Novata hosted its inaugural Climate Network event in London on February 20th, gathering 30 leaders from the private markets to forge a path towards sustainable transition in business. Mark Fischel, Novata’s Carbon Product Lead, kicked off the event with a powerful message from Mary Helgar, challenging attendees to find creativity in the complexity of climate solutions.
The event theme was “Equipping Portfolio Companies for Transition Planning and Rapid Decarbonization” and featured a conversation with Alaric Marsden from ERM and Ira Poensgen from Transition Plan Taskforce, who highlighted the seismic shifts awaiting the global economy and climate. They likened the ongoing climate transition to the industrial revolution, affecting every sector and emphasizing the need for businesses to integrate decarbonization strategies as core to their corporate strategies.
Key takeaways from the event included:
- Are we facing another industrial revolution? Our speakers suggested yes, and urged attendees not to think of decarbonization as just an emissions reduction plan but as a comprehensive strategy for leveraging opportunities and managing risk.
- Your decarbonization strategy is a commercial strategy. Buy-in from the board and a compelling business case for decarbonization will be the key to future success.
- There’s a communication gap between portfolio companies, GP deal teams, and GP ESG teams. The discussion highlighted the critical role of data and underlined the necessity for a shared language and common goals to foster effective and resilient transitions. A good starting point is reframing decarbonization as value creation.
Novata’s Climate Network event marked a significant step towards collaborative efforts in the private sector to address the climate crisis and highlighted the urgency and opportunities for businesses to innovate and adapt for a sustainable future.
