In Conversation: Design, Climate & Entrepreneurs

Join us for a crucial discussion on the intersection of design, climate action, and entrepreneurship featuring Sir David King, founder and chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. Sir David is a renowned climate scientist and former UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor, known for his pivotal role in raising global awareness on climate change and shaping policy solutions.

He will be joined by Norman Crowley design expert and Faye Walsh Drouillard of Wake Up Capital to explore how entrepreneurial investment can drive sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.

A must-attend event for anyone passionate about the future of our planet and the role design can play in addressing climate challenges.

Sir David King is the founder and chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and founder of the Centre for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge. Previously he was the UK Government’s permanent Special Representative for Climate Change from 2013 to 2017, and Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000 to 2007, during which time he raised awareness of the need for governments to act on climate change and was instrumental in creating the Energy Technologies Institute.

He also served as the Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford; was Head of the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University 1993 to 2000 and Master of Downing College at Cambridge 1995 to 2000. Sir David has published over 500 papers on science and policy, for which he has received numerous awards, and holds 22 Honorary Degrees from universities around the world.

Faye Walsh Drouillard is Founder and Managing Partner of WakeUp Capital, a venture capital firm investing in climate tech and impact companies. A former social entrepreneur unwilling to accept the status quo, she backs visionary founders whose early stage technologies tackle areas such as sustainable agriculture, circularity, renewable energy, health equity and accessible education and financial innovation.

Following work in a law firm and in politics in California, she led and scaled an education enterprise, the Freedom Writers Foundation, through its feature film release “Freedom Writers” starring Hilary Swank. With a track record as an ecosystem builder, consultant and an investor in numerous start-ups, funds, and organizations in the US and Europe, Faye promotes collaborative impact investing and increased diversity in finance and entrepreneurship.

She led Ireland’s 1st Impact angel investor syndicate and is a board director of The Community Foundation for Ireland, Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, Magrowtec, and ChangeX. Founder of 2 philanthropy funds, including The Giving Circle of Ireland, Faye has a B.A. (University of Washington) and an MBA (UCLA). She resides in Dublin with her husband and 3 French-American children.

Norman Crowley is founder and chairman of CoolPlanet, a global leader in industrial decarbonisation. CoolPlanet combines software, advanced engineering expertise and decarbonisation solutions to help complex organisations to reach Net Zero faster, at scale.

Norman is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and sold three businesses for over three-quarters of a billion dollars before the age of forty. He began his first business, a welding company at age 16, employing a team of 8 within a year, and sold that business when he was 20. He then started a computer and internet business called Trinity Commerce, growing the company 170 employees by the time he was 28.

He went on to cofound Inspired Gaming Group, which was sold for €300 million; and Europe’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot provider, The Cloud, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB for £50 million in 2011.

Feeling his next venture needed to be about more than making money, he founded energy efficiency and decarbonisation company CoolPlanet (www.coolplanet.io). He wanted to set up a business that made a real difference in addressing the global climate change issue.

The company combines in-house developed software CoolPlanetOS, advanced engineering and world-leading expertise to help firms reduce consumption, optimise systems, lower emissions and achieve net zero. To date, the business has saved customers over $400 million in energy, and 2,597,963 tonnes of CO2. Its clients include Glanbia, GE Healthcare, Takeda, Owens-Illinois, Dairy Farmers of America and Hilton Food Group. He founded AVA (www.studioava.com) in 2021, a company which transforms some of the world’s most desirable classic cars to electric.

AVA brings together a team of Formula 1-grade engineers who have led some of the biggest brands in the automotive industry. Ava’s cars include the Croxford Defender – an electric take on the Land Rover Defender, named after soldier Stuart Croxford, a former Captain of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Event Schedule

• 5.30pm  Doors Open

• 6.15pm – 7.15pm
  Design Diplomacy

  Collaboration Country: UK

  UK Designer: Gareth Broadbent
  Irish Designer: Lara Hanlon

• 7.15pm – 7.30pm  Interval

• 7.30pm – 8.30pm
  Headline Event – Talk: Design, Climate & Entrepreneurs

  In Conversation with Sir David King, Faye Walsh Drouillard & Norman Crowley

EVENING EVENT

Design Diplomacy.

Step into an evening of unique and intimate dialogue with Gareth Broadbent and Lara Hanlon, a designer, educator, and facilitator renowned for her work in sustainable business design and systems of change. Lara’s innovative portfolio includes award-winning projects in food systems innovation and digital experience design, with a focus on transforming organisations and shifting mindsets.

Inspired by the Design Diplomacy concept from Helsinki Design Week, this event features a card game of thought-provoking questions, fostering a fresh and spontaneous conversation between two creative minds. Don’t miss the chance to witness the dynamic exchange between international and Irish design perspectives in an interactive and personal design discussion!

Lara Hanlon is a designer, educator, and facilitator who designs systems of change. Her portfolio spans food systems innovation, sustainable business design, and design for end-to-end digital experiences. Through her work, she has transformed organisations, changed mindsets, and delivered award-winning outcomes.

In 2022, Lara founded Portion Collaborative—a consultancy transforming food systems through creative disruption. Collaborating with businesses across the food value chain, she encourages skills development and innovation in climate, circularity, and planet-centered design.

Lara is also a founding member of Design Declares Ireland, the first global chapter of the Design Declares movement: a growing group of designers, design studios, agencies and institutions here to declare a climate and ecological emergency—and director at 100 Archive: a platform for visual communications design in Ireland.

An educator in design, Lara has held tutoring positions at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) across various programmes such as Interaction and User Experience Design, Design Thinking, and Visual Communications Design, and has lectured at renowned global institutions including School of Visual Arts New York.

Lara has delivered talks at TEDx, Milan Design Week, and Birmingham Design Festival, and has had her work featured in FastCompany, Dezeen, Offscreen Magazine, and Bloomsbury Publishing NYC.

Gareth Broadbent

Introducing the UK young environmentalist of the year 1991 (Applause). Gareth cured the climate crisis sequestering trillions of tonnes of CO2 (Standing Ovation). In reality he went on to join the Diesel Creative Team in Italy; adidas Advanced Concepts Team, Portland; Parley For The Oceans, New York as film writer/director/producer for a series played in all schools in India-Maldives-Dominican Republic, was also Creative Lead on Adidas Eco launches – including Parley, Made to be Remade feat. Willow Smith and Made with Nature.

Additional Information

• Advanced booking required

• Suitable for all audiences

• Wheelchair accessible