We’re pleased to announce that the Earth Capital Summit 2026 will take place on Monday 5 October 2026 in London. The event will bring together leading voices in impact, innovation and investment for an afternoon of focused discussions, followed by evening networking drinks.
Under this year’s theme, “Scaling What Matters: Investment, Innovation and Impact”, the summit will convene investors, founders, policymakers and industry leaders to explore the ideas and solutions shaping the future of climate, finance and technology.
The programme will focus on how we can accelerate the deployment of capital, unlock scalable innovation and drive meaningful, measurable impact across the transition to a net-zero, nature-positive economy. Expect candid discussion, practical insight and valuable opportunities to connect with others working across the ecosystem.
Whether you are building, backing or enabling climate solutions, the Earth Capital Summit provides a platform to engage directly with the people and ideas driving change.
Places are limited and early registration is encouraged to secure attendance.
REGISTER HERE
Agenda
2:30 pm | Registration and networking
Guests arrive, register and join informal networking over refreshments.
3:00 pm | Welcome and opening remarks
Opening remarks from Earth Capital and Harbottle & Lewis, setting the tone for the afternoon and introducing the summit theme.
Session 1 | Data spotlight: Fundraising, M&A and where the action is happening
Data-led presentation around the global investment and innovation funding landscape. UK Sustainability funding – including regional views / top deals
Session 2 | Panel discussion – From proof to profit: what are the stand-out features that will make businesses fundable in 2027?
This discussion will examine what investors are likely to expect from businesses over the next 12 to 18 months. The focus will be on how companies move from early traction to becoming credible, fundable scale-ups in a more selective market.
Session 3 | Panel discussion The private capital mix for scale: VCs, family offices, CVCs, alternative lenders and private equity
This session explores the wider capital landscape for businesses. It will look at how different investor groups vary in motivation, time horizon, governance expectations and return profile, and what that means for founders choosing the right mix of capital.
Session 4 | Sector spotlights
A series of short, expert-led spotlights on three sectors attracting increasing attention. Each speaker will share a concise view on the key opportunity, the main challenge and why the sector matters now. Audience voting will follow to rank the sectors by investment attractiveness and scalability potential.
6:15 pm onwards | Closing remarks and networking drinks
Speakers:
Data spotlight: Fundraising, M&A and where the action is happening
John MacDonagh, Senior Analyst, Climate Tech and Clean Energy, PitchBook
John is a climate technology analyst at PitchBook Data, covering technology trends and private market investment into a wide range of areas, including clean energy, energy storage, carbon tech, land use, and low-carbon technologies within the built environment and industry. He produces quarterly reports on VC dealmaking across the climate tech space and PE dealmaking across the clean energy space, in addition to standalone reports looking deeper at specific areas of climate tech. Prior to joining PitchBook in 2022, John worked at a research company focusing on risk management software, where he covered energy and commodity trading risk management platforms. He holds an MRes in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation from Imperial College London.
Panel 1: From proof to profit: what are the stand-out features that will make businesses fundable in 2027?
Vanessa Neill, Sustainability & Communications consultant and advisor. Co-founder, Ochre Partner (Moderator)
Vanessa is a senior sustainability adviser and practitioner, helping businesses and investors turn sustainability into strategic and commercial value. She co-founded Ochre Partners in 2023, advising private and public sector clients globally, including private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Vanessa is an experienced PLC Non-Executive Director and serves on the Board of CVC Income & Growth Limited, where she Chairs the Sustainability and Nomination and Remuneration Committees. She is also a Trustee of the National Biodiversity Network Trust. She holds a Postgraduate Masters Level Diploma from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), with research focused on sustainability strategies for private equity portfolio companies and the role of private equity in protecting biodiversity and nature
Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner, The Table
Carmel is passionate about changing the way early-stage climate companies are funded. Through The Table, she helps women-led and co-led ClimateTech ventures access the capital they need to grow, working alongside a global community of more than 500 investors to back bold ideas tackling some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. With over 15 years of entrepreneurial and investment experience, Carmel has worked with founders across a wide range of sectors, helping them navigate fundraising, refine their investment story and build businesses that are ready to scale.
Dr Niki Hutson, Transition Services Market Lead, Bureau Veritas
Niki works with businesses, investors and financial institutions to navigate sustainability, climate and regulatory challenges while driving long-term growth and value creation. With extensive experience in sustainable finance, ESG strategy, assurance and corporate transformation, Niki helps organisations translate sustainability ambitions into measurable business performance, investment readiness and stakeholder confidence. She is a regular speaker and moderator at industry conferences and contributes to discussions on sustainable finance, climate transition, corporate reporting, investor expectations and the evolving role of sustainability in business strategy.
Martin Brown, CEO, Elephants Child
Martin Brown is CEO of Elephants Child, leading a herd of Business Growth Advisors who help ambitious SME/Mid-Market owners grow their businesses, increase value and navigate the journey from growth to exit. Elephants Child’s results speak for themselves. The team has helped business owners achieve growth and successfully exit, with client businesses sold for a combined value running into billions of pounds. With a career spanning entrepreneurship and senior leadership roles including MD and CEO, Martin brings extensive real-world experience of building, growing and leading businesses. Their approach covers Heart, Head and Hands: understanding what owners really want, developing the strategy to get there, and taking action to make it happen. Martin’s focus is simple: helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that give them greater choice and freedom for the future
Lars Hagelmann, Chief Operating Officer (Investment), Big Issue Invest
Lars is an investment professional with 25 years’ experience across private equity, family office, sovereign-backed investment and fund management. He is Chief Operating Officer (Investment) at Big Issue Invest and Executive Director of its FCA-regulated fund management business. Previously, he held senior investment roles at SISU Capital, a Dubai family office and a sovereign-backed institution in Oman. Since joining Big Issue Invest in 2016, he has built the investment team and developed and launched three funds, bringing in new institutional investors. He also holds several Non-Executive Director and Trustee roles across social enterprise and regulated financial entities.
Panel 2: The private capital mix for scale: VCs, family offices, CVCs, alternative lenders and private equity
Rosie Marston, Managing Associate in Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice, Harbottle & Lewis
Rosie specialises in supporting startups, investors and high-growth businesses across the venture capital ecosystem. She advises on fundraising, M&A, SEIS/EIS investments, shareholder arrangements and other corporate transactions, with particular expertise in the technology sector. Rosie works with founders, venture capital funds, family offices and corporate investors, helping them navigate transactions and structure businesses for growth. She joined Harbottle & Lewis in 2023, having previously worked at Allen & Overy and MJ Hudson.
Bernice Brooks, Associate at Guinness Ventures
Bernice focuses on investing in SEIS and EIS companies across the business services, consumer and healthcare sectors. She works closely with ambitious early-stage businesses, supporting founders through the investment journey and helping them build strong foundations for growth.
Rowan Bird, Investor, Business Growth Fund
Rowan is an Investor in BGF’s Early Stage team focused on investing in UK & Ireland-based Deep Tech companies, primarily at Series A stage. Focus areas include Semiconductors & Photonics, Advanced Materials, AI, Energy Systems and Industrial Process Efficiencies. Since joining BGF in 2019 he has supported or led investments into two dozen companies and currently sits on the boards of Xampla (natural polymer-based coatings and films), DEScycle (critical metal recovery from e-waste), Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies (SiOx based Resistive RAM) and KYND (outside-in cyber risk assessment).
Jorge De Rosa, Head of Business Development, James Fisher and Sons plc
Jorge De Rosa is a strategy and new ventures executive with 15+ years of international experience leading corporate strategy, venture development, M&A, and business transformation across the energy, maritime, industrial, and technology sectors. In his current role, he drives the new ventures agenda, partnering with investors, founders, and innovators to identify new growth platforms, develop strategic partnerships, and build an innovation ecosystem that creates value beyond the core business. Jorge also serves as a strategic advisor to startups, supporting founders on growth strategy, market expansion, commercialization, and scaling. Prior to this, he held strategy and transformation roles at De Beers Group, Associated British Foods, and Halliburton. He holds an MBA and has extensive experience working across Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Sector spotlights
Chris Paddey, Founder of Blue Ocean Boardrooms
A Chartered Engineer, entrepreneur and strategic advisor, Chris brings more than 30 years of experience across energy, sustainability and business growth. He has helped organisations innovate, scale and create long-term value, including founding Padd Energy, a specialist energy and sustainability consultancy that was later acquired by Anthesis Group. Today, Chris works with business leaders and boards to develop growth strategies, unlock opportunities and build more valuable, resilient businesses.
Simone Aplin, Director, Ceres Waste, Renewables & Environment
Simone brings over 25 years’ experience in waste management, regulation and consultancy, with particular expertise in the UK plastics and feedstock markets. She recently led Ceres WRE’s work on a Viridor-commissioned report examining the UK plastics recycling sector, setting out the investment case alongside the policy interventions needed to enable it. Her broader specialisms include commercial due diligence, new project support and regulatory advice, including expert witness work in commercial disputes and criminal cases. Simone is a regular speaker at industry events, including recent panel sessions on the future of chemical recycling.
Andrew Raslan, CEO and Co-Founder, Pipeline Organics
Pipeline Organics is a climate deep-tech company developing microbial fuel cell systems that treat industrial wastewater while recovering energy onsite. A former molecular microbiologist and PMP-certified project and commercialisation lead, he has built and raised £2.8m across commercial research ventures and has co-led Pipeline Organics’ development programme, enabling progress from concept to onsite proof of biofuel cell functionality in breweries. He now leads the company’s fundraising, customer development and scale-up strategy.
