EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Class, South 2021

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. Delegates include commissioning, procurement, trialling and partnering leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers and planners from progressive 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, mobility-as-a-service, 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’ll also explore the coronavirus crisis as a catalyst for change, accelerating the use of available solutions and motivating investment in new innovation.

Following two highly acclaimed 2019 editions, EMISSIONS & AIR QUALITY Smart Class, South 2021 will be hosted in London on Wednesday March 31st and replaces our 2020 South edition (postponed in light of coronavirus lockdown restrictions). 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 interactive event is free to attend for bona fide delegates satisfying our registration criteria.

NB Current event dates are dependent upon the Government’s impending “roadmap” out of lockdown, so potentially subject to revision (in which case confirmed delegate places, along with speaker and sponsor slots, will remain secured and transferred to the new date).

Our 2019 Emissions & Air Quality Smart Classes attracted senior delegates from stakeholders such as:

Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) • Amey Consulting • Arriva UK • Bath City Council • BEAMA • BEIS • Birmingham City Council • Black Country LEP • British Standards Institute (BSI) • City of London Corporation • The Climate Reality Project • Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) • Coventry City Council • CrossCountry Trains • Cummins • Derbyshire County Council • Eastleigh Borough Council • Essex County Council • FCC Environment • Freight Transport Association (FTA) • Royal Borough of Greenwich • Hammersmith & Fulham Council • Hertfordshire County Council • Highways England • High Speed Two (HS2) • Kingston Council • Royal Leamington Spa Town Council • Living Streets • London Borough of Barnet • London Borough of Camden • London Borough of Hackney • London Borough of Sutton • London Climate Change Partnership • Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (The LowCVP) • Milton Keynes Council • National Express • National Grid • Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council • Plan for Earth • Ricardo Energy & Environment • Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) • Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) • Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council • Southwark Council • Staffordshire County Council • Stoke-on-Trent City Council • Thames Estuary Partnership • Thurrock Council • Transport for London (TfL) • Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) • Unipart Rail • University of Birmingham • University of Exeter • Vale of Glamorgan Council • Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council • Warwick District Council • Warwickshire County Council • Westminster City Council • WM-Air Project • Worcestershire County Council • WSP etc.

Previous presentations include:

“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” • “How to effectively manage and enforce clean air and low emission zones with virtual permits and digital ANPR” • “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 2019 Emissions & Air Quality Smart Classes:

“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 • “Excellent event today guys. I look forward to working with you again” – Managing Director, 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)

Speakers

“A National Approach to Air Pollution – Advancing the Action Plan” – The UK Government and local authorities are coming under increasing pressure to take ambitious urgent action to reduce air pollution, cited by local leaders and Public Health England as a “public health emergency”. As populations continue to grow in city regions, and these city regions continue to face challenges of pollution from road traffic and the burning of wet wood, improving air quality will mean more people, especially children, live healthier lives. UK100, a network of 96 local authorities committed to taking ambitious action to secure clean energy and clean air, has been at the forefront of co-ordinated action to advocate for a national approach to tackle air pollution. Following two national and one international Clean Air Summits over the last two years, convened in partnership with the Mayor of London and Mayors and city leaders from across the UK, priorities for action have been agreed by local leaders. Within the changing landscape of legislation, policy and delivery of on-the-ground programmes – including clean air zones – this keynote from UK100’s Clean Air Cities & Policy Director will discuss why these priorities must be taken forward if we are to have a healthy and productive future.

- Jason Torrance

“Air Quality Best Practice in the City of London” – In September 2019, the City of London released its updated Air Quality Strategy, laying out policy and action to deliver improved air quality over the next 5 years. At the heart of the Mayor’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, with 500,000 daily commuters and only 9,000 residents, and an ear in Parliament, the City of London is in a unique position to address local air pollution. This keynote presentation will look at recent pollution trends, the importance of collaboration with other policy makers and on-the-ground initiatives and innovations (ranging from Air Quality Monitoring, the City Low Emission Neighbourhood, CityAir app, CityAir Business programme and Clean Air Thames project to the LowCity fleet emissions scheme, ULEVs, EV charging points and actions to deal with idling vehicle engines and buildings emissions) that the City Corporation is taking/deploying to improve air quality in the Square Mile.

- Bethiah Humphrey

“Innovation in Construction – Building by Example” – In delivering the HS2 Air Quality Strategy commitments to avoid and minimise impacts from construction on local Air Quality, HS2 has set strict emission requirements for both on- and off-road vehicles and plant. HS2 aims to raise the bar on vehicle emission standards and leave a legacy for future projects, by becoming industry leaders in setting vehicle emissions standards and extending them across the country. They are determined to use the project’s scale and duration to help cut the release of harmful combustion engine emissions by stipulating contractors building Britain’s new high speed rail network use the cleanest vehicles and machinery available. This keynote presentation – to be co-delivered by HS2’s Phase 1 Air Quality Lead, Andrea, and Head of Environmental Sciences, Neil – will touch on the key commitments HS2 has made from an Air Quality perspective, highlighting some of the key challenges to date and overviewing some of the major innovations HS2 has deployed.

- Andrea Davidson, Neil Wait

“The Air that We Breathe: Enabling Hyper-Local Air Quality Monitoring with Emerging Technologies” – Government and local authorities globally are coming under increasing legislative pressure to better monitor air quality, and to deploy and actively manage ‘clean air zones’ across our cities. By 2050 a huge populations shift will have resulted in 70% of the world’s populations living in urban areas. This seismic shift is driving Smart City initiatives globally. 44% of UK councils currently do not have fit-for-purpose air and pollution monitoring capabilities (The Independent, 2017). With a more stringent government Air Quality Plan about to come into force, councils face significant fines if they are not compliant. Welsh tech company Vortex IoT will deliver a thought-provoking view of the importance of the ‘Air that We Breathe’, and explain how emerging technologies and innovation will contribute to our ever-changing societal needs and how developing a new Hyper-Local Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) solution can provide revenue-generating opportunities for local authorities and play a key role in the creation of new urban business models that are essential as the shape of our towns and cities changes over time.

- Adrian Sutton

“How to Effectively Manage and Enforce Clean Air and Low Emission Zones with Virtual Permits and Digital ANPR” – A recent UN pollution report found that air in 44 UK cities and towns is too dangerous to breathe and estimated over 40,000 premature deaths per year from road polluted air. Imperial and Videalert demonstrate that the move towards managing air quality needn’t be a giant leap into the unknown and can be achieved by simply utilising proven technologies in a way that will make a very real difference to the quality of life in our cities and towns.

- Ashley Bijster, Dave Wearmouth