Conference Speakers
Bristol Community Energy Conference 2019
A Just Energy Transition: Responding to the Climate Emergency
Cllr KYE DUDD: Kye is the cabinet member responsible for overseeing transport, energy and the green new deal at Bristol City Council, which was the first UK local authority to declare a ‘climate emergency’ in 2018.
CAROLINE BIRD (Chair of Bristol Energy Network BEN): Caroline will be chairing the conference using her experience as Chair of the Bristol Energy Network since 2017. She is a freelance researcher, currently based at the University of Bristol (Cabot Institute and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law) where she has been working on city futures, alternative forms of governance, community energy, and with social enterprises in various sectors responding to climate change. Her research in 2013 helped BEN develop the ground-breaking Bristol Community Strategy for Energy and has fed into the national Community Energy Strategy. BACK TO AGENDA
DUNCAN LAW (Community Energy England): Duncan read English and trained and worked as an actor and director until 2006 when he decided to focus on climate change. He founded Transition Town Brixton and has been involved in developing many of its main projects such as the Brixton Pound and Brixton Energy, which has put 3 community-owned solar arrays on social housing roofs since 2011. It also gave rise to Repowering London which has helped many London community energy projects get going. From 2013 Duncan worked as a campaigner for Biofuelwatch. He is a qualified permaculture designer and has conducted a full scale energy retro-fit on his Victorian house. He is passionate about people-led solutions to climate change and re-imagining the way we do everything.
NIGEL COSTLEY(TUC): Nigel has been the Regional Secretary of the South West TUC since 1996. This involves representing the TUC and the trade union movement, promoting TUC campaigns and supporting the work of individual unions.
Prior to joining the TUC, Nigel was the elected officer for the Graphical Paper and Media Union based in Gloucester, covering Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Hereford and Worcester. Over the 15 years in this position he was involved with the massive changes in the printing and design industries.
Nigel has held many positions, representing trade unions, including Board Member of the South West Regional Development Agency and Governor of the University of the West of England.
The South West region is noted for its glorious countryside, spectacular coastline and national parks. Economic development has to be led by a sustainable approach to environmental protection.
Nigel has always campaigned for equal rights and opportunities. He was founder and Vice-Chair of Equality South West an umbrella body to champion equal opportunities. He has been a leading figure in pressing the case for improved support for migrant workers in the region and chairs the regional Migrant Workers Forum.
Passionate about social history, Nigel is the author of a book called West Country Rebels and a book on the 1913 China Clay Strike.
MARK PEPPER (Ambition Lawrence Weston): Mark Pepper is a lifelong resident of Lawrence Weston, a housing estate on the outskirts of North Bristol. Mark is a father of 4 and grandfather of 5, who all live in the Lawrence Weston area. Lawrence Weston is home to 7,000 residents sharing 3,200 units of accommodation in an area suffering from high levels of deprivation.
Mark has worked for over 30 years in Lawrence Weston, including community development, youth work, and social care (family early intervention and prevention), in both private and public sector organisations.
Mark is currently the Development Manager for the grassroots charity and company limited by guarantee, Ambition Lawrence Weston. This was set up and managed by local residents in 2012. The main aim of the Trust main is the regeneration of the area by delivering the Community Plan: The Way Forward 2018-2023 which was designed and written by local residents.
Mark also chairs the Lawrence Weston Planning Forum and was instrumental in the delivery of the Neighbourhood Development Plan and Design Statement, adopted in 2017
Lawrence Weston is currently benefiting from the Lottery’s Big Local programme to make a lasting and positive difference to the community.
JOANNA ROBINSON (Bath Preservation Trust): Joanna studied (BA Hons) Town & Country Planning in Bristol and the Netherlands. This interdisciplinary subject and her career were inspired by studying Geography & Environmental Science, subjects that stimulated her interest in sustainability since the late 1990’s. Joanna began her career in Conservation Planning at Exeter City Council in 2002. She gained a postgraduate diploma in Architectural Conservation at Plymouth University School of Architecture which led her to become Conservation Officer for Exeter Council where her work focussed on the delivery of conservation area appraisals and management plans, and conservation advice in the design and development process.
Joanna joined Bath Preservation Trust in 2007 where she coordinates campaigning activities, advises on planning, heritage landscape and building conservation, and manages related projects. In this position she advises BPT on all aspects of the conservation management of No.1 Royal Crescent, the Museum of Bath Architecture at the Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, Beckford’s Tower and the Herschel Museum of Astronomy at 19 New King Street.
Joanna has worked with B&NES Council on published guidance for cleaning Bath stone, the Bath Landscape Setting SPD, and the Bath city-wide conservation area appraisal. She is the co-author of Warmer Bath, a guide for improving the energy efficiency of traditional homes – Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) national award winning guidance produced in partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Energy Bristol, and was the Trusts representative partner in Bath Green Homes open homes event 2013-14. With funding from Design Council CABE she worked with a local community to produce a neighbourhood energy efficiency design strategy. She is the author of Making Changes, Bath Preservation Trust guidance for the owners of listed buildings in Bath, a national RTPI Award finalist in 2018. Joanna lives in Easton, Bristol with her family.
DAN TISCHER (Bristol Inclusive Economy initiative, University of Bristol): Dr Daniel Tischer has recently joined the University of Bristol as Lecturer in Management. His research interests evolve around the study of (global) finance and banking from a critical perspective, including ethical banking, retail banking studies and green financial products.
Daniel’s main research focuses on critical studies in finance and banking. He is particularly interested in applying social network theory and methods to banking, including studies of interorganisational networks, credit derivatives, and careers in finance. Based on his interests, he is the co-founder of the “Networks in Finance” workshop held annually in Europe.
Together with colleagues from the Personal Finance Research Centre at Bristol, Daniel is currently developing a Financial Exclusion Index which aims to identify how access to physical financial infrastructures varies across urban (and rural) areas.
PATRICK ALLCORN (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy BEIS): Patrick has led the local energy team in BEIS since October 2015. Before joining the local energy team he worked in the Heat Strategy team where he developed a range of community energy initiatives and led the team that developed and launched the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. Patrick will bring his passion for engaging hard to reach communities in community energy initiatives to the conference. BACK TO AGENDA
STEVE SHAW (Power for People): Before founding Power for People, Steve worked on a number of environmental campaigns including the campaign for the Climate Change Act and running the campaign for the Sustainable Communities Act.