Mike Berners-Lee to keynote Dublin energy conference

Techies Go Green has named Mike Berners-Lee as keynote speaker for its Smarter Energy Challenge conference in Dublin, which will focus on how organisations respond to changes in Ireland's energy system.

The conference will examine future energy needs, grid readiness and the financial case for investing in energy efficiency. It is aimed at business owners, Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers and other executives responsible for energy decisions.

Berners-Lee, author of There Is No Planet B, will be joined by television producer and environmentalist Duncan Stewart, Laura Heuston, Co-Founder of Sustainability Works, and other speakers involved in the energy transition. The programme will also include an opening address from Fergus Sharkey, Head of Business Supports at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The event follows research published by Techies Go Green that points to a gap between corporate plans and preparedness on energy. In the Censuswide study commissioned by the organisation, 95% of business leaders said they plan to introduce at least one energy measure over the next three years, but only 20% said they have a detailed understanding of how their organisation's energy needs are likely to change.

The findings also suggest uncertainty over returns remains a barrier to investment. More than a third of leaders, or 36%, said clearer evidence of cost savings and financial returns would give them greater confidence to invest, while only one in four said they had detailed visibility of how much greater energy efficiency could save their organisation.

Planning gap

That backdrop is likely to shape discussion in Dublin, where speakers will address the impact of rising electricity demand and growing electrification across the economy. The agenda will also examine whether the grid is prepared for those pressures and what businesses need to do to plan for them.

Ireland's electricity system is also in the middle of a major investment cycle. Techies Go Green pointed to a €18.9 billion grid investment package through 2030 as a sign of the scale of change facing companies that depend on stable, affordable energy supplies.

The conference will also consider how businesses assess investments in areas such as solar, battery storage, electrification, flexibility and energy management. For many organisations, the issue now extends beyond compliance and environmental targets to operating costs and competitiveness.

Business focus

Techies Go Green is a not-for-profit business network with more than 1,000 members. Its work focuses on helping organisations improve sustainability practices, reduce emissions and make better use of environmental, social and governance data.

The Smarter Energy Challenge forms part of that broader effort. Alongside the conference, the programme includes online briefings and case-study visits to organisations already using cleaner, more efficient energy systems.

Berners-Lee is also scheduled to take part in a panel discussion later in the day with Stewart and Lucila Dotto, Global Head of Sustainability at the Project Management Institute. The session will examine the pace of climate action by businesses as they weigh energy costs, infrastructure constraints and investment decisions.

The emphasis on practical decision-making reflects wider concern that many companies recognise the need to act on energy use but lack clarity on timing, cost and likely savings. The research commissioned by the network suggests that interest in new measures is high, but detailed planning is far less advanced.

For companies in Ireland, that tension is becoming more pressing as the electricity system expands and demand patterns shift. The conference agenda is built around how organisations can prepare for those changes while making financially sound investment decisions.

Techies Go Green said the event is intended to help organisations understand "how their organisation's energy needs are likely to change".