UON Sustainability Summit 2023

A few decades ago, sustainability was mainly a statement employed by government, businesses and individuals to demonstrate their commitment to caring for the environment. Indeed, some might argue that sustainability remains a simple casualty of lip service and platitudes even today. The global climate crisis, severe biodiversity loss, threat to soil fertility, and the social issues driven by these challenges – such as human rights and labour practices – make it abundantly clear that we cannot continue business as usual. In a fast-changing world, all organisations must adapt and pivot to a more sustainable business models and/or organisational practices. With the passing of every extreme weather event or socio-economic crisis, we are reminded of what we stand to lose if we do nothing and what we stand to save if we act now to meet the challenges of the moment together.

15 and 16 May 2023

It is against this backdrop of urgency that the University of Northampton (UON) is organising its first ever Sustainability Summit. The UON Sustainability Summit will be the first of its kind in Northamptonshire, and the only one of its kind being undertaken by a comparable Higher Education Institution in the Midlands region.

Theme

The Summit is being organised under theme; “Adapting to a changing world: Identifying our shared sustainability challenges”.

Rationale

This event will provide a platform which brings together academia, businesses, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to identify shared sustainability challenges (environmental, social and governance) mainly within but not limited to, the food/drink, logistics and footwear sectors, and devise a roadmap to address these challenges. Furthermore, this event will provide an opportunity for networking across sectors, which will help build lasting partnerships to pursue actionable solutions to the sustainability challenges which are identified.

As a higher education institution, the University of Northampton is well placed to play a central role in catalysing partnerships and much needed collaboration between stakeholders. The University has ample research and consultancy expertise within the area of Sustainability. Through its various research groups, centres and institutes, the University of Northampton has a strong track record of working collaboratively with external organisations to address sustainability challenges.

These collaborative efforts have yielded a rich portfolio of successful research, enterprise, and knowledge exchange sustainability projects. The Summit will provide an opportunity for the University to make its rich expertise available to local stakeholders to identify the best solutions to their shared sustainability challenges.

Summit Objectives

• Identify shared environmental, social and governance sustainability challenges.
• Identify the most suitable sustainability solutions and provide access to University of Northampton research and development capacity.
• Develop actionable challenge briefs to enable acceleration of innovation to solve industry challenges.
• Utilize University of Northampton expertise to provide access to grant funding opportunities which can be pursued towards collaborative research and enterprise projects.
• Enable sharing of knowledge and best practice between academia and industry.
• Highlight and exhibit the high value of sustainability projects being undertaken by organisations across the Northamptonshire and the Midlands region.
• Agree the Northampton Sustainability Accords; a set of sustainability goals which will pave the way for the establishment of the ‘Sustainability Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Agenda’ (SLIPA), a resource hub at the University of Northampton which will coordinate a long-term sustainability agenda for organisations in Northamptonshire working closely with stakeholders in the county.

Dates

• Monday 15 May 2023 (Day 1)
• Tuesday 16 May 2023 (Day 2)

Venue

University of Northampton, Waterside Campus, Learning Hub, Ground Floor Commons.

Registration

Delegates must complete registration in advance of the Summit via the University of Northampton online shop. Each registered delegate will receive an on-site badge upon arrival at the University.

The fee for registration is £100 per delegate. Delegates who register before Friday 31 March 2023 will benefit from a 25% discount in the registration fee. As places are limited, the organisers will be working on a first come first served basis.

Registration will open on 1 February 2023.