The Research and Development Society

From ideas to wealth

Afternoon seminar: ‘Green R&D’
Developing products for a low-carbon and sustainable future

Tuesday 15 July 2008, 2pm
The Royal Society, 7 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG - map

Speakers:

The meeting will focus on some of the aspects connected with developing new products that are environmentally friendly, an increasing imperative for R&D.

Chair's opening remarks
Ahmed Hashmi, Technology Vice President of BP plc
Ahmed will include some background on the strategy BP is taking in developing sustainable materials and environmentally friendly new products.
Successful Green Product Design
Dr Mike Pitts, Manager of the Sustainable Technologies Priority for Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network
Mike will describe the factors and constraints that need to be addressed to reach a successful goal, using a number of examples from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
The role of design in assisting green entrepreneurship and product development
Anne Chick, Director of the Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University
Anne will review the role of design in reducing the environmental impact and optimising the performance of new products, building on her fifteen year experience in this increasingly important area
Accelerating Commercialisation - The Four Journeys of Low Carbon Technology
Dr Robert Trezona, Head of R&D, The Carbon Trust
A presentation on the Carbon Trust's thinking on accelerating the development of low carbon technologies, based on 6 years' experience of R&D, technology demonstration and new business incubation. The 'Four Journeys' model will be described, along with a short synopsis of Carbon Trust Innovations current and planned activities and opportunities for future funding. This will focus on new opportunities in R&D, including the Directed Research initiative.

The presentations will be followed by a general panel discussion with the audience.

Ahmed Hashmi, Technology Vice President, BP – Chairman

Ahmed Hashmi is responsible for global technology strategy & planning at BP. He began his career with Amoco in 1983. Since then he has held various technical, commercial and leadership positions across Amoco and BP’s global operations.

Immediately prior to his current assignment, Mr. Hashmi was Commercial Director for worldwide Drilling & Completions. Some of his other assignments have been in Argentina, Egypt, West Africa, US and Arabian Gulf countries. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics, MS in Computer Science and MBA in finance.

Anne Chick, Director of the Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University

Until recently Anne was Director of the Sustainability in Practice Network within WestFocus (a knowledge transfer consortium of seven universities www.westfocus.org.uk). She is Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, Canada. Chick is an Associate Editor on the Design Journal and a Design Studies journal referee. Her sustainable design research, knowledge transfer and educational work has been acknowledged in a number of government publications

Dr Mike Pitts, Manager of the Sustainable Technologies Priority for Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network

Chemistry Innovation’s mission is to improve innovation in UK chemistry-using industries to deliver higher GPD and sustainability. The Sustainable Technologies priority is concerned with chemistry innovations that solve sustainability issues for society. Current activity is focussed on: use of alternative, sustainable feedstocks; low carbon technologies; sustainable design; life-cycle communication and explaining the business case for sustainable technologies and green design. The priority has a wide network of academics and industry stakeholders including an advisory board of senior UK experts.

Mike holds a degree in chemistry from Loughborough University and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Exeter (Professor Chris Moody). He worked as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Vienna on anti-tumour compounds before a five year period working for spin-out companies. An experienced project manager, Mike has technical expertise in catalysis, microwave and flow chemistry..

Robert Trezona, Head of Research and Development, The Carbon Trust

Robert Trezona is Head of Research and Development at the Carbon Trust and has responsibility for Carbon Vision, the Applied Research Open Call and the new Directed Research programme. Robert is a materials scientist by training and has worked in fuel cells for Johnson Matthey and Ceres Power Ltd, and in strategy consulting for McKinsey & Co.

Further information

Copied of the slides will shortly be available in the Members' room.

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