THURSDAY 20 MARCH 2025 at THE SLATE, WARWICK UNIVERSITY
The Cold Chain Climate Summit at the University of Warwick returns for 2025 and it’s bigger and better than ever. Now in its third year, our speakers and panellists will focus on three main themes of emissions reduction, climate resilience and climate leadership
AGENDA
9:00am – EXHIBITION OPENS
10:00am – Welcome
SESSION ONE: EMISSIONS REDUCTION
10:05am – KEYNOTE: Professor Graeme Maidment, Cooling Lead at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
How is the new UK Government approaching the need for sustainable cooling and energy efficiency? Our keynote presentation brings renowned cooling expert Professor Graeme Maidment to the Climate Summit for the first time. As the Government’s lead for cooling, Professor Maidment has been influential in driving initiatives to develop the UK’s cooling industry. In this presentation Graeme will discuss some of these projects and how the UK Government is approaching the need for sustainable cold chains.
10:30am – KEYNOTE: Reducing emissions in temperature-controlled distribution: Lidija Peters, Decarbonization Project Manager, DFDS
In the last year, DFDS reached a major landmark for sustainable transport refrigeration by adding electric refrigerated trailers and electric HGVs to their UK fleet. In this presentation we will hear about the decisions that led to this significant milestone, some of the lessons learnt along the way and what the future holds for further emissions reductions.
10:55am – PANEL: TEMPERATURE SET POINTS ONE YEAR ON
An expert panel discusses developments over the last year in challenging temperature set points in the frozen food supply chain and what businesses are doing to assess the potential for change.
11:20am: Sustainable Business Awards (sponsored by SUNSWAP)
- Cold Storage Operator of the Year 2025
- Cold Chain Transport Operator of the Year 2025
- Sustainable Supplier of the Year 2025
11:30am – NETWORKING BREAK
SESSION TWO: CLIMATE RESILIENCE
12:00pm – KEYNOTE: Flood Risk and Cold Chain with Environment Agency
1 in 6 buildings in the UK are vulnerable to flooding and significant parts of the transport network are also at risk. In this presentation, Jessica Patten and Jacinta Magill from the Environment Agency present new research on the risk of flooding to the UK cold chain, now and in the future as well as advice for affected businesses on how they can stay prepared.
12:25pm – KEYNOTE: Nick Pyatt, Director Climate Sense
A pioneering new study by the influential Climate Change Committee has highlighted the growing risk to UK cold chain from hotter Summers. Nick Pyatt looks at how and when businesses will need to adapt in the coming decades to stay resilient in the face of a changing climate.
12:45pm – DISCUSSION: Business adaptation:
Reflecting on our two keynotes on Climate Resilience, our panel of operators discuss how they view the operational risk from climate change and the challenges of integrating long term change into business planning.
1:05pm: Technological Breakthrough Awards (sponsored by CLEAN EARTH)
- Sustainable Cold Store of the Year 2025
- Sustainable Innovation: Cold Storage
- Sustainable Innovation: Refrigerated Transport
- Sustainable Partnership Project
1:15pm – LUNCH & NETWORKING
SESSION THREE: CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
2:15pm – KEYNOTE: Introducing new resources to drive cold chain decarbonisation. Miriam Rodway, CEO, Institute of Refrigeration
In this presentation, representatives from the Institute of Refrigeration share some draft tools and resources for driving down emissions in cold storage and transport refrigeration, based on the findings of 2 years of research into cold chain decarbonisation carried out as part of the Government backed “TICR” project.
2:40pm – KEYNOTE: Sustainable leadership & the role of accreditations. Rebecca Cutler, Golden Acre Foods
Accreditations are an effective way to demonstrate a commitment to decarbonisation, but what does it take to get there? In our final presentation, Rebecca Cutler from Golden Acre Foods discusses the journey to B Corp accreditation and how it has cemented a culture of sustainability.
3:10pm – DISCUSSION: CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP
Our final panel, consisting of previous winners of our prestigious Climate Champion Award, discuss the challenges of embedding sustainability initiatives into businesses.
3:40pm: Sustainability Champions Awards (sponsored by P & M GROUP)
- Bursary Awards
- Business Climate Initiative
- Cold Chain Climate Champion (<35)
- Outstanding Leadership
3:55pm: Closing thoughts
4:00pm – END
Find out more at https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/events/cold-chain-climate-summit-2025/