Duncan Reid, Co-founder, Reset Connect London

What is Reset Connect London?

Reset Connect London is fast becoming the UK’s leading sustainability and net-zero event for business leaders, investors and innovators.

Sustainability professionals, large corporates, government leaders, policy makers, tech providers, innovators, purpose-led brands and entrepreneurs will be able to network, find sustainable, low-carbon solutions and providers and explore opportunities for funding through institutional & impact investors, private equity & venture capital, and the financial adviser community.  

What is the objective of the event?

Reset Connect London is designed to bridge the gap between sustainability change-makers, business leaders, government and funding. 

Part of London Climate Action Week, the event has been developed to help businesses and organisations implement their own sustainability strategies, whilst driving investment into the growing ‘green’ and ClimateTech sectors.

Have you secured any significant names for the event so far?

Yes, we have had exceptional support from a wide range of business leaders and speakers across public and private sectors. We have keynote sessions from Kate Raworth, Creator of the Doughnut Economy and Tanya Steele, CEO, WWF and among the 150+ speakers we have secured, we have senior leaders from Bloomberg, Ocado, Clim8 Invest, E3G, E.ON Innovation, Good Energy, Hitachi Energy, HSBC, M&G Investments, Mitie, National Grid, Pensions for Purpose, Rolls-Royce, Schneider Electric, Tenet, Triodos Bank

Reset Connect is forecast to attract over 3,000 business leaders, investors and innovators, united in its vision to help the UK achieve net-zero.

Is this the first event you have run for Reset Connect?

This is the first live event we have organised but we actually co-founded Reset Connect in late 2020 and ran it as a virtual event. The popularity of this encouraged us to run a live event for 2022. We are determined to establish the Reset Connect brand as a leading, integrated sustainability ecosystem and green investment annual event, committed to driving net-zero solutions and financing into businesses UK wide.

What do you feel will be the highlight of the event?

There are a number of highlights, from the free Keynotes and thought-leading panel sessions to the raft of exhibitors, all of which are set to be really engaging and valuable to delegates, particularly as the event is so committed to helping business leaders implement impactful sustainability strategies that help drive positive change.  

On a more personal level, I am so proud of my team and how hard they have all worked to make this event possible. We have secured 100 exhibitors and 150 speakers which in itself is a not only a huge achievement for a launch event, but proves that we are doing the right thing and shows a strength in appetite in the carbon neutral and climate tech space.

Actually being able to get back out there, face to face, to network, do deals, meet friends, investors, journalists and feel the support of what we have created makes me immensely excited and proud.

What do you hope to achieve from this event?

There is phenomenal momentum in this space. We’ve heard a lot about what needs to happen and continue to see the launch of new, exciting start-up businesses with the vision to make real and impactful change – yet these same businesses are often lacking in funding and, the pace of change and information in this sector for investors can sometimes be hard to keep on top of.

 Reset Connect provides the opportunity for the business and finance community to get into action, support innovators and entrepreneurs, and make change happen – and knowing the value our 150-strong speaker line up will deliver, this really will be an event that could change the way businesses think and feel about the reality of achieving net-zero.

We also hope to raise awareness to the wider business world who may be cynical and prove to them that some of the biggest names in business are taking climate change very seriously. We all have to embrace the challenge if we are to make the changes so desperately needed for the planet.

What are your future plans and aspirations for Reset Connect?

COP26 really paved the way for us and showed that the UK has a hunger to drive business forward in a more sustainable way. We will see a further shift in mindset over the next couple of years and expect that Reset Connect London, as part of London Climate Action Week, will double in size every year.

The success of COP26 and the incredible support we are seeing for Reset Connect London shows that the market is growing and moving investors in to the green space. This is such positive news for climate tech and a more sustainable approach to living.

The first in-person Reset Connect event will take place on 28th – 29th June 2022 at London’s ExCeL, as part of London Climate Action Week.