In the first of an ongoing series of pieces written by the Energy Institute’s young professionals as part of the Generation 2050 initiative, two of the young professionals present at the discussion agreed to offer their opinions on the different roles that big and small companies will play. Despite their contrasting backgrounds, Adriana Martins, Junior Data Scientist at Arenko Group, and Piotr Konopka, Senior Manager for Energy & Decarbonisation Programmes at a global shipping and logistics company, generally agreed that both big and small companies are essential to achieving net zero. 

Small companies and rapid innovation

During the online discussion, all the panellists reached a consensus on the vital contribution that small companies make by providing much-needed innovation. Konopka pointed out that: ‘Most emissions come from some 20 companies. But these companies don’t have all the solutions to decarbonise. So, they need to find solutions internally, but also from SMEs and startups for innovation.’ Likewise, Martins said: ‘Small entities are better at quick innovations and rapid shifts, as there is less bureaucracy to deal with.’ There was recognition that startups have fewer hoops to jump through when moving concepts from ideation to execution. 

Kevin McCann, Policy Manager at Solar Energy UK, described how he could simply bring an idea to his boss, discuss its merits, and then begin planning its implementation within a very short time frame. He contrasted this with larger corporations which can take months just to greenlight an idea. This speed is a significant advantage considering the time constraints around achieving net zero by 2050.