Legacy events bring city businesses and young people together 100 days after COP26

One hundred days after COP26 came to a close and the Glasgow Climate Pact was agreed two events are being held in the city chambers (Monday, 21 February 2021) to acknowledge the benefit to the city and its legacy in helping Glasgow achieve its sustainability ambitions.

To mark the milestone, COP26: The First Hundred Days is being split into two sessions. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), chiefly start-ups and those focusing on green growth, are invited to take part in discussions around finance, growth and achieving a just transition to a low carbon economy.

The afternoon is been given over to young people to hear about their COP26 experiences.

The business event includes speakers from public, private and academic sectors, a question-and-answer panel session and a roundtable discussion where businesses have an opportunity to discuss progress in working towards a sustainable future, the challenges they face and how they can influence the city region's support.

More than fifty businesses have registered to attend. They will hear from the Leader of the Council and Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce to reflect on hosting COP26 and what it means for achieving a lasting legacy for Glasgow.

This will be followed by talks from Paul Little, Principal and CEO of City of Glasgow College and Sue Kee, Head of Business Development, Missions and Services, AAC Clyde Space, whose company specialises in small satellite technologies.

The panel includes further representation from both University of Glasgow and Strathclyde University. 

This networking and knowledge sharing event, convened by the council, is the first time since COP26 that SMEs will have come together to discuss what the legacy is for the city, in a business context. It will allow the audience to share best practice and discuss opportunities, barriers and challenges to success and where to seek sources of support.

There will also be a small business showcase including a solar thermal energy company, environmental consultants, a company with a solution for cleaning reusable cups and a circular arts organisation that redistributes spare, used or surplus materials.

The afternoon will be given over to the city's young people, where pupils from Cleveden Secondary School will host more than 60, Primary 7 to S3 pupils, from 28 schools across the city.

During the session the young audience will hear from their peers on several projects as part of Our Dear Green Place climate change related work, highlighting their achievements and sharing their learnings and experiences. The aim is for the young people to be inspired to continue this work when returning to their own school.

The audience will hear from the Dandelion urban growing project that will demonstrate that pretty much any space the schools have can be used to sow, grow and share food and ideas.

The Glasgow Schools' Forum will talk about its work in launching a young persons' climate charter during COP26 and what the council has done in direct response to listening to pupils' suggestions and concerns, via the Forum.

St Andrews Secondary School will be talking about their hosting of global visitors from India, Canada and the USA during COP26, taking part in a climate justice event hosted by Kelvin College and their work on becoming a UNICEF Rights' Respecting school.

During COP26 the council engaged with every single school in the city on discussions around climate change, sustainability and leadership in the months leading up to and during the event itself. This means that COP26 and the Our Dear Green Place programme has left a continuing legacy of climate conversations and learning for sustainability for more than 70,000 children and young people in Glasgow.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council said: "COP26 was a key moment for the whole world to come together and address the climate emergency. We will do everything we can, as a city and urban policy maker, to support the outcomes of the event. One of the most important aspects of hosting this event for us was securing a lasting legacy for our businesses and citizens.

"COP26 was an incredible moment for Glasgow in a variety of ways, including showcasing the city, our experience in global events and developing international relationships that will help us further our sustainability agenda. It was also about engaging our young people to learn about and make decisions on things that affect them now and in the future.

"Our work now is to make sure that we continue to build on what was achieved during COP26. These sessions are not only a reflection on last November, but the next step in our pathway to a sustainable city."