Seminar A:

Energy and Environmental Technologies Seminar hosted by Envirolink Northwest

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for supporting business growth, investment, matching skills provision to employer needs and creating conditions for economic growth.

The need to combat climate change is high on the NWDA’s agenda. The presentation will describe the practical measures the Agency has taken; highlight the region’s Climate Change Action Plan and discuss how it is engaging with stakeholders, including supporting companies with technologies and products that reduce carbon emissions.

One example is ENER-G, which offers a one stop shop for all commercial and industrial energy requirements including Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units that provide users with a range of financial and environmental benefits. CHP units can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of an organisation. The presentation will describe how ENER-G has built a total of 206MWe of cogeneration – generating in excess of five million MWh of clean and efficient electricity - including from installations at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle producing major reductions in carbon emissions.

Luminanz, a Northwest SME, will explain and demonstrate how it has developed lighting products based on its patents for using light wave guides and air gaps to convert point source light from LEDs into acceptable light output for all forms of lighting and signage.

Importantly, the seminar will show LED product alternatives to conventional lighting for room illumination that demonstrate huge energy and CO2 savings, and highlight how Luminanz technology is suitable for applications such as decorative architecture, advertising signage, street furniture illumination, freezer and cooler illumination, room and corridor lighting, transport applications and highway signage, safety lighting, exterior floodlighting, road lighting and off grid applications.

Ian Sibbick, Head of Energy, Envirolink Northwest

Ian began his career in the Department of Trade and Industry where he worked as Private Secretary to the Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations and the Chief Scientific Adviser (Energy) co-ordinating conventional and nuclear energy policy in the UK. He moved to the private sector as the Special Projects Executive of Mitsubishi Electric (UK) Ltd with responsibility for originating new production, marketing and investment policy for the UK market, including the development of the company’s corporate identity.

Following spells as the Marketing Director of an equipment leasing company and Director of a business consultancy, Ian moved back into the energy field as Manager of the Northwest energy trade association, ISOCON.

He later moved to Envirolink Northwest where he was seconded to the Carbon Trust, which provides the UK’s response to climate change, as the Manager for the Northwest region. At the end of his secondment Ian returned to Envirolink Northwest to head the Energy Efficiency team. As a result of the growing impact of the Government’s policy on energy, Ian was appointed Head of Energy, leading support for the region’s supply chains operating in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields.

Dan Griffiths, Climate Change Manager, Northwest Regional Development Agency

Dan has been newly appointed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency to lead the delivery of ‘Rising to the Challenge’ the Climate Change Action Plan for the Northwest of England, on behalf of the Northwest Climate Change Partnership. He heads up the Northwest Climate Change Unit, a cross agency delivery body consisting of officers from Government Office for the Northwest, the Northwest Regional Assembly, and the Environment Agency. The Action Plan is a transformational action within the Regional Economic Strategy, focussing on building capacity and understanding, developing the evidence base, and delivering action on both mitigation and adaptation.

He has been involved in the promotion of sustainable development for over a decade. Prior to taking up his current role Dan was Sustainability Manager at Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council for 7 years, acting as policy lead and programme manager for a wide range of environmental and sustainability issues as diverse as recycling, travel planning, education for sustainability, and obviously climate change. This role enabled grounding in partnership working and stakeholder involvement, alongside influencing and involvement in cross-cutting agendas such as economic development and regeneration. Previous to this he was Local Agenda 21 Development Officer at Salford City Council, and has spent time working both in a voluntary and professional capacity with environmental organisations across the Northwest.

Alan Barlow B.Sc (Eng), Managing Director, ENER.G Combined Power Ltd

Alan has been the Managing Director of ENER.G Combined Power Limited for four years, (having previously held the post of Applications Engineering Director).

He spent six years in a building services environment as a Building Services Design Engineer in a London consultancy practice.

He has 16 years’ direct experience, at all levels, of implementing CHP schemes from 30kWe to 5000kWe plus, for a range of projects in both the UK and Europe. 

Recent CHP scheme projects include:

Birmingham Heartlands Hospital
New build PPP project over 15 years with trigeneration, replacement boilers, chillers, replacement heating, mains and plantroom upgrade, insulation, new energy efficiency lighting.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
New build PPP project over 15 years with trigeneration, replacement boilers, chillers, replacement heating, mains and plantroom upgrade, insulation, new energy efficiency lighting and new site-wide BEMS.

Royal Mail Group
New build Energy Centre housing 5MWe generation, 3.5MWe chilling and 2MW boiler capacity

Morton Graham, Managing Director, Luminanz

Morton Graham first began experimenting with wave guide technology using clear acrylic sheet to create edge-lighting illuminated signage for the British Post Office in 1988.  During the past twenty years he has developed a number of technologies using wave guides and air gaps to redirect light and to seriously increase its efficiency.

At the end of the 1990s Morton was approached by BP Oil to design a highlighting tube to replace the unsatisfactory green neon strip ever present on the canopies of their service stations.  This tube was used by BP and many other companies globally and the product is still good after eight years’ service.

It has been Morton’s practice to discover major lighting users’ requirements – energy saving, zero maintenance, long life, recyclability, light and colour quality and rendering etc - so he has been able to develop product for major names such as Tesco, Clear Channel, McDonald’s, Manchester Airport Group, which enabled trials to be conducted in parallel with continuing development.

In 2005, Luminanz Ltd was founded to concentrate these various technologies with a view to developing a full range of ambient lighting luminaires.  This year Luminanz Manufacturing Ltd was formed, and lighting is now being produced for a number of eminent global customers.

Seminar B:

The Sustainable Workplace: Eco-friendly technology and better working practices.

Identifying and installing low impact technology is less than half the battle when it comes to “greening” the office. The real challenge lies in getting users to alter working habits and make the most of the resource-saving features available.

Document imaging specialist Kyocera presents the results of bespoke research looking at the tensions between the drive to adopt green technology and the challenge of getting users to engage effectively with it. The aim is to provide insights into how to overcome these issues to make the most of technology investment, and to provide some practical hints and tips for creating a more sustainable office environment.

Tracey Rawling Church

Tracey Rawling Church joined Kyocera Mita UK in 1993, just after the launch of their pioneering Ecosys sustainable laser printer range. As PR Manager, she was responsible for the campaign that beat the launch of Windows 95 to the award for best technology campaign. Moving on through product management and marketing communications, she was appointed Marketing Director in 2003. As a result of her work on Kyocera’s Green Card Network, which promotes sustainable business practices, she has become a regular contributor to seminars and conferences on environmental and CSR topics.

Seminar C:



Integrating waste and low carbon energy solutions into new developments

This presentation will look at the contribution to be made to the sustainability of new developments through the use and integration of low carbon energy and waste solutions. James Snape (Head of Nabarro’s Waste Group) and Tom Bainbridge (Head of Nabarro’s Climate Change and Energy Group) will outline the approaches being taken to multi-utility infrastructure procurement and the potential economic and environmental benefits to be gained by both public and private sectors.

Tom Bainbridge

Tom is a partner at Nabarro and heads their Climate Change & Energy group.  He advises public and private sector clients on various aspects of climate change policy, low and zero carbon energy and energy efficiency schemes and the carbon financing of other emissions reduction projects.

His experience includes advising generators, suppliers and consumers on various aspects of low carbon energy policy, energy-from-waste and the meaning of ‘waste'. He has advised on carbon risk apportionment in corporate transactions as well as environmental and energy-related obligations and risk apportionment in PFI/PPP.  Tom has also advised buyers, sellers and project developers in the power and chemicals sectors, and carbon funds and brokers, in connection with their carbon trading and carbon financing arrangements related to CDM and JI projects under the Kyoto Protocol and carbon allowance trading under the EU emissions trading scheme.  He has also advised on a wide range of transactional and regulatory environmental matters.

Tom is also active in a number of related industry working groups and is recognised in the legal directories as a leading individual for his climate change work

James Snape

James is a partner in the Projects group at Nabarro and heads the firm's Waste team. He joined in 2000 having previously worked as a local government officer at Guildford Borough Council.

James specialises in waste and renewable energy projects and regularly advises on new forms of contracting between the public and private sectors, including joint ventures, strategic partnerships, trading vehicles, outsourcing and co-sourcing. He has a track record of delivering innovative projects. Highlights include securing new private sector instructions on ten active waste PFI projects; advising Essex County Council on its waste PFI project, one of the largest in the UK. Advising the Somerset Waste Partnership on its pathfinder waste project; advising the Carbon Trust on its low carbon commercialisation programme.

Seminar D

Voltage Optimisation - The Frontline Approach to Reducing CO2