Business leaders operating in the UK’s biggest carbon-producing industrial cluster are being urged to help lead the country on the road to recovery.
Dr Alan Raw, whose various roles include author, musician, broadcaster, entrepreneur, and sustainability practitioner, invited his audience at the Humber Business Week north bank programme launch to embrace the key themes of sustainability, collaboration and culture.
He also revealed that he had seized on the date of the event to ensure its inclusion in the official worldwide schedule of events celebrating Earth Day.
Alan said: “Happy Earth Day! I like to see Hull on a map and we are one of the official events. I like the Biz Week themes of sustainability, collaboration and culture – all things I care about.”
He told delegates at the event in the University of Hull’s Business School how the Creative and Cultural Organisation, which he founded as long ago as 1993, had combined those key themes to turn 34 disused shops in Hull into arts centres, music and recording studios, festival space.
He said: “A lot of these shops when we got them were in a terrible state but we did them up and got them full of people and full of life.”
Of the wider Humber region, Alan said: “We are responsible and vulnerable. Our perspectives have always been tied to the natural world and like every industrial region we have taken a lot more out of nature than we have put back in.
“We produce more carbon than any other industrial cluster in the UK. We need to innovate to manage with less and still be efficient with less. We are dealing with the fastest coastal erosion in Europe. We are the UK’s second-highest flood risk area, with 90% of the region below the high tide line.
“We are dealing with risks that the rest of the UK is going to have to deal with but we are dealing with it first so we are also the best hope for showing the rest of the UK how to do sustainable business and what that looks like.
“We have the world’s largest offshore wind farm, award-winning community sustainability project and some of the best minds and innovators on the planet. We have a great deal of knowledge when it comes to sustainability and resilience.
“You can become national role models, so during business week ask each other what future they want to see for the Humber region, and what role they and their organisations are going to play.”
Emma Calverley, who hosted the programme launch event as Director of Knowledge Exchange at the University of Hull, said sustainability is just one element of a Humber Business Week package which offers a wide range of opportunities.
She said: “It’s a defining moment in our region’s calendar, and a celebration of everything that makes the Humber such a dynamic, ambitious and collaborative place to live, work and do business.
“It’s about bringing people together: entrepreneurs, educators, industry leaders, innovators, and the next generation of talent, to share ideas, spark partnerships, and shape the future of our region.
“That spirit of collaboration is something we at the University of Hull are deeply committed to. It sits at the heart of our research, our teaching, and our work with businesses and employers across the Humber.
“Together, we’ve championed innovation, supported skills development, and created spaces where ideas can flourish. That long-standing collaboration reflects something fundamental about this region: when we work side by side, we achieve more than any one organisation can do alone.
“This region is undergoing profound transformation. From renewable energy and advanced manufacturing to digital innovation, healthcare, logistics, and the creative industries, the Humber is driving forward with purpose. And with that comes opportunity; opportunity for economic growth, for new skills, for new jobs, and for new ways of working that benefit our communities.”
Pat Coyle Chair of Humber Business Week, said nearly 50 events have now been registered on the official Biz Week website, with more being added every day.
Pat said: “It promises to be an incredible Humber Business Week with a full, region-wide programme of events led by businesses, for businesses. It’s designed to offer something for everybody – leadership, innovation, skills, sustainability, creativity, culture, technology, finance and AI.
“There are events at all times of the day starting with the traditional breakfast event on Monday 1 June and concluding with The Business Day, the hugely popular gathering which brings down the curtain at Bridlington Spa on Friday 5 June.
“We’ve got more variety in the programme than ever and there’s still time for people to organise their own event, so we’re encouraging all comers to take a look at the website, come up with something different, and join us in presenting another fantastic pan-Humber festival of business.”
To find out more about Humber Business Week, to add new events and to book places, visit www.humberbusinessweek.co.uk