Congress of Business (COB25) is back on 13 May 2025, during Glasgow Climate Week.
Building on the Glasgow Climate Pacts established at COP26, COB drives meaningful change by turning sustainable strategies into actionable results.
Bringing together some of the UK’s most prominent businesses alongside leading academics, COB sends a clear message – business and cities can and will play a leadership role in transforming our economy sustainably.
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COB drives collective action by uniting businesses on a global scale through the British Chambers of Commerce international network.
We foster peer-to-peer learning and empower SMEs for climate transition by equipping them with the skills and tools required to create impactful climate partnerships and progress.
COB aims to maintain climate focus between COP summits, sustaining high-level climate engagement and engaging senior leaders to ensures that climate action remains a key priority.
If you missed any of the speaker sessions or panel discussions, or simply want to revisit the day, all live content from COB24 is available on our YouTube channel.
HEAR FROM OUR COB24 SPEAKERS
Professor Greg Clark CBE FAcSS | Host, COB25
We are delighted to welcome back renowned urbanist and leading innovator, Greg Clark, to moderate and host COB25. Greg is chair of Connected Places Catapult and 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment) and a non-executive director for Transport for London.
He is an Honorary Professor at UCL STEaPP, a visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute and a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, MVO, MBA |
Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Markets Initiative
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi is Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a global organisation that mobilises the private sector to put sustainability at the heart of global value creation.
From 2018 to 2023, Ms. Jordan-Saifi served as Assistant Private Secretary to The King covering foreign affairs, the Commonwealth, and supporting His Majesty’s sustainability leadership on the world stage.
Working for the Government of Canada (2008-2018), Ms. Jordan-Saifi led on a wide range of foreign policy priorities and initiatives, including United Nations Strategic Policy and Reform and as negotiator for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Will Attenborough | Climate Finance Strategist and Co-founder of Green Rider
Will Attenborough is known for his roles on Our Girl, and the Oscar-winning Dunkirk, as well as leading in West End productions of Another Country, and Photograph 51 opposite Nicole Kidman. In 2018, he won the London GrandSlam of the international storytelling competition The Moth.
He's also an experienced climate finance strategist who's run successful campaigns with Equity and the Mayor of London, leading billions of pounds out of fossil fuel investments and into clean solutions. He is a Co-founder of Green Rider and works as a campaigner with Insure our Future
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli | Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Glasgow
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli has served as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow since 2009. He recently announced that he will be stepping down from the role in September 2025.
An economist, his research interests are monetary economics, central bank independence, fiscal policy, international finance and macroeconomics. Sir Anton is a member of the advisory group for Sir Paul Nurse’s Review of the UK’s Research, Development and Innovation Organisational Landscape.
Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE | Entrepreneur and Business Leader
Martha is an entrepreneur, internet activist and, since March 2013, sits in the UK House of Lords as a crossbench peer. Martha was elected as President of the British Chambers of Commerce in October 2022. Alongside her Presidency of the British Chambers, Martha has served as Chancellor of Open University since 2014 and is the current Chair of WeTransfer. She is also a non-executive director of Chanel and, until its recent sale, Martha was a Director of Twitter.
From 2009 to 2013 Martha was Digital Champion for the UK and helped to create the Government Digital Service – this team launched gov.uk transforming government service delivery. In 1998 Martha co-founded Europe’s largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman. They took it public in 2000 and sold it in 2005.
Andrew G Haldane CBE | Chief Executive Officer,
Royal Society of Arts
Andrew Haldane is the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts. He was formerly Chief Economist at the Bank of England and a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee. He was the Permanent Secretary for Levelling Up at the Cabinet Office. Andrew is Founder and President of the charity Pro Bono Economics, Vice-Chair of the charity National Numeracy and Chair of the National Numeracy Leadership Council.
Andrew chairs the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre's Industrial Board and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Bradford Literature Festival and the South Yorkshire Mayor's Economic Advisory Council. He was formerly Chair of the Government's Industrial Strategy Council and the Levelling Up Advisory Council.
Dr Susie Mitchell | Programme Manager | Glasgow Riverside Innovation District
Susie came to Glasgow in 1996 to undertake a PhD in cancer research at the University of Glasgow’s Beatson Institute for Cancer Research where she was awarded the John Paul Award for research excellence. For over a decade, Susie was Programme Director for Glasgow City of Science and Innovation – a regional innovation partnership focused on positioning and strengthening Glasgow City Region as a distinctive and thriving place for innovation-enabled growth.
In 2024, she became Programme Manager of the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, anchored by the University of Glasgow. Susie is a champion of diversity in STEM and in 2016 was recognised by Equate Scotland as a Leading Woman of Scotland for her contributions to STEM and Scotland’s advancement. She is an active Non-Exec on a range of Boards and is Chair of the Glasgow Jazz Festival. Outside work she is a session musician and a presenter and contributor for the BBC.
Gerald Gallagher | Global Director Sustainability, EY
Gerard is the EY organisation’s sustainability leader for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. He leads a team of 15,000+ consultants who help clients develop and implement strategies to achieve long-term value and impact in a decarbonizing world.
With over 25 years of experience in the energy sector, both as an engineer and a management consultant, Gerard describes himself as an "Actioneer". He is passionate about advising clients on how they can successfully optimize their green technology and capital investment projects, enhance their environmental, social and governance performance, and create a legacy for the planet and its occupants.
James Byrne, Partner, Sustainable Ventures
James is a climate tech entrepreneur, one of three equity partners and part of the founding team at Sustainable Ventures (SV). Sustainable Ventures closes the gap between innovation and commercialisation, helping climate startups to accelerate from idea to real impact in the market. SV supports startups at every stage of their journey, providing venture support, investment, and infrastructure to help them thrive. Through this full-service approach SV has created Europe’s largest climate tech hub, and is on track to have supported 1,000 startups by the end of 2025, having successfully delivered 19 high-impact business support programmes.
SV brings together government, corporates, investors and other network enablers to scale its climate ecosystem, its startups have already delivered 7,000+ high value green inclusive jobs, and over £1.3bln of investment. James has conceived, led and sat on the board of a number of portfolio businesses since 2011 including as Co-Founder of Sustainable Workspaces. He has previously been an advisor to the Mayor of London and sits on the Greater Manchester Business Board. He is SV's partner lead responsible for key climate tech city regions, of which Glasgow is a high priority.
Derek Provan OBE | President of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
Born in Glasgow and with 20 years' experience in aviation, Derek has held various Director roles in UK and international Airports. Derek joined Heathrow in 2013 from his position as Managing Director at Aberdeen International Airport.
In his role of Future Heathrow, Director, he was responsible for the future design of an expanded Heathrow to include surface access, terminals, airfield and airspace design and the creation of Heathrow’s master plan and future operating models. Further to being Heathrow’s Interim Chief Operating Officer, Derek was CEO of AGS Airports from April 2018 to April 2023.
Derek is an experienced Board Member skilled in Crisis Management, Negotiation, Business Planning, Operations Management, and Airports.
COB will be broadcast LIVE to allow anyone across the globe to join. The in-person event will take place in Glasgow:
SWG3
100 Eastvale Place
Glasgow
G3 8QG
Congress of Business 2025
will be held in partnership with
British Chambers of Commerce
On 12 May 2025, DYW Glasgow will host COB Futures in partnership with DYW West and DYW LED. This event is aimed at inspiring young people to choose a career that supports a sustainable future and will expose them to multiple different career paths. The event will take place at City of Glasgow College's Riverside Campus and young people will hear from a number of different businesses including Sustainable Pathways, COWI, O’Donnell Brown, McTaggart Construction, Balfour Beatty and Lush.
Watch highlights of COB Futures 2024
COB Inspires will serve the next generation of climate professionals looking to get their start in the sustainability space. Aimed at students and recent graduates, COB Inspires will feature talks, panels and workshops from industry leaders, all with the goal of shedding light on the unique opportunities and challenges of a career in sustainability. The event will take at Civic House, with featured businesses including Small99, Balfour Beatty and Sustainable Ventures.
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