Join us for a day filled with celebration and inspiration as we celebrate the bio-based solutions champions of the UK.
12:00 ARRIVAL AND LIGHT REFRESHMENTS
12:30 WELCOME
Jen Vanderhoven, CEO, BBIA and Paul Mines, Chair, BBIA
12:40 GOVERNMENT ADDRESS
Rodney Berkeley, CBE, Director for Sustainability and Infrastructure , Department for Business & Trade
Rodney Berkeley CBE is Director for Infrastructure and Technology at the Department for Business and Trade, overseeing growth in energy (renewables, nuclear, transition), construction and infrastructure (built environment, water, airports, logistics), and strategic technology (engineering biology, telecoms, AI, semiconductors, quantum). Formerly Director for Energy and Infrastructure and later for Construction, Infrastructure and Energy, he was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s 2022 Platinum Jubilee Honours for services to International Trade and Diversity and Inclusion, recognising over 35 years’ service to Her Majesty’s Government.
12:50 KEYNOTE: THE BIOECONOMY AS A KEY DRIVER FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, NATIONAL RESILIENCE AND DEFOSSILISATION
Professor Paul Monks CB, FRMetS, FRSC, FInstP
Professor Monks served as Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero from 2023 to 2025, following the same role at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. A Professor at the University of Leicester, he is a leading atmospheric scientist with extensive experience advising government and international organisations on science, energy, and environmental policy. He was awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2025 King’s New Year Honours for services to science in government.
13:20 BBIA Breakthrough Innovation Award Pitches
14:50 Panel - Bio35: Creating the Conditions for UK Bioeconomy Leadership
Chaired by Jen Vanderhoven, CEO, BBIA
Steve Bagshaw, Chair, HVMC
Charles Dimmler, CEO, Holiferm
Andy Cureton, Head of Engineering Biology, Innovate UK
TBC
14:20 BREAK
14:55 BBIA COMMER