UK industry is world renowned for its commitment to addressing climate change through enterprise and innovation, a commitment demonstrated by this year's COP28 UK Pavilion Official Partners.
Open throughout the 2 weeks of COP28, the UK Pavilion is hosting a series of events including panel talks, roundtable discussions and networking receptions providing valuable business opportunities and knowledge sharing for delegates and sponsors alike.
The funding raised from sponsorship of the UK Pavilion ensures there is no cost to taxpayers, while enabling Official Partners to use its sponsorship to showcase the vital role they play in the climate agenda.
Three of the Official Partners; National Grid, Reckitt and SSE are returning from COP26 and COP27, showing the ongoing commitment of these companies towards net zero and cutting emissions, and to working with the government on this important goal.
The UK government has also welcomed 3 new businesses to the COP28 sponsor portfolio: Bankers for Net Zero, Octopus and PwC.
COP28 runs until 12 December and the UK Pavilion will be in place for the duration of the conference.
The sponsors
Bankers for Net Zero
Bankers for Net Zero is a global non-profit initiative that supports the private sector to act in the most impactful way towards reducing their carbon footprint and therefore helping achieve net zero, through industry commitments, policy development and regulation.
As the UK Country Chapter of the UN-Convened Net Zero Banking Alliance part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), Bankers for Net Zero is partnering with the UK Pavilion at COP28 to demonstrate UK leadership on the global stage.
Heather Buchanan, CEO, Bankers for Net Zero said:
The outcomes of COP28 will mark an inflection point and a test of the international community to deliver significant climate action. Bankers for Net Zero are delighted to be partners the UK Pavilion at this crucial moment, championing the cross-sector collaboration necessary to unlock systems change in our financial ecosystem. Finance is at the heart of a rapid, just transition to net zero. Ensuring that all finance flows - both public and private - support and do not impede climate action is essential to achieving the emissions reductions and resilience the world needs.
At COP28, Bankers for Net Zero will continue our steadfast relationship with UK government to set out our roadmap for delivery of transformational solutions. This will optimise the banks' contribution to the real economy and give investors and business the clarity, confidence and direction to decarbonise effectively and support the real economy in a just transition. B4NZ and our programme partners Icebreaker One are also delighted to be showcasing the demonstrator of Perseus, our whole-of-market solution to enable automated, low-friction flow of primary data to enable trusted, assurable, comparable, and actionable emissions reporting.
National Grid
National Grid plays a crucial role in connecting millions of people to the energy they use safely, reliably and efficiently.
National Grid is pioneering ways to decarbonise the energy system; from building interconnectors to allow the UK to share clean energy with Europe, to investing in renewable energy generation in the United States.
John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid, said:
National Grid's vision is to be at the heart of a clean, fair, and affordable energy future. Knowledge sharing amongst countries and industry is key to this and we will be demonstrating our experience in enabling the energy transition to date, as well as championing collective action, as sponsors of the GREAT UK Pavilion at COP28. Only by working together and collaborating on a global scale can we realise a net zero future.
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy is a global energy and technology group, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future.
Octopus is now the UK's largest electricity company and is rapidly growing around the world. It serves 7.2 million customers globally through its energy supply arm which has operations in 17 countries and operates a £6 billion portfolio of renewable energy assets across Europe.
Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy, said:
We are here to give policymakers the confidence that their goals are deliverable - and faster, cheaper and more securely than previously thought. We're proud to partner with the UK government to champion the creation of brand new clean energy systems around the world through partnerships, innovation and enterprise.
PwC
With offices in 152 countries, PwC is among the leading professional services networks in the world.
PwC is taking action to achieve their net zero commitments and are helping clients to transform their business to be net zero, as well as manage climate and nature risk.
Kevin Ellis, Senior Partner at PwC UK, said:
We're proud to support the UK's Pavilion at COP28 and we're committed to working with the UK government on the transition to net zero. Driving the energy transition and other areas of action requires collaboration between governments and business leaders, and we're playing our part by supporting both the public and private sector to turn climate ambitions into action to deliver an economy that is decarbonised, fair and balanced with nature.
Reckitt
Reckitt is a British multinational consumer goods company, which has pledged to reach net zero by 2040 and to power all operations with 100% renewable electricity and cut their product carbon footprint by half by 2030.
Kris Licht, CEO of Reckitt said:
Reckitt is pleased to sponsor the UK pavilion at COP28 for the third successive year, building on the partnership we established with the UK government in Glasgow and underscoring the critical importance of the climate talks to the public and private sectors.
We have been championing the need to elevate and unify conversations on climate and health and are delighted that at COP28, health will have a formal place on the agenda for the first time with a dedicated Health Day.
SSE
SSE builds, operates and invests in electricity infrastructure that is vital to the clean energy transition, including onshore and offshore wind, hydro power, electricity networks, lower-carbon power stations, carbon capture and hydrogen storage, solar and batteries, as well as providing energy products and services for businesses and customers.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE plc, said:
We are delighted once again to be partnering with the UK government to support its efforts to drive ambitious climate action at COP28. As the UK's clean energy champion, we are investing in excess of £20 billion over the next 5 years in low carbon electricity infrastructure including the world's largest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank, and we therefore hope to make a small but meaningful contribution by sharing experiences that can help others on their decarbonisation journeys. But most importantly we want to listen and to learn about the innovative approaches being taken globally to deliver the clean energy transition, and to lend our support to efforts to treble renewable energy capacity by 2030 and achieve a net zero global power system as soon as possible.
