Midlands Green Innovation Network – a network for SMEs
A new network to help Midlands SMEs to innovate and thrive
Delivery partners
The Midlands Green Innovation Network has been launched by ERA with the support of the Midlands Engine and Federation of Small Businesses. It aims to provide small businesses with the support they need in order to maximise their potential for innovation.
Green Innovation is about using resources effectively and minimising environmental damage. It helps to improve a company's competitiveness, economic and environmental performance. Green Innovation lowers your environmental impact by reducing energy use, recycling waste, sustainability using resource, and developing greener products.
Our Green Innovation Network covers a range of topics and activities including:
The MGIN also provides invaluable networking opportunities for people who attend the events.
REGISTER FOR OUR NEXT EVENTS
The Midlands Green Innovation Network is taking a break over the Winter period, but we will be back in Spring 2024 with a range of new and exciting business networking events. Look out for details.
Take a look at our most recent event
Start your Business's Net-Zero Journey, Thurs 23 Nov, Derby
At this event at Derby Museum, Tommy Allsopp, Net-Zero lead from Tyseley Energy Park explained how businesses can create a practical sustainability plan. Rachel Hayward, Area Lead for the Federation of Small Business and MD of Ask the Chameleon, set the scene and explained why sustainability was vital for businesses of all sizes.
The workshop discussed how to create and implement strategies that promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
The slides from this event which explain how to develop a sustainability plan can be downloaded below.
Developing a Sustainability Strategy
Our previous events
Presentations from previous events can be downloaded below:
Climate Change 3.0 and the Future of Sustainability, Thurs 26 Oct, 2023 (online)
Renowned futurist, Chris Barnatt, looks at the future of sustainability. How do we consume less yet find more of the resources we need?
There is now broad scientific and political agreement that we need to rise to the challenge of climate change and to live in a more sustainable manner. Yet, in the UK and beyond, is becoming clear that political mechanisms do not exist that will allow even currently declared climate change mitigation targets to be met. Businesses need to rapidly understand that we are entering a new era of the climate change debate, and how policy is likely to evolve.
View the slides from this event
Developing Green Transport Solutions in the Midlands. Thursday 28th September, 12pm to 1pm, online
Midlands Connect is working to decarbonise the transport system in the Midlands. It is developing and prioritising the most important transport investments – the projects we need to support a more productive, prosperous and sustainable Midlands.
At this online Midlands Green Innovation Network event, Bharat Pathania, Head of New Technologies at Midlands Connect explained some of the new initiatives being rolled out to create a net-zero transport system in the Midlands.
Download the slides from this event
View the video from this event
Remodelling Your Brand for Net-Zero, 6 July 11.30am - 12.30pm
Is Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility embedded into the DNA of your organisation? Creating social and environmental value through our business model, products and culture is not just a nicety or a way of ‘giving back’. It can actually be a way to drive our organisation forward, innovate new business models and products, create new categories, retain talent and attract great people to work for us. Say hello to the good economy!
In this presentation, Jonny Prest from Seed will be explaining how brands and businesses can remodel themselves to achieve Net-Zero.
View the slides from Remodelling Your Brand for Net-Zero
Watch the Video from Remodelling Your Brand for Net-Zero
Funding and protecting your ideas - Thursday 25th May, 11.30am - 12.00pm (online)
At this event, experts from Innovate Edge and the Intellectual Property Office were joined by IT attorneys from Potter Clarkson and Marks and Clerk to share their expertise in intellectual property and sources of funding. Natalie Gasson-McKinley from the Federation of Small Businesses also provided details of the relevant resources provided to FSB members.
The impact of sustainable design - Thursday 20th April, 11:30am – 1:30pm, De Montfort University, Leicester
This event explained how to develop products sustainably to reduce the use of non-renewable resources and minimise waste. There was also the opportunity to tour the workshops and facilities at the University.
Decarbonising your business - Thursday 30th March, 11.00am to 1.00pm Tyseley Energy Park, Birmingham
At this event, representatives from Sustainability West Midlands, together with GridDuck and the Tyseley Energy Park discussed some of the practical steps that you can take to decarbonise your business and how to develop a sustainability plan.
Skills for the Green Revolution - Thursday 9th February 2023, 11am to 1pm, Derby Museum of Making
At this in person event, we heard presentations from Derby and Loughborough universities. We also explored the kind of skills that are needed by businesses for the new Green Economy. The Federation of Small Businesses and Arup then discussed the Local Skills Improvement Plan, and ran a workshop for the businesses to input into the plan.
Innovation Techniques: Thinking inside the box - Thursday 12th January 2023, 11am to 12.00pm (online)
This unique online webinar, delivered by innovation expert, Professor Colin Garner, explored approaches to innovative problem solving using TRIZ (the theory of inventive problem solving), objective setting and biomimicry. it was aimed at helping businesses and individuals to innovate more effectively, and, more widely.
Innovate to thrive! - Thursday 15th December 2022, 11am to 1pm
We launched our Green Innovation Networkon 15th December at the Ingenuity Centre, University of Nottingham Innovation Park. At this event, Roger Mendonca, Chief Executive of the Midlands Engine launched their Midlands Green Innovation report. Paul Yeomans from the University of Nottingham also talked about how businesses innovate.
