Net Zero Festival: Winning net zero hearts and minds in the age of coronavirus

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: Lucy Siegle quizzes evian's Shweta Harit, Sustainable Restaurant Association CEO Andrew Stephen, Pernod Ricard's Vanessa Wright, MP and PRASEG chair Bim Afolami, and Social Market Foundation director James Kirkup

Few foresaw a global pandmic on the scale of Covid-19 taking hold in 2020, which has swept up the global economy and business priorities in its path.

Yet at the same time, the urgency to tackle the climate crisis has only intensified, and this creates a particular challenge for progressive businesses striving to forge a pathway forwards to net zero: how do you continue to win partners, politicians, politicians and the public over to the decarbonisation cause amid such pressing short-term health and economic concerns?

At BusinessGreen's recent Net Zero Festival, journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle  quizzed a range of business leaders and experts on their views including: evian's global brand vice-president Shweta Harit, Sustainable Restaurant Association CEO Andrew Stephen, Conservative MP and PRASEG chair Bim Afolami, Pernod Ricard's VP for global sustainability and responsibility Vanessa Wright, and Social Market Foundation's director James Kirkup.

The fascinating discussion, which is a must-watch for anyone involved in business sustainability, is available to view in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the world's first Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 30 September featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand through the Net Zero Festival website.

More on Management

'In this for the long haul': John Lewis Partnership slashes Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40 per cent

'In this for the long haul': John Lewis Partnership slashes Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40 per cent

Retailer celebrates series of environmental milestones in latest sustainability report

clock 17 April 2026 • 3 min read
Women in Green Business Awards 2026: Nomination deadline this Friday

Women in Green Business Awards 2026: Nomination deadline this Friday

There's just one day left to nominate the individuals and businesses you think should be celebrated at the third annual Women in Green Business Awards

BusinessGreen staff
clock 16 April 2026 • 2 min read
BSI and ISO unveil updated 'world leading standard' for environmental management

BSI and ISO unveil updated 'world leading standard' for environmental management

British Standards Institution and International Organisation for Standardisation launch newly-revised edition of the popular BS EN ISO 14001 standard

Michael Holder
clock 15 April 2026 • 3 min read