Details
According to Public Health England, “approximately 29,000 deaths per year in the UK could be attributable to man-made particulate matter pollution”. In London alone, nearly 9,500 people die early each year due to long-term exposure to air pollution. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs estimates the annual cost to the UK economy at about £16 billion.
EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Classes show key buyer side stakeholders how they can deploy the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies and best practices to improve urban air quality and drive down emissions and air pollution in our cities and regions.
Qualifying delegates include commissioning, procurement, trialling, partnering and policy leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers, environmental managers and planners from local authorities (e.g. city, borough, metropolitan, district and county councils); public and private transport operators/service providers; sub-regional transport bodies, combined authorities, integrated transport authorities and passenger transport executives; freight and logistics operators; airports and port operators; vehicle manufacturers; energy providers; potential partners from industry (e.g. retail, construction, manufacturing and waste management sectors) and healthcare; DfT, Defra, EA, BEIS, DHSC and supporting national agencies; prime contractors etc.
Core themes range from IoT smart emissions monitoring, hyperlocal air quality monitoring, indoor air quality innovation, air pollution forecasting models based on neural networks, air pollution abatement systems/technologies, and mapping and visualising air quality in real-time, to managing and enforcing clean air and low emission zones, machine learning techniques to analyse weather and emissions data, deploying telematics and geo-fencing technology, EVs and hydrogen buses, DRT and MaaS impacts, innovative ways to clean polluted air, carbon capture and storage, and commercial sector initiatives such as emissions based parking tariffs and anti-pollution bus stops. We also explore planetary crises – e.g. climate change, pandemic, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste – as catalysts for change, accelerating the use of available solutions and motivating investment in new innovation.
EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Class 2023 takes place at Greencoat Place Conference Centre, London, on Wednesday 26th April. This will be our sixth EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Class and follows on from previously acclaimed editions in London (2022, 2021 and 2019), Leeds (2022) and Birmingham (2019). Delegates will hear from industry movers, shapers and disruptors during initial rapid-fire thought leadership presentations, before moving on to in-depth consultations with experts and peers during the roundtable discussions. In addition, the Smart Class will feature up to 3 keynote presentations from major buyer side stakeholders giving real world insight into their collaborative initiatives, digital journeys and adoptions of emerging, transformative technologies. This half day in-person event is free to attend for bona fide delegates satisfying our registration criteria.
Previous Emissions & Air Quality Smart Classes have attracted senior delegates from stakeholders such as:
Active Travel England • Adur District Council • Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) • Aecom • Amey Consulting • Arcadis • Arriva Group • Arriva UK • Arup • Atkins • Aylesbury Vale Borough Council • Bath City Council • BCP Council • BEAMA • Bedford Borough Council • BEIS • BESA • Birmingham City Council • Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council • Black Country LEP • Bolton Council • British Standards Institute (BSI) • Buckinghamshire Council • Bureau Veritas • Calderdale Council • Cambridge City Council • Cambridgeshire County Council • Cambridge & Peterborough Combined Authority • Canterbury City Council • Cenex • Cheshire West and Chester Council • City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council • City of Edinburgh Council • City of London Corporation • City of Wolverhampton Council • City of York Council • The Climate Reality Project • CLS Energy • Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) • Connected Places Catapult • Coventry City Council • COWI • CrossCountry Trains • Cross River Partnership • Croydon Council • Cummins • Cundall • Dacorum Borough Council • Dartford Borough Council • Department for Transport (DfT) • Derby City Council • Derbyshire County Council • Durham County Council • Eastleigh Borough Council • East Sussex County Council • Energy Savings Trust • Enfield Council • Environment Agency • Essex County Council • FCC Environment • Freight Transport Association (FTA) • GHD • Gloucestershire County Council • Greater Cambridge Shared Planning • Greater London Authority (GLA) • Royal Borough of Greenwich • Hammersmith & Fulham Council • Hackney Council • Harrow Council • Hertfordshire County Council • Highways England • High Speed Two (HS2) • Hull City Council • Imperial College London • Integrated Transport Planning • Ipswich Borough Council • Jacobs • Jaguar Land Rover • Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea • Kent County Council • Kingston Council • Kirklees Council • Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council • Royal Leamington Spa Town Council • Leeds City Council • Leeds Sustainability Institute • Leicester City Council • Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) • Living Streets • London Borough of Barnet • London Borough of Camden • London Borough of Havering • London Borough of Hounslow • London Borough of Lambeth • London Borough of Newham • London Borough of Sutton • London Borough of Waltham Forest • London Climate Change Partnership • London Councils • London Southbank University • Low Carbon Hub • Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (The LowCVP) • Lower Thames Crossing Project • Luton Borough Council • Manchester City Council • Merseytravel • Milton Keynes Council • Momentum Transport • Mott MacDonald • National Express • National Grid • National Highways • Natural Resources Wales • Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council • NHS East of England • North East Lincolnshire Council • North of the Tyne Combined Authority • North Yorkshire County Council • Nottinghamshire County Council • Oxford City Council • Oxfordshire County Council • Plan for Earth • Portsmouth City Council • Project Beyond Consortium • Public Health England (PHE) • Reading Borough Council • Ricardo Energy & Environment • Ringway Jacobs • Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea • Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) • Selby District Council • Sheffield City Council • Slough Borough Council • Smart Transport Hub • Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) • Solent Transport • Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council • Southampton City Council • South Cambridgeshire District Council • Southwark Council • Staffordshire County Council • Stantec • St Helens Borough Council • Stoke-on-Trent City Council • Sunderland City Council • Surrey County Council • Sustrans • Tees Valley Combined Authority • Thames Estuary Partnership • 31tenconsulting • Thurrock Council • Transport Focus • Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) • Transport for London (TfL) • Transport North East • Transport for the South East (TfSE) • Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) • Trees and Design Action Group • UK100 • UK Government • Unipart Rail • University of Birmingham • University of Cambridge/CCHPR • University of Exeter • University of Greenwich • University of Leeds • University of Nottingham • University of the West of England • University of Warwickshire • Urban Foresight • Vale of Glamorgan Council • Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council • Warwick District Council • Warwickshire County Council • Waterman Aspen • Watford Borough Council • Westminster City Council • West Sussex County Council • West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) • Witteveen+Bos • WM-Air Project • Wood • Worcestershire County Council • WSP etc.
Previous presentations include:
“The decarbonisation of transport and improving air quality in a growing city” • “Sustainable digital twins and future air quality scenarios” • “Living labs – Learning from our urban environment” • “Data led air quality improvements and transport decarbonisation” • “Innovation in construction – Eliminating diesel” • “Indoor air quality – Would you serve your guests dirty water?” • “London’s green recovery – Getting back on the road to 2030” • “Air quality and highways operations – How to track, analyse, recommend and predict the impact” • “Utilising innovative transport solutions to tackle Southampton’s air quality challenge” • “Saving 15 million tonnes of CO2 through the introduction of DRT” • “Opening the door to air quality ‘Safe havens'” • “Data led air quality improvement and transport decarbonisation” • “A national approach to air pollution – Advancing the action plan” • “Air quality best practice in the City of London” • “Technology for good – A new hyperlocal air quality monitoring dimension” • “How to effectively manage and enforce clean air and low emission zones with virtual permits and digital ANPR” • “Innovation in construction – Building by example: Delivering the HS2 air quality strategy commitments to avoid and minimise impacts from construction on local air quality” • “Combining nature and innovation to improve air quality, inside and out” • “WM-Air: Clean air science for the West Midlands” • “The key to achieving long-term sustainable benefits for transport” • “Putting air quality data to work – Opportunities and challenges of fine-grained spatial and temporal air quality information” • “The air that we breathe: Enabling hyper-local air quality monitoring with emerging technologies” • “Breathing life into cities: Combining plants and innovation to process air pollution” • “Connected Coventry – Using technology to tackle air quality” • “Innovation in homes and the pressing air quality challenge” • “Climate change and emissions data driven solutions” • “Making the air healthier to breathe: Clean air for the people” • “Indoor air quality monitoring: Being indoors is a haven from all that pollution – Right?” • “Logistics and air quality – How do we drive further improvement?” • “Healthier and greener city: Westminster” etc.
Testimonials and feedback from our previous Emissions & Air Quality Smart Classes:
“I felt slightly apprehensive going into London to attend my first in-person event for a long time. However, the experience could not have been better – inspiring, friendly speakers and delegates that made me want to get out and attend more events like this. I have returned to work with new energy and belief, with my passion for the area that I work in topped-up. The presentations ran smoothly and cohesively, and I learnt from every one of the roundtables. Thank you for the invite. I will be sure to attend future events and have encouraged colleagues to do so too” – Sustainable Mobility Officer, Hertfordshire County Council • “Just wanted to say thanks again for today. I really enjoyed the session and found the topics so interesting and useful. Hope to see you again soon” – Head of Air Quality, Environment & Technology, Transport for London • “A really engaging and enjoyable event with fantastic opportunity for roundtable discussion and networking” – Sustainable Transport Planner, London Borough of Hackney • “Interesting to hear about innovative solutions in London, and very informative and insightful to hear about DRT and integrating transport systems” – Public Health Project Officer, London Borough of Havering • “Really interesting presentations and case study examples. Roundtables were all so good!” – Clean Tech Project Manager, Westminster City Council • “Great event, thanks!” – Head of Desk Air Quality and Surface Transport – Government Relations, Transport for London • “It was a super event and a good opportunity for me and my team to present our new primary schools air quality website…once it’s being well used by schools we’ll have some good data and evaluation for behaviour change” – Principal Policy Officer – Climate & Environment, Canterbury City Council • “Really enjoyed this event and loved the opportunity to share Solent Transport’s progress on the Future Transport Zone” – Future Transport Zone Manager (Southampton City Council), Solent Transport • “I really enjoyed the event and thank you for the opportunity” – Sustainable Projects Lead (Air Quality Programme Lead) – Green City and Infrastructure, Southampton City Council • “It was a redefining moment for me. All of the sessions were valuable. Thanks for the invite and look forward to being part of the next Smart Class” – Transport Planner, West Sussex County Council • “Excellent organisation and brilliant speakers” – Senior Environmental Specialist, National Highways • “Something good in all of the presentations, all the roundtables had their highlights and speaking to German colleagues was fun and informative” – Lead Sponsor – Regional Programmes, Transport for London • “I enjoyed the Emissions & Air Quality Smart Class…a very good event format” – Managing Director, Thames Gateway Tramlink • “Absolutely brilliant event, really enjoyed the session” – Sector Lead – Smart (ER) Mobility, Stantec • “All of the presentations and roundtables were informative. How monitoring technology can make a difference to behavioural change was most valuable and demonstrating behavioural change impacts to pollutant reduction of particular interest” – Principal Air Quality Consultant, Cundall • “Fantastic event, very interesting presentations! Thank you for the opportunity” – Health & Wellbeing in Buildings Chairman, Building Engineering Services Association • “A great event! Thanks for putting on such a wide range of speakers for us” – Transport Consultant, Integrated Transport Planning • “It was a great event. I enjoyed a lot, learnt new things that I could apply to my role and hope to see you in the future” – Senior Transport Engineer, Dartford Borough Council/Area Manager (South East) – Highways and Transportation, Waterman Aspen • “Thank you for inviting us. We enjoyed the session and learnt a lot” – Research Associate, University of Cambridge – Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research • “A very good event, relevant to my work and all of the roundtables were valuable in different ways” – Smart Cities Project Manager and Clean Tech City Lead, Westminster City Council • “A thoroughly informative and enjoyable experience – will be recommending to colleagues! Found all presentations and application areas useful. Monitoring networks, lessons learned and high level policy of particular interest” – Principal Air Quality Consultant, Cundall • “Thank you for a very helpful and informative event. The Smart Class was perfect! Lovely number of people, expert presentations highlighted the importance of central support and data collection, and all of the roundtables were equally valuable” – Senior Transport Planning & Infrastructure Officer, Essex County Council • “HS2 presentation a great example of all that was discussed being put into actual practice, very well presented and a relevant interesting topic. The roundtables were informative, questioning the expert speakers further” – Air Quality Officer, City of London Corporation • “Camera enforcement options, green walls and Hammersmith & Fulham comparisons were of particular interest” – Environmental Health Enforcement Officer, LB Waltham Forest • “All of the presentations and roundtables were good. Most valuable to hear how the City of London is addressing Air Quality issues and to understand the hyper-local air quality deployment model” – Strategy and Partnerships Manager, Smart Cambridge Programme, Cambridgeshire County Council • “Many thanks for inviting me to the event which I found really informative” – Senior Environmental Advisor, Highways England • “All of the presentations and roundtables included good, interesting content. The Hammersmith & Fulham case study info was especially valuable. Also had a great chat about green walls!” – Sponsor Manager for Regional Programmes, Transport for London • “Very happy with my first Smart Class, fingers crossed I will be at another one in the next 3-6 months: very impressed! – Principal Transport Planner, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council • “A useful model for delivery – I like the focus on practitioners and sharing experience. All of the presentations were relevant and related to issues I am currently trying to address” – Head of Environment, Eastleigh Borough Council • “All in all an excellent event!” – Environmental Protection Team Leader, Warwick District Council” • “Very informative and useful. Format perfect!” – Phase 1 Air Quality Lead, HS2 • “All presentations were interesting as they showed ways to monitor and efficiently mitigate air pollutants. All of the roundtables were valuable too, speakers knew their subjects and responded to our questions well. This was a really interesting event and I found it beneficial as a LA officer and individual” – Scientific Officer, Environmental Health, LB Barnet • “I’m interested in local government interventions and what can be done by councils to drive and coordinate change. A stimulating event which increased my overview of the subject. Thank you” – Councillor, Royal Leamington Spa Town Council • “Excellent event, very well organised, good pace, great range of contributors and well balanced. Has given me a lot of opportunities to follow up!” – Head of New Products, Unipart Rail • “Lovely people and interesting discussions” – Environment Manager, CrossCountry Trains • “Good to receive information and advice from practitioners and experts in one place. All the presentations and roundtables were very interesting” – Connectivity Strategy Manager, Staffordshire County Council • “A great event to meet key thinkers in your field” – Research Technician Air Quality, University of Birmingham/WM-Air Project • “Good to meet you yesterday. I enjoyed the meeting and made some useful links” – Professor of Atmospheric Science/Head of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham and WM-Air Project Lead • “All the roundtables were useful and all of the presentations were interesting too” – Sustainability Officer, LB Camden • “Smart Classes are doing a fantastic job of bringing together experts and those interested in ‘Smart’ solutions. Thanks for yet another great event, I really enjoyed the sessions! Smart Classes offer a great opportunity to stay up to date with the latest technologies and concepts in the infrastructure arena” – Partner, London Climate Change Partnership; Chair, Thames Estuary Partnership; and Founder, Plan for Earth • “An interesting and informative morning. Thank you!” – Air Quality Officer, City of London Corporation • “Thank you for holding these classes. Very informative, great for networking and all of the roundtables added value” – Functional Excellence Engineer, Cummins • “All of the roundtables were good” – Strategy Director, Bus, National Express • “A really interesting morning” – Director of Policy Development, Confederation of Passenger Transport • “The presentations provided a good learning experience and overview into the activities conducted. Great insights into programmes and good conversations during the roundtables” – National Networks Programme Coordinator, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK • “An excellent and useful event” – Project Manager – Sustainable Energy & Air Quality, Leeds City Council • “A Friday well spent in Leeds at the Emissions & Air Quality Smart Class. Really informative keynotes from Leeds University, Leeds Beckett, Leeds City Council and HS2. Great discussions around the decarbonisation of transport, EV charging, eliminating diesel in construction, learning from our urban environment using living labs and how we can use hyperlocal data to improve air quality. Thanks to Smart Classes for organising” – Transport Development Analyst, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority • “Great event – looking forward to the next one!” – Senior Project Engineer, Derbyshire County Council • “Thanks very much for inviting me and Daniel to the session on Friday. It was really well structured and informative! Great networking too!” – Senior Environmental Health Officer, Selby District Council • “Thank you, it was a great day!” – Environmental Health Technician, Selby District Council • “Met my expectations and all of the presentations were useful” – First Route Project Manager, Coventry Very Light Rail at Coventry City Council • “Very impressed! Interesting presentations, productive conversations and less of the ‘fluff’ of many events. Thanks for an engaging event on Friday – I really enjoyed the format and content and will certainly be recommending future events to colleagues” – Environmental Consultant, Mott MacDonald • “A pleasure to speak at Smart Classes’ Emissions & Air Quality North today on Living labs, collaboration and partnerships for the goals alongside Jim Parker. Some great keynotes and innovators to connect with and learn from, and hopefully some opportunities to work together soon!” – Sustainability Manager, University of Leeds • “Thank you very much. It was a fantastic meeting” – Research Officer, Leeds Sustainability Institute at Leeds Beckett University • “A great event in London today…Fantastic to be in the room again, seeing people face-to-face and safely!” – Managing Director & Co-founder, Vortex IoT (Innovation Sponsor) • “Excellent event today guys. I look forward to working with you again” – Managing Director & Co-founder, Vortex IoT (Innovation Sponsor) • “Great day and, as always, lively debate” – Managing Director, Imperial (Innovation Sponsor) • “Thank you Smart Classes!” – Chief Operating Officer, Hawa Dawa (Innovation Sponsor) • “Thanks for having me last Thursday, it was an interesting day with lots to learn. I also managed to use some of what I learnt in my presentation on Friday!” – Business Development Director, Scotscape (Innovation Sponsor) • “Thank you – a very helpful event” – Principal Urban Environment Consultant, ANS Global (Innovation Sponsor) • “Delighted to take part” – Brightly Software (Innovation Sponsor) • “Great event today, thank you” – Commercial Director, Vortex IoT, part of Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor) • “Thank you for bringing us all together today…and thanks to everyone for all the interesting insights. It really was a great event!” – International Business Development Manager, ioki – a DB company (Innovation Sponsor) • “It was a pleasure to meet you last week at our first Smart Class. We really enjoyed it and had some great discussions during the roundtable format” – International Sales & Business Development Manager, ioki – a DB company (Innovation Sponsor) “Well worthwhile – thank you! Good connections made at all of the roundtables and great follow up agreed with a number of attendees” – Executive Chairman, Slingshot Simulations (Innovation Sponsor) • “Great experience speaking on Friday at the 2022 Emissions & Air Quality Smart Class North, discussing the role graph technology and digital twins can play in Leeds City’s target to reach net zero by 2030” – Application Engineer, Slingshot Simulations (Innovation Sponsor) • “Great event, thanks!” – COO, Slingshot Simulations (Innovation Sponsor) • “Happy clean air day! What better way to celebrate than a train up to Leeds to present at an emissions and air quality smart class tomorrow!” – Director of Environment, Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor) • “Great engagement in Leeds last month at EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Class, North 2022” – Founder & CEO, ZiggyTec (Innovation Sponsor)
Speakers
“Driving Down Emissions – The Journey to Innovation” – “Over 98% of National Highway’s emissions come from the tailpipes of vehicles travelling on our roads. We have committed to achieving net zero travel on our Strategic Road Network by 2050, which requires significant transformation in the way the Strategic Road Network is currently used. This is being delivered through our Net Zero Plan and our Air Quality Programme”.
In this keynote, Angela Halliwell, Head of Carbon and Air Quality, will take you through National Highways’ journey so far on delivering their Net Zero Plan, including readying the network for electric vehicles and improving bus and coach travel. She will provide an update on how National Highways are utilising cutting-edge technologies, such as filtration cubes, and innovative trials around speed-limits to drive down our emissions and improve air quality. These data-driven approaches are helping to inform decision-making and shape the future of our road network.
National Highways are publishing their new Environmental Sustainability Strategy in April 2023 and will give you a first look at their vision of the future, which highlights the intersectionality of carbon, nature, and communities, providing insight to their future research programme.
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Angela Halliwell
“Route Map to Net Zero Construction” – The construction sector is responsible for 39% of the global carbon emissions. The UK sector alone produced around 11.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, and this was directly linked to building materials and from burning fossil fuels to power machinery. The UK government has set stringent targets to be carbon net-zero by 2050, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% compared to 1990 levels, but how is this achieved by an industry that is currently diesel dependant?
In this keynote, Daniel Marsh, programme manager for the Centre for Low Emission Construction, will discuss the issue and some of the cutting-edge research being carried out by Imperial College London with partners, including High Speed Two, and how this will help the industry address the huge challenge ahead to remove diesel from construction sites to reduce its impact on local air quality, health, and the environment.
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Daniel Marsh
“From Data to Action: How to Take the First Step to Implementing a Successful Clean Air Project” – Without technology, addressing air pollution and planning interventions can be difficult to manage and measure its success accurately. Additionally, a lack of awareness around the impact of poor air quality in vulnerable places can hinder progress towards clean air targets.
In this presentation, Ella Patel – Technical Presales Consultant – from Vortex IoT will explain how air quality monitoring can help address these challenges and the importance of monitoring pre and post project delivery to validate environmental outcomes.
Talking through a recent case study, Ella will discuss how local governments and businesses can harness real-time data to inform clean air strategies and support the implementation of policies and regulations aimed at improving air quality for people’s health and the environment. Vortex’s Head of Commercial, Nick Ruxton-Boyle, will be joining Ella for the subsequent roundtable discussions to contribute his knowledge and expertise.
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Ella Patel
“Bright and Connected Asset Management” – Hear from the team at Brightly how, through the use of technology, councils are able to measure and track the emissions from their operations and maintenance activity which deliver better outcomes for the communities they serve.
With examples ranging from air quality sensors on street lights to carbon sequestration from parks and green spaces, this presentation from Hannah Winstanley – Senior Director for Brightly’s EMEA Client Services Centre – will explore how you can enable Smarter Assets to deliver Sustainable Communities.
Hannah will be accompanied by Mark Rowe and Daniel Mills for the roundtable sessions.
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Hannah Winstanley
“Air Quality and Smart Cities: Innovation, Design and Education” – We Care 4 Air’s Managing Director, Vanessa Ambler, has spent the past 6 months studying Smart Cities with Innovate UK and a group of entrepreneurs with products and services that are all geared towards achieving Net Zero.
This presentation from Vanessa will open your eyes to unique Smart City approaches that would be unheard of in the UK, and daunting air quality challenges across South East Asia.
Hear about the Smart Cities they visited in South Korea, discuss the pros and cons, and learn about the innovations that Vanessa and the team are bringing back to the UK as a result of their findings.
Kathy Sutton and Alex Sugden will provide additional input during the roundtable discussions.
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Vanessa Ambler
Agenda
- 8:30 am - 9:00 am Registration, Networking and Continental Breakfast
- 9:00 am - 9:30 am Introduction and Opening Keynote
- 9:30 am - 10:40 am Expert Presentations
- 10:40 am - 11:00 am Keynote Speaker 2
- 11:00 am - 12:40 pm Roundtable Discussions and Consultations
- 12:40 pm - 1:00 pm Keynote Speaker 3
- 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Close and Lunch Networking