The 3rd GTF Connect London had officially drawn to a close. Everything was packed away, the after party well and truly over, but I was laying up in my hotel room and just couldn’t get to sleep. GTF Connect London had somehow got under my skin. I’ve run a lot of events in my time, but this one was somehow different. For the first time, I felt we’d somehow captured the essential ingredients. That perfect blend of urgency and hope, that’s what we’re going to need if we want to turn this crisis into opportunity.
Urgency as a Backdrop
I guess we need to start with the context in which this event is taking place. These are dark times we’re living in, and if you take a look around you, it’s hard to not lose hope: material & energy shortages, drought, famine & floods, growing natural disasters and a climate-fuelled migration crisis of the likes of which we haven’t seen since WWII. These are all signs of a planet that’s being pushed beyond the limits of the systems that have supported life for millennia. The IPCC report came
out last year showing that we were failing to meet our Paris climate targets and heading towards a hothouse climate, with consequences for life on earth that are simply unthinkable. It also said we have 7 precious years, and we must hit this hard and early to have any hope of turning this around. We cannot afford to lose hope, we must connect and work together globally.
This really is the essence of what we try to achieve with GREENTECH FESTIVAL and specifically our global GTF Connect series. We unite leaders in business and society who are committed to deep change and are willing to turn this urgency into action. Empowered by technology and innovation, we believe that humankind can and must turn crisis into opportunity. This message seems to have come home in the UK, where we welcomed more than 700 attendees over two days, and saw many fascinating examples of innovation and partnership that give us hope for the wider sustainable business movement. Our success with GTF Connect London underlines the importance of how collective action and the power of innovation is driving real and lasting change. As our hashtag states: #togetherwechange.
Following are a few of the insights and inspirations that have come to me in the days since this inspiring event:
Celebrating Innovation and Environmental Excellence
While I always say, “there are no heroes in sustainability” (collaboration is king), it is important that we acknowledge and celebrate those who are making a significant impact in the fight against climate change. Our GREEN AWARDS at GTF Connect London highlighted this with Cheesecake Energy, the winner of the UK ‘Start-up’ category, and Zenobē, who were winners in the ‘Changemaker’ category.
Not only do award ceremonies such as our GREEN AWARDS celebrate the achievements businesses are making in developing greener solutions, but it also creates the opportunity to inspire and resonate. We saw this first hand as we presented Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and chair of The Elders (an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela), with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.
Her tireless work in addressing the fundamental causes of climate change, alongside her ongoing efforts to fight climate injustice have made her a true champion for sustainability and her subsequent acceptance speech emphasising the importance of collective action resonated deeply with our audience. On a personal note: I’ve been working in events and entertainment since I was 8. In all that time, I’ve witnessed less than a handful of performances that make the world stand still. True leaders like Mary Robinson have a charisma that is disarming, that stops you in your place. In all the hustle and bustle of London and the noise and light of our awards ceremony, Mary Robinson made her way slowly to the stage and spoke with a strange mixture of urgency and humanity. I felt like she spoke to me personally, but she also spoke to every one of us. Her message was universal: “connecting, caring, sharing and wanting good for each other is what makes us human, we’ve just got to evolve to do this on a global scale”. She closed by saying that “spreading ideas is like blowing the seeds of a dandelion, one puff and the wind can carry those 1000 tiny seeds all around the world”. With the seeds planted in all of us, the event was off to an extra special start.
Fueling Change: the Electric Revolution
It’s no secret that one of the biggest culprits for our CO2 problem is cars and the transport industry. In fact, research found that road vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, and motorbikes) account for nearly three-quarters of all transport-related CO2 emissions. Vehicle manufactures have a huge role to play in the fight against climate change and we’re seeing this with surging numbers of electric car sales, with nearly 14 million electric cars sold globally last year, a 35% increase from 2022. Compare that to five years ago, and electric cars accounted for just 2% of all car sales.
We saw this electric revolution first-hand at GTF Connect London. At our GREEN AWARDS, German automotive manufacturer Audi, who have sustainability high on its agenda with the ambitious aim to be carbon-neutral across its entire operation by 2050, joined us in celebrating the most innovative projects and forward-thinking minds.
Additionally, we welcomed numerous experts and people at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution to the stage at the at GTF Connect London conference. We hosted a fascinating panel discussion on the future of sustainability in motorsport. Welcoming the likes of Julia Pallé, VP Sustainability, of Formula E and Sara Marianai, Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion Director, at Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile to discuss the continued green adoption in motorsport. A fascinating moment came when the session moderator and automotive expert Roger Atkins turned to Nico Rosberg and dug in with a question about the recent announcement that Nico’s EXTREME E series would be abandoning electric mobility in exchange for H2 fuel-cells. Moderator Roger Atkins
quoted Nico in 2021 at the 1st GTF Connect event in London where he had said “H2 isn’t the answer for sustainable transport in personal cars, we have a good solution for that, and that’s electrification. Nico’s response was measured, firstly saying that his opinion had not changed, and that for personal cars, electrification is still the best option we have. Further discussions contended that the change to H2 fuel cells is understandable given that off-road racing put electric drives under extreme loads. The exchanges on stage simply highlight the need for a range of possible solutions to the sustainable transport problem. Overall, the session highlighted how much impact, both technologically and in terms of influencing people’s attitudes, racing has on our sustainable development. It may be a small part of the wider automotive industry, but the message it sends to the rest of the world is crucial and one that resonated with our audience. It will be fascinating to see how similar topics are received when we take them to Asian and US audiences for the GTF Connect LA on the 14-15th of November and GTF Connect Singapore on the 21- 22nd of October.
Empowering the Next Generation
The work we all do in fighting climate change is to build a brighter future for generations to come. That is why it is so important to empower the next generation of innovators and leaders, all who will play their part in driving sustainability forward.
At GTF Connect, we hosted our Green Startup Slams and the GREEN INVESTORS CRUNCH, which provide startups the opportunity to pitch their cutting-edge ideas and solutions to venture capitalists, corporate leaders, and key decision makers. Additionally, we also hosted a special session with postgraduate students from the University of Oxford’s SDG Impact Lab, part of a partnership with our co-founder Nico Rosberg’s nonprofit organisation Rosberg Philanthropies. Both academia and industry are vital cogs in the sustainability machine, and these collaboration sessions aim to bridge the gap, helping to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, whilst fostering a new generation of sustainability leaders to continue the fight.
Building a Platform for Sustainable Solutions
If we are to ensure that we are building a greener future, we cannot continue as business as usual. Business continuity, economic growth and societal development is important, but we cannot continue damaging the environment through destructive fossil fuel consumption and pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.
I hate to sound dramatic, but I work too closely with climate scientists to not write these words: If there has ever been an opportunity to define the future of humanity, it is now. We stand on the precipice of a cascade of destruction that will make life on this planet largely untenable for many species, including our own. There is no choice: we must turn this crisis into opportunity, but to do so we need more events like GTF Connect London, and we need to start collaborating on a global scale. In the words of President Mary Robinson: “We know that humanity is capable of meeting this challenge. History has shown us how resourceful we can be, and how well we can work together. I have hope because you’ve all turned up today, and I have hope because more and more people are turning up and making their voices heard all over the world. The vast majority want the best for each
other, we just need to work together”.
About the author
Dr. Dale Rickert
Global Head of Product – GREENTECH FESTIVAL
As Global Head of Product, Dr Dale Rickert’s responsibilities include the conception and implementation of CONFERENCE content and the strategic direction of the brand core. In addition to his key position at the GREENTECH FESTIVAL, he is a lecturer in event management and marketing at the SRH Hochschule Berlin University of Applied Sciences. He also acts as a supervisor for master students in the field of ‘Sustainability Communication’ at the University of Amsterdam. Dr Dale Rickert’s academic career includes university cellist training and work at the symphony, as well as a PhD in Music Medicine at the University of Queensland.
More about GTF
The GREENTECH FESTIVAL is Europe’s leading sustainable tech event. As a platform for local and international businesses, politics, visionary start-ups and established companies, it brings together more than 200 exhibitors, over 350 speakers and more than 14,000 guests to the Messe Berlin exhibition center. The program includes the EXHIBITION, the CONFERENCE and the GREEN AWARDS. By offering a platform for new technologies, approaches and solutions, GTF is an ideal partner for businesses wanting to fast-track their mission to net-zero.
The GTF was launched in 2019 by Nico Rosberg and Marco Voigt and took place this year from 15th to 17th May 2024 for the first time at the Messe Berlin.
