SHIFT: How the collaborative group is changing our cities for the better

The event

The event was the first of its series held at The Lab E20, hosting a series of lightning talks by speakers that represent different industries throughout the East Village but all of which focused on the topic of climate emergency.

The first lightning talk was done by Eddie Copeland, Director of London Office of Technology and Innovation, discussing the power of collaboration and how it can unite the city and provide a better space to live for all Londoners. Copeland suggests there are three ways that collaboration will initiate innovation within the community.

1. Increasing data sharing amongst the community increases data transparency.
2. Bringing together talent creates a community of innovators.
3. Sharing knowledge allows for equal growth.

The next talk was given by Tom Webster. He is the Chief Technology Officer at GrowUp Farms, now based in Kent but started in east London, which provides year-round methods of farming. Webster discussed the journey he and his partner took to vertically farm salad using hydroponics. By distributing this salad, GrowUp Farms’ gives local communities access to affordable, nutritious food which many low-income families lack due to the cost-of-living crisis we are in.

Penelope Hope, entrepreneur, and investor of Rebel Energy was the third speaker to contribute to the night’s event. As the co-founder of Rebel Energy her goal is to alleviate fuel poverty – households that are unable to afford to adequately heat (or cool) their home, by providing Renewable Energy to everyone in London, especially lower-income households. Hope stressed how fuel poverty is an all-too-common struggle throughout London, with 1 in 5 households under the fuel poverty line, which is a large part of the cost-of-living crisis. Rebel Energy takes on this goal by creating renewable energy from community-generated products and then sharing with domestic customers throughout the UK.

LuLu Wallis Account Manager at Notpla, a sustainable packaging start-up, was the final speaker of the night. Wallis discussed the pollution within our oceans and the biggest contributor to the problem, plastic. Notpla’s goal is to eliminate this pollution by making plastic packaging disappear. They are making strides towards this by using materials that already exist in nature for packaging, specifically, seaweed. The natural material is strong enough to protect the contents inside, yet it is biodegradable and home compostable. In fact, you may have already seen their product around London as they have partnered with Just Eat to launch a food container coated with seaweed!

Key takeaways

SHIFT is taking steps to improve east London by collaborating with various industry innovators. Their success of a first event discussed the climate emergency, London’s position within it and how we as a city can collaborate to improve our home.

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