This year’s COP29 UK Pavilion Official Partners represent UK industry’s outstanding reputation for addressing climate change through enterprise and innovation.
Throughout the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, the UK Pavilion will host a series of events including panel talks, roundtable discussions and networking receptions. These will raise awareness of the best of British climate leadership and share insights on climate change from UK organisations, policy and business.
The funding by the UK Pavilion sponsors reduces cost to the taxpayer, while enabling official partners to demonstrate the vital role industry plays in progressing the climate agenda.
National Grid and SSE are returning as official partners from COP26 in Glasgow, COP27 in Sharm-El Sheikh and COP28 in Dubai, while Octopus Energy is returning from COP28 – showing the ongoing commitment of these companies to cutting emissions and accelerating towards net zero, and to working with the government on this important mission.
The UK government has also welcomed four new partners to the COP29 sponsor portfolio: AVEVA, UK Corporate Leaders Group, DP World and Standard Chartered, resulting in the highest ever number of Official Partners at a COP summit.
COP29 runs from 11-22 November and the UK Pavilion will be open for the duration of the conference.
AVEVA
Headquartered in the UK, AVEVA is a global leader in industrial software, driving responsible use of the world’s resources. Over 25,000 enterprises in over 100 countries rely on AVEVA to help them deliver life’s essentials: safe and reliable energy, food, medicines, infrastructure and more. By connecting people with trusted information and AI-enriched insights, AVEVA enables teams to engineer efficiently and optimize operations, driving growth and sustainability. AVEVA attends COP29 with a wholehearted commitment to ensure that COP29 remains the key mechanism for driving collaborative progress on net zero. With the industrial sector contributing to a quarter of global emissions, AVEVA aims to demonstrate digitalization’s critical role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors while enabling innovation in low-carbon paradigms that can support a just transition to a more sustainable future. Sponsoring the UK Pavilion is a key opportunity to collaborate with business, government and civil society leaders, supporting the transformation of UK economic interests to support COP objectives and accelerating the drive for net zero worldwide.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA:
As a UK-headquartered global leader in industrial intelligence software, AVEVA is proud to support the UK Pavilion at COP29. With industry responsible for a quarter of global emissions, industrial digitalisation is revolutionising decarbonisation strategies. Our work with more than 20,000 enterprises worldwide shows how cross-sector collaboration and untapped industrial data are driving breakthrough sustainability solutions. The UK continues to demonstrate leadership in sustainable industrial innovation, and alongside our government and industry partners, we’re committed to accelerating measurable action on our path to net zero.
UK Corporate Leaders Group
The UK Corporate Leaders Group (CLG UK) is a cross-sector, impact-driven business membership group that provides a strong corporate voice to support UK leadership for the transition to a climate neutral, nature positive and socially inclusive economy. CLG UK’s ongoing mission is to increase business and government leadership through a reinforcing virtuous cycle of increasing ambition and implementing action. It has convened and helped build consensus across the UK business community in support of the transition to competitive, climate-neutral, nature-positive and socially inclusive economies.
Beverley Cornaby, Director, UK Corporate Leaders Group:
The UK Corporate Leaders Group (CLG UK) is delighted to be sponsoring the UK Pavilion at COP29. The timing could not be more important, with the window of opportunity to transition to a clean future closing rapidly. CLG UK is urging governments to be decisive, provide clear policy frameworks and stay on course to meet net zero through strong delivery and implementation plans. To succeed, the UK government must bring business with it on its journey. That is where CLG UK is perfectly positioned to work with the UK Pavilion’s partners, businesses and change-makers to mobilise investment, technology and innovation to achieve our shared goals. We must work together to unlock the power of UK leadership, shift markets and economies, and maintain ambition for climate, nature and people.
DP World
DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better, changing what’s possible for the customers and communities it serves globally. With a dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 115,000 employees from 160 nationalities, spanning 78 countries on six continents, DP World is pushing trade further and faster towards a seamless supply chain that’s fit for the future. DP World is rapidly transforming and integrating its businesses – Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology – and uniting its global infrastructure with local expertise to create stronger, more efficient and sustainable end-to-end supply chain solutions that can change the way the world trades.
Rashid Abdulla, CEO & Managing Director, Europe:
DP World’s ambition is to streamline and sustain global trade while building a resilient, lower-carbon supply chain. At COP29 with the UK government, we will champion sustainable end-to-end solutions that address climate challenges head-on, playing our part in connecting stakeholders across sectors, promoting collaboration and creating shared value.
National Grid
National Grid plays a crucial role in connecting millions of people to the energy they use safely, reliably and efficiently. National Grid is pioneering ways to decarbonise the energy system; from building interconnectors to allow the UK to share clean energy with Europe, to investing in renewable energy generation in the United States.
Rhian Kelly, Chief Sustainability Officer, National Grid:
Collaboration across borders and the sharing of best practice is vital if the global ambition for a clean energy future is to be met. Energy networks are an important part of this, enabling clean, green energy to flow from where it’s generated to where it’s needed. National Grid is proud to support the UK Pavilion at COP29, and we look forward to sharing our experiences and learning more from the international community.
Octopus Energy
As a British-born company, Octopus Energy showcases how the UK is leading the world in green innovation, investing billions in clean technologies to drive meaningful change globally. With operations in 18 countries, and 54 million households running on its tech platform Kraken, Octopus is bringing cheaper power to millions of customers globally. Launched just eight years ago, Octopus is now the largest electricity supplier in the UK and one of the largest investors in renewables in Europe, managing a portfolio worth £7 billion. Its relentless focus on smart tech and innovations has unlocked the world’s largest virtual power plant and homes with zero energy bills, delivering clean solutions that save people money and power the world.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO Octopus Energy Generation:
The UK is the vanguard of green innovation, brimming with the talent and technology needed to accelerate the global energy revolution – and COP is a great opportunity to showcase this. From microgrids to wind farms and EVs – the solutions to empower global communities and stop climate change are available today. By working with policymakers and industry leaders worldwide, we can make green energy accessible for all and drive the solutions that will power the world.
SSE
SSE is the UK and Ireland’s clean energy champion, investing over £20 billion into homegrown energy. Our purpose is to provide the energy needed today while building a better world of energy for tomorrow. We do this by developing, building, operating and investing in world-class electricity infrastructure that is vital to the clean energy transition. We were the first company in the world to develop a ‘just transition strategy’, aimed at ensuring the benefits of the clean energy transition are shared by workers and communities. SSE has aligned its business strategy to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), providing a powerful framework to guide the creation of shared value for shareholders and society.
Martin Pibworth, SSE Chief Commercial Officer:
At SSE, we’ve put delivering net zero at the heart of our strategy backed up with of a multi-billion-dollar investment programme focused on mission-critical clean energy infrastructure. COP29 provides the opportunity to speed up the pace of the transition working with a range of international partners to collectively deliver a global just transition.
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered has an important role to play in supporting our clients, sectors and markets to accelerate the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient economy. We’re pleased to partner with the UK at COP29, creating a platform to bring together partners, stakeholders and decision makers to help deliver outcomes in support of the Paris Agreement. As a major financial hub, the UK has some of the deepest pools of internationally oriented capital and as a leading international cross-border bank, headquartered in the UK, Standard Chartered is uniquely positioned to mobilise this capital and investment towards our footprint markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Marissa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer, Standard Chartered:
We’re pleased to partner with the UK at COP29 and will use this platform, alongside the full breadth of our sustainable finance expertise, to help scale finance and innovative solutions in support of the Paris Agreement. The UK has some of the deepest pools of internationally oriented capital and as a leading international cross-border bank, headquartered in the UK, Standard Chartered is uniquely positioned to mobilise this capital towards sustainable and inclusive growth across our footprint markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.