What we learned at InnovationZero and GreenTech Catalyst

I recently attended the GreenTech Catalyst in Leeds and then InnovationZero at Olympa, London. If you're a leader looking for inspiration and possibilities, it's always useful to see how others are using apps and digital platforms to create positive impact. 

For someone who doesn't network much, it's been a busy few weeks. Both these conferences have been great. Or perhaps I should say all three; I bobbed along to the awesome evening GreenTech gathering, too.

We won't talk about the rounds of Baby Guiness and Mezcale that followed that! 

Do you need to change consumer behaviour?

It's going to be a challenge to get to net zero. And, from what I learned at InnovationZero, a large part of the solution won't rely on consumer behaviour change; it's governments and businesses that need to change.

This is because many of the problems need to be solved well before the consumer gets involved.

Let's take deforestation. Anna Roberts of iov42 explained how forests help protect the climate and biodiversity. Yet, people are illegally destroying them to profit from their wood. So one day soon, IKEA won't be able to sell you a table unless they can prove that the wood came from a legitimate source.

This is a good case where the consumer won't have to change their behaviour. 

Before leaving the subject of forests, I also listened to Bill Liao speak. He co-founded Weforrest, a charity that plants forests. A lot of forests. They do this to protect the climate and communities. 

Moving on. On the flip side, there are cases where consumers could change their behaviour to help accelerate our path to net zero.  

At the GreenTech Catalyst, I 

Get a view of what's going on:

See examples of how apps are helping startups change consumer behaviours

Learn the place for apps in the circular economy

Understand the investment landscape

The place for AI, and the challenges

4. What promise am I making?

You'll get some food for thought when thinking about for your positive impact app

5. What emotion am I generating?

Excitement for 

6. What's the next action my reader should take?

See our Impactful Apps report and Badly Drawn Mobile