Bringing together industry leaders at Portcullis House

This week saw our first Parliamentary Showcase, hosted at the Attlee Suite in Portcullis House, where we welcomed 40 pupils from seven schools around the country to proudly showcase the work their schools are doing to fight climate change and drive more sustainable behaviour across their community and beyond.

Hosted by, Feryal Clark MP for Enfield North, and Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and - together with a raft of amazing speakers - the purpose of the event was to start to unlock the process of getting solar onto school roofs, looking at how we can work together to remove some of the red tape for schools, enabling them to develop successful sustainability initiatives.

Despite significant hurdles for our sector, the event was about celebrating the teachers, staff, and sustainability leaders within schools that, through perseverance and dedication, make their solar projects a reality. It was exciting to see how much energy and appetite there was in the room, to get things done and to accelerate meaningful climate action, starting with schools.

The speakers at the event were: President of National Grid Cordi O'Hara OBE FEI, our co-founder and CEO - Robert Schrimpff; Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee - Bill Esterson MP; Former Schools Minister - Lord Jim Knight , Co-leader of the Green Party and MP for the Waveney Valley - Adrian Ramsay MP, and finally some closing words from Head of the Department for Education’s Strategy for Sustainability and Climate Change - Joe Billington. The event was attended by 20 Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum and including Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner. Rarely are so many key decision-makers in one room, focusing minds and collective effort.

We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the students that attended, especially those who gave a first-hand account of the initiatives they're leading in their schools. Every one of the students showed ambition and conveyed their expectations for the future, through advocacy towards the climate agenda. The room was buzzing with possibilities for making positive change. This was heartwarming and, for us at Solar for Schools, it is the reason we do what we do.

We want to further engage the students we work with by creating a closer link between MPs and the communities they serve. Shaping this environment with industry leaders, especially those that attended, was crucial in highlighting the long term growth possibilities of Solar for Schools and our partners.

The event was made possible thanks to sponsorship from National Grid, Chamber UK, Triodos Bank and The Energy Utilities Alliance.

All photo credits above: Chamber UK