The Harrogate Climate Action Festival in Review

Techbuyer sponsored the first-ever Harrogate Climate Action festival on October 2nd for the launch of a month-long event of discussions and presentations surrounding the reduction of Harrogate's carbon footprint and improving the environment for our community.

The event was opened by a presentation led by Professor Neil Coles, chair of the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, who introduced guest speakers, including Danny Wild, principal of Harrogate College and Professor Andy Shephard of Leeds University.

Sustainability Training and the creation of Green Jobs

The opening discussion brought light to the importance of training in skills focussed on sustainability, such as engineers being trained to work with electric engines or sustainable power sources. Harrogate College aims to instil key sustainability skills through every course in their curriculum as these skills have been identified by employers as desirable in successful candidates.

The creation of green jobs is vital for the move to net-zero four our country and planet and within these jobs, sustainability-related skills are essential to ensure the development of a carbon-neutral society. The National Grid alone predicts the need for 400,000 new green jobs within their organisation by 2050 to aid the move to net zero.

With sustainability in mind, the college is launching an Employers Network to capture business needs so it can adapt the curriculum to meet them.

Why Net zero is important?

Professor Andy Shephard brought to life the importance of a move towards net zero and the development of technology, particularly satellites, that can track the effects of climate change. In his presentation on climate sciences, Shephard highlighted that we are currently losing a trillion tonnes of ice yearly which is drastically impacting the polar ice caps.

The melting of ice directly impacts the rise in the sea level which will have catastrophic consequences for communities around the world.

Shephard highlighted the importance to adapt our cities to combat the rising tides and track the impact of sustainability on our planet.

Attendees of the Event

The event itself was attended by 30 different businesses and organisations from in and around Harrogate, all focused on creating a more eco-friendly and sustainable Harrogate.

Our stand at the event included a tech fossil pit to highlight technology that had become obsolete and what may be next, as well as our IT Hardware tech bike, and a fact orientation trail. We also had our ITAD team bring along a collection of dead technology for the kids to have a go at taking apart or rebuilding.

We will also be attending the net-zero carbon business conference on the 12th of October to discuss the importance of being sustainable with the technology that you use and the importance of buying refurbished IT equipment.

Join us at the upcoming event by booking your place here.