Event to discuss sustainability amid borough's recovery plans

Solihull's green and inclusive future will be the focus of a series of events during a Chamber campaign being hosted in June.

The week of events will be hosted by the Solihull Chambers of Commerce and are supported by headline sponsors Aston University and IT solutions provider, Leap It.

The first event, titled 'Solihull's Economic Recovery- A Resilient, Green and Inclusive Future', will take place on 7 June at 11am.

Talks will detail the emergence of the town's 'green shoots of recovery' following the pandemic and explore plans to rebuild the local economy. The focus will be on laying the foundations for a green, resilient and inclusive future for the borough.

Speakers will include Paul Thandi, chief executive of the NEC Group and non-executive director of Metro Bank, as well as Justine Howl, head of communications at Birmingham Airport.

Kevin Johns, managing director at Prime Accountants Group and chair of the Solihull BID, will also be speaking.

Bringing with him 25 years' worth of experience understanding of the needs and concerns of business leaders within the region, he is well placed to advise attendees on the steps required of a more positive future.

The second event in the series is titled 'Net Zero 2041' and will take place on 10 June at 10am.

Recognising the scale of the climate emergency, Solihull Council has set the aspiration of reducing the Borough 's CO2 emissions to net zero by 2041, in-line with the West Midlands Combined Authority ambition.

In light of these targets, the session will hear from various experts on sustainability and discuss what businesses can do to contribute to reducing the borough 's CO2 emissions and the positive effects this will have on their businesses and staff.

Speakers will include Will Hargreaves, policy advisor at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Maddie Booth, sustainability officer ESF at Solihull College and University Centre.

Sponsoring this session is energy company and community project, Birmingham Energy Initiative.

Their founder, Tom Bailey (pictured), said: "Having the opportunity to work with the Chamber in this capacity cements our commitment to the region, businesses and members of the chamber who have plans of becoming Net-Zero.

"We 're excited to be sponsoring the Festival of Business Net-Zero event and look forward to supporting anyone in their mission to become more sustainable.

Commenting on Leap IT's sponsorship of the series, managing director Stuart Watson said: “2021 marks our 20 year anniversary here at Leap IT and we now have over 250 business who outsource their entire IT operation to Leap IT.

"We had been looking for a way to celebrate this milestone and when the opportunity came up to be the headline sponsor of the Chamber of Commerce Festival of Business it was an absolute no brainer.

Now it may not be sun hats, glow sticks and glitter faces but that doesn 't mean we can 't all have a bloody good knee 's up behind our laptop screens to celebrate the end of possibly the hardest 18 months any business has had to deal with."

Both events will be free to both members and non-members.

For more information or to book your place, click here