Coming up next at Onward.
Following on from our successful LEVEL UP series, we’re pleased to host a range of exciting events over the course of the next month. From the relationship between society and business to the relationship between people and planet, hear from some of the most thoughtful policymakers and opinion leaders at Onward.
Listen, question, and deliberate on some of the biggest challenges facing the country. We look forward to seeing you.
Social Contract: The relationship between business and society after the crisis.
The coronavirus crisis has challenged our understanding of the relationship between business and society. On the one hand, businesses went to extraordinary lengths to support the national effort. On the other hand, companies that have issued dividends or claimed tax reliefs and furlough while making profits have been sharply criticised, or forced to hand back billions to the taxpayer. The event will consider to what extent the pandemic has reframed the contract between business and society and whether this should be reflected in our structures of corporate governance. Speakers include:
John Penrose MP, the Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Champion
Andrew Griffith MP, MP for Arundel and South Downs
Janet Williamson, Senior Policy Officer, TUC
Prof. Vanessa Knapp OBE, Visiting Professor, Department of Law, Queen Mary University of London
Hywel Ball, UK Chair and UK&I Managing Partner, EY
When: Tuesday, 15th June
Time: 4.30pm - 5.30pm
Register for your place here
Build back together: How can civic service give young people a future after coronavirus?
It is hard to overstate the effect of the pandemic on younger generations. Data from ONS shows between February 2020 and February this year, net employment fell by 693,000 jobs. Of those, 611,000 - nearly 9 in every 10 jobs lost - were among employees aged 18-35 years old. Young people face some of the most difficult circumstances at the beginning of their careers.
As Onward set out in The Policies of Belonging, civic service schemes can generate meaningful employment through community and civic action, helping young people to both contribute to society and generate valuable skills and experience. The National Citizen Service (NCS) will be piloting a new scheme this summer, UK1, which will put civic service for young people into practice in the UK.
This panel event will consider how best the Government, private sector, charities and the NCS can work together to help support young people through civic service. It will explore how the UK1 model works and how the pilot can be scaled and developed in future to support the empowerment and employment of young people. How can civic service give young people a future after coronavirus? Panellists include:
Lord James O’Shaughnessy, Former Director of Policy, No. 10 Downing Street
Rt Hon. Lord David Blunkett PC, Former MP of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Danny Kruger MP, MP for Devizes
Jessica Oghenegweke, Social Mobility Commissioner
Mark Gifford, Chief Executive, National Citizen Service
When: Friday, 18th June
Time: 11.00am - 12.00pm
Register for your place here
Future Farming: Harnessing the Power of Agriculture to tackle Climate Change
Agriculture is currently responsible for roughly 10% of the carbon emissions in the UK. Having left the European Union, this is an opportune moment to realign the way in which rural Britain interacts with nature. Communities up and down the country rely on this industry to survive, but for too long the subsidy regime has been skewed and our environment and biodiversity has suffered as a result.
Going forward, it is imperative that nature restoration and sustainable farming practices are put front and centre of the Environmental Land Management scheme. Agriculture is one of the great frontiers of climate action and like the rest of our economy, they need to be aligned with our pursuit of net zero emissions. This event will examine future farming and how best to incentivise sustainable and environmentally positive land use over the next thirty years.
Victoria Prentis MP, Parliamentary Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries, and Food
Minette Batters, President of the NFU of England and Wales
Will Wells, CEO, Hummingbird
Tanya Steele, CEO, WWF UK
Ruth Edwards MP, Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe
When: Monday, 21st June
Time: 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Register for your place here
Emitting the Travel Burden: The future of city transportation
The pandemic-induced lockdowns instigated a rapid decline in transport emissions as global travel came to standstill and commuting stopped. However, the transport sector in the UK remains the largest source of emissions in the UK, and as the economy reopens, broad trends are expected to see transport emissions rise again.
Against this backdrop, the Government has introduced a date for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, and is preparing to publish a Transport Decarbonisation Plan which will set out a roadmap for decarbonising surface transport. This plan will promote a shift in consumer behaviour, such as encouraging low emission vehicle uptake. However, such a shift will have major impacts on tax revenue with a reduction in VED and fuel duty.The Government must now decide how to fill this revenue gap, while still getting more people into low emission vehicles ahead of the 2030 ban.
The Transport Select Committee is looking at the issue of road pricing as a potential solution, and the results of the Committee’s current inquiry are likely to be examined closely by HM Treasury. This event will consider the challenges involved in decarbonising road transport, and to discuss how we can deliver a fair transition that makes the UK a world leader in revolutionising the transport sector.
Huw Merriman MP, Chair, Transport Select Committee
Dame Caroline Spelman, Former Secretary of State Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Sam Hall, Director, Conservative Environment Network
Jamie Heywood, Regional General Manager, Uber
When: Wednesday 23rd June
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Register for your place here
Tech for 2050: Fostering innovation in the pursuit of net zero.
The UK faces a gargantuan challenge to decarbonise the economy. Yet with the right political will and ideas, it can be done. Coronavirus has not halted the calls for the net zero transition, but instead has focused minds on how we can ‘build back greener’ in the months, years and decades ahead. With COP26 less than six months away and the Government’s agenda geared towards a green recovery, it has never been more crucial to discuss, deliberate and generate new ideas that will enable this transition.
Technological innovation will be central to achieving net zero. The Government has now pledged for R&D spending to increase 2.4% of GDP and it is crucial that this money is spent in the right places. Equally, there must be a framework put in place to allow the zero carbon sectors to flourish. There is no silver bullet for tackling climate change, and our future will undoubtedly include a mix of Renewables, CCUS, Nuclear and Hydrogen. Policy makers must now consider how to ensure the pace and scale of the rollout of these future technologies is right. If these industries are given the room to accelerate, the UK can become a world leader and exporter in green technologies of the future.
Building on the publication of the recent Onward report, Greening the Giants, this event will consider the role of these technologies in decarbonising the UK and discuss how best to accelerate their development.
Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth
Guy Newey, Director, Energy Systems Catapult
Bim Afolami MP, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden
Simone Rossi, CEO, EDF in the UK
When: Monday, 28th June
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register for your place here
If you have any questions regarding upcoming events please contact Katie Fairclough, Head of External Relations, at katie.fairclough@ukonward.com.