Canary Wharf Group launched its forward-thinking report, Future Proofing London’s Economy to a full house last night – at 10 George Street, the first building to open as part of the new Wood Wharf district.
Future-proofing London’s Economy explores the big issues to affect London – the evolving business landscape, sustainability, talent and new technologies.
The event brought together business and policy leaders to roadmap a sustainable future for London – proceedings moderated by Seven Hills, co-founder, Michael Hayman MBE DL.
Canary Wharf Group’s new CEO, Shobi Khan opened the launch and spoke about how Wood Wharf is a “vibrant neighbourhood with a sense of space” – with 3,000 new homes, nine acres of parks and 350,000 sq ft of hand-picked retail.
The first keynote on business and the urban environment was delivered by Tim Mooney, Managing Director of The Business of Cities. He emphasised the importance of this unique chapter in London’s 2,000-year history as a global city.
In the first panel of the evening, Shaun McCarthy OBE, Director of Action Sustainability; Sarah Ratcliffe, CEO of Better Buildings Partnership; Rachel Mosely, Director of Sustainability & Responsible Business at Refinitiv and Martin Gettings, Head of Sustainability at Canary Wharf Group discussed a green vision for London, saying that sustainability has never been more important to the built environment.
Ian Caveney, Head of Tech for Good at BT, then spoke to Michael Hayman MBE DL about how “purpose-led business needs to start from the top and your senior leadership team has to believe it.
Ben Brabyn, Head, Level39; Sarah Luxford, Founder, TLA Women In Tech; Tom Fogden, Dean, Ada College and Anna Brailsford, CEO, Code First Girls then followed with a debate on social capital and the future of skills in Britain.
James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer, COOK; Hannah Matthews, Managing Partner of Karmarama and Matt Phelan, The Happiness Index gave the final session on creating workplaces that inspire and thrive.
Shobi Khan closed, reiterating that future proofing London’s economy is about empowering people and diversifying the city’s capabilities, saying: “The future is community and culture beats strategy every day.”
Find out more about Future Proofing London’s Economy and Wood Wharf here.