On 2 July, Powrmatic and Kurb Carbon brought together sustainability leaders from across the South West for an open and honest conversation about one of the region’s biggest challenges: what is genuinely standing in the way of progress towards Net Zero?
Hosted at voco Zeal Exeter Science Park, the event created an opportunity for professionals from across the public and private sectors to step away from the day-to-day and share their experiences, challenges and ideas for accelerating meaningful change across the region.
The event was brought together by Fraser Browning, Director of Kurb Carbon, and Nick Gray of Powrmatic, who share a commitment to helping businesses make meaningful progress towards Net Zero.
Kurb Carbon is a sustainability consultancy helping organisations understand, manage and reduce their carbon impact, while Powrmatic delivers HVAC solutions that improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and support wider Net Zero ambitions. Together, Fraser and Nick wanted to create something different from a traditional presentation or seminar.
The result was an open, facilitated discussion that brought together a range of perspectives and experiences. Rather than arriving with all the answers, the session focused on asking the right questions: What are the biggest barriers to Net Zero? What challenges are unique to the South West? And what needs to change to unlock real progress?
There could hardly have been a more appropriate setting than voco Zeal Exeter Science Park.
With sustainability central to the hotel’s concept and operation, the venue provided a fitting backdrop for a conversation focused on the practical realities of Net Zero. It allowed the discussion to take place in an environment where sustainability was not simply being talked about, but actively considered as part of the building and guest experience.
The informal setting helped create exactly the atmosphere we had hoped for: open, collaborative and honest. Following the facilitated session, attendees also had the opportunity to continue conversations and build new connections.
The discussion covered a huge amount of ground.
While every organisation faces its own challenges, several common themes emerged. Attendees discussed the impact of competing business priorities, limited time and resources, access to capital, the language used around sustainability and the difficulty of maintaining long-term momentum.
The conversation also explored challenges particularly relevant to the South West, including grid capacity, transport and EV infrastructure, and the complexity of the regional support landscape.
But this was never intended to be a session focused solely on the problems.
The conversation moved towards what is already working and, importantly, what could help accelerate progress. From building stronger business cases and communicating sustainability through the language of finance and risk, to collaboration, long-term thinking and investment in infrastructure, the discussion generated a range of practical ideas.
Rather than trying to capture every insight here, we have brought the full discussion together in a dedicated findings report: ‘Barriers to Net Zero in the South West” of which you can request here:
One of the clearest takeaways from the event was that there is no single solution to Net Zero, and no organisation can deliver the transition alone.
Meaningful progress will depend on collaboration, open conversations and a willingness to share both the successes and the challenges.
“The event created exactly the kind of honest conversation we hoped for. Bringing together different perspectives helped us identify practical ways to accelerate Net Zero progress across the South West.”
Fraser Browning, Director, Kurb Carbon
“What stood out was the willingness to collaborate and share real experiences. By bringing the right people together, we can turn Net Zero ambition into practical action and meaningful progress.”
Nick Gray, Business Development Manager, Powrmatic
This is only the start of the conversation, and both Kurb Carbon and Powrmatic are committed to keeping that momentum going. We would like to thank our delegates who attending, without you the event wouldn’t of been possible.
Want to explore the full findings from Barriers to Net Zero in the South West and be part of the conversation moving forward? Request a copy of the full event findings report and register your interest in joining future events as we continue to bring together businesses and sustainability leaders to support the South West’s transition to Net Zero.
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