Giving Yorkshire’s green community the platform it deserves.
Join us for the biggest gathering of sustainability in the north of England for the second year in a row. Back for 2024, the Yorkshire Sustainability Festival of events will epitomise the importance of collaboration, sharing key learnings and recognising that every one of us must start somewhere to make a difference to protect our planet. Our aim is to strengthen, inspire and expand our sustainable business community across the region.
Yorkshire Sustainability Festival encompasses all channels of sustainability, from those looking to create green pledges in business to the people on the ground making an impact and wanting to share their experiences across a wide range of events and locations.
Events will take place across Yorkshire; in Bradford, Hull, Sheffield and York, with a two day sustainability conference in Leeds this summer.
Why attend?
We believe in the power of business to drive change, and you can be part of it. Whether you’re a seasoned sustainability expert or just starting out, this festival of events is for anyone who wants to collaborate with experts in the field and learn more about initiatives that are already happening across Yorkshire and the UK.
From round-table discussions, hearing from keynote speakers and exciting networking opportunities, it’s a must attend event for your calendar.
2024 Keynote Speakers
Kevin McCloud
Designer, Writer, TV Presenter
Mary Portas OBE
Businesswoman, Broadcaster, Author & Activist
2024 Speakers
Day One: Circular Economy
We believe that transitioning to a circular economy is a fundamental part of building the new sustainable world of the future, so we want to deep dive into the topic by making it the thread that runs through our conference on day one.
Day one breakdown is as follows:
- Economy and Finance Panel: Building an Economy within the Doughnut: How the Doughnut Economy Model will save the world.
- Workshop: Accessing Green Finance in Yorkshire – SME edition
- Manufacturing Panel: How Yorkshire is at the epicentre of the Green Industrial Revolution
- Skills Panel: The skills needed to build a circular economy in Yorkshire
- Skills Workshop: The skills needed to build a circular economy in Yorkshire
- Tech Panel Title: How can AI help us to build a Circular Economy?
- Waste Panel Title: The Rubbish Revival: Releasing the potential in Yorkshire’s Waste!
- Food Panel Title: The Triple Threat Trifle: how do we tackle malnutrition, overconsumption and unsustainable practices in Yorkshire?
- SME Support Panel Title: Small but mighty: The Power of SMEs in galvanising the Green Economy
- Closing Keynote Speaker: Mary Portas
Day Two: Future Cities
Retrofitting and creating new sustainable infrastructure in our towns and cities is a crucial part of the journey to building (literally!) a sustainable future. To build the cities of the future requires a holistic and integrated approach to urban planning and development that considers the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic factors.
Day two focuses on the themes of Future Cities, covering:
- Construction Panel: Harnessing the power of Yorkshire’s Built Environment Sector to create a sustainable region
- Energy Panel: Yorkshire’s Net Zero Journey: who’s powering the energy transition in Yorkshire and how do we all help?
- Transport Panel: The benefits of creating a sustainable transport network in Yorkshire.
- Water Panel: Diving Deep: Navigating Sustainability in Yorkshire’s Water Management
- Skills Panel: Building a Sustainable Future brick by brick: How do we Develop Green Skills in the Built Environment
- People and Place Panel: Empowering, Connecting, and Transforming Yorkshire: Bridging the gap between our People, Infrastructure, and Mobility
- Housing Panel: Greening Yorkshire’s homes for the future: Innovations in Sustainable Home Construction and Retrofitting
- Closing Keynote Speaker: Kevin McCloud
Sponsorship opportunities
Partnering with us can help you reach your sustainability goals.
Build out your audience, increase your brand exposure and reach businesses across Yorkshire interested in becoming more sustainable. We have a range of sponsorship opportunities designed to maximise your reach across our key channels, including attendees of Yorkshire Sustainability Festival. Our experienced team understand the importance of aligning marketing opportunities with sales leads so we’ve identified the very best sponsorship packages across our festival of events which can be tailored specifically to your business requirements.
At the University of Leeds our interdisciplinary research collaborations link our physical, technological, economic and social understanding of climate change and sustainability, creating solutions to address this global crisis. We are committed to embedding sustainability in everything we do, taking responsibility for our economic, cultural, social and environmental impacts. We are thrilled to be joint headline sponsors of Yorkshire Sustainability Week, and to help highlight the opportunities that embracing sustainability initiatives can bring.
Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds, Headline Sponsor
“We are delighted that Yorkshire Sustainability Week is to be hosted in our city. We are one of the leading cities in the UK for taking climate action and are working hard towards becoming the first UK net zero city. The festival of events will help share this ambition while shining a light on the trailblazers of sustainable innovation from across Yorkshire, pathing the way for a brighter and greener future.”
Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council
Latest News
Mon 22 Apr '24
Biodiversity and Regeneration: The Necessity to Action Change
We discuss why biodiversity is so important to the future of our planet with Helen Neave.
Thu 11 Apr '24
The UK GreenTech Catalyst Conference 2024 is to be Held in Association with Yorkshire Sustainability Week
The GreenTech Catalyst Conference is coming to Leeds on the 25th of April.
Mon 08 Apr '24
10 Easy Ways to Become a More Sustainable Business
We highlight 10 easy ways to become a more sustainable business in the UK
Mon 18 Mar '24
Global Recycling Day 2024 – A Focus on Waste Management & Consumption
A focus on waste management & consumption. For Global Recycling Day 2024, we caught up with Alastair Little from Biffa to chat about what we can do, both as individuals and organisations, to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.
