GTSW Event: Charities doing cool things in green tech

Join Green Tech Southwest for a hybrid event as part of Bristol Tech Festival with talks from two charities doing cool things in green tech – Centre for Sustainable Energy and Friends of the Earth.

When: Thursday 10th October @6pm

Where: Online & in-person at Scott Logic offices by Bristol Bridge

How you choose to join in is up to you! Join either:

• In person at the Scott Logic offices by Bristol Bridge, for pizza, drinks and a spot of mingling before the talks.
  – Arrive from 6pm for a 6.30pm start.
• Or attend online and enjoy a welcoming and authentic Green Tech South West experience using CrowdCast.
  – Join online from 6.20pm for a 6.30pm start.

Both sessions close at 8pm.

Please state your preference for attending when you RSVP in order to have the right amount of food and drinks.

Solar Wizard: mapping rooftop solar potential

CSE‘s tool, Solar Wizard, helps users assess whether rooftop-mounted solar photovoltaics (PV) are a viable option for their building. It provides estimates of the amount of electricity that can be generated by PV, installation costs and financial savings, all based on an optimal rooftop installation. For partner local authorities, there’s a web map enabling visualization of the solar potential of the buildings in an area.

Annette’s talk will provide an overview of how their solar model works, the main features of the application, why it’s was created and hopes for the tool for the future.

ABOUT ANNETTE
Annette is a Senior Project Manager in the Research and Analysis team at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). In her role she coordinates and provides technical input to projects that tackle key issues relevant to UK energy policy and the move towards a lower carbon energy system. She has sixteen years’ experience within the sustainability field, with fifteen years specialising in sustainable energy.

Flourishing with AI? Friends of the Earth’s experiments in AI for environmental justice

Does the arrival and super-fast development of generative AI technologies risk entrenching inequality and undermine efforts to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises? Or can we harness these technologies to unlock creativity and extend capabilities at the grassroots, whilst still influencing how they are developed?

So how do we engage with a disruptive technology like AI? Friends of the Earth Experiments team has been exploring this agenda since 2018.

This talk will cover:

• Approach taken to developing a portfolio of experiments to shape the AI agenda – and an overview of some of those experiments;
• FOE’s draft principles for working with technology;
• Key challenges we see in harnessing the power of innovations like AI whilst enabling human and planetary flourishing
• Role that people working in both the technology and environmental sectors can play in supporting this agenda.

ABOUT MARY AND CHRIS

Mary co-leads the Experiments Programme at Friends of the Earth and has been based in Bristol since 2018. Her role is to support people to develop ideas that can accelerate a just transition through a practical, test-and-learn approach. She has a particular interest in applying innovation to support the emergence of more resilient local communities – and loves the diversity of community-based creativity in Bristol.

Chris also co-leads the team, and lives in North Wales. His focus is on turning ideas into testable prototypes, and helping the organisation think about a range of possible futures. His interests are varied, but often tinged with technology. Outside of FOE, you can often find him teaching aerial hoop at his local studio.

***
The schedule
🔓 18.00 – Scott Logic doors open for in-person attendees
🔓 18.20 – CrowdCast room opens for online attendees
👋 18.30 – Event starts with a welcome from organisers, Ellen, Hannah and Mike
📢 18.35 – 60 second intros – a chance for in-person and online attendees to introduce themselves, ask for help or share something interesting
💚 18.50 – CSE’s talk
💚 19.15 – FOE’s talk
❓ 19.35 – Questions
🗓️ 19.45 – Round-up and next event announcement
20.00 – Event close. In person attendees can continue networking at a nearby pub

The event will be recorded and available along with slides shortly after. For those online attendees, we’ll email the joining link ahead of the event.

This event is made possible by kind sponsorship from:

• ADLIB Recruitment
• The Discourse
• Krystal Hosting
• Scott Logic