Driving the Future Today!

This collaborative event is brought to you by Linen Quarter BID as part of its RE[act] Festival for a Sustainable Belfast and Translink to explore how and why we all need to work together and Better.Connected to achieve modal shift in Belfast and beyond.

09.30am: Arrival/tea/Coffee

09.45am: Welcome: Chris McCracken, Managing Director, Linen Quarter BID.

09.50am: Making Better Connections - Embracing ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) to Better.Connect People, Places and Planet

• Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive.

Translink has ambitious plans to be climate positive by 2050 and has a unique opportunity to help Northern Ireland become more sustainable and a healthier place for all species and better.connected to people and planet for generations to come. Chris provides an overview of company initiatives and impact.

10.15am: The need for Collective Climate Action Now & the Importance of Safe and Efficient Climate Impact and Resilience Solutions – Challenges and Opportunities

• Nicola Hughes, Director, Sustainable NI, climate scientist, policy advisor and science communicator
• John Glass, Translink’s Director of Infrastructure & Projects - Project Delivery

Climate change is evident across the world, costing millions of lives and trillions in investment in preparedness and response. Safety and reliability are key to encouraging more people to avail of public transport – so what exactly are the challenges and opportunities now and into the future, what is Translink doing to address them and what do we all need to do to avert climate catastrophe?

10.35am: Northern Ireland’s Modal Shift Opportunity & how by Building Better, Belfast Grand Central Station can be the Platform for Change.

• Claire Pollock, Head of NI, Sustrans
• Duncan McAllister, Head of Belfast Grand Central Station and Weavers Cross Programme

How we can work for and with communities to help them come to life by walking, wheeling and cycling to create healthier places and happier lives for everyone. The largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland is a testament to the region’s advanced manufacturing credentials while embracing all that is innovative to ensure maximum social inclusion, accessibility and sustainability. How has it been built better and what role does in play in modal shift.

11.00am: Beyond Buildings - Bee-ing Ambitious and Delivering Landscape-wide Transformative Change.

• Paul Stewart, Centre Manager, World Wildlife Trust Castle Espie
• Suzanne Sinclair, Translink’s Biodiversity Manager

Our unique biodiversity in under threat and species are being lost forever. Translink’s new partnership driven Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is a target-driven approach to deliver nature-positive operations across the transport network by 2030. With a railway corridor alone extending to 462 kilometres of track and 328 route kilometres with a lineside estate of more than 1700 acres, the company has a key role in protecting nature and reconnecting species.

11.20am: Panel Session – The Importance of Public Transport in Society, Driving Modal Shift and the Role of the Better on Board Charter.

Moderator: Angela Madden, Translink’s PR Manager - Corporate Communications. Angela is a former Business Editor and Financial Correspondent with more than 15 years’ experience in all things ESG including launch and delivery of the Irish government’s public/private initiative, The Green International Financial Services Centre (Green IFSC), to place Ireland at the core of the global green economy.

Panellists: Chris Conway, Translink Chief Executive; Christopher McCracken, Managing Director Linen Quarter BID; Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive NI Chamber; Anne Doherty, Senior Project Manager for Travel and Transport, Ulster University and Duane McCready, Farrans Sacyr, Operations Director for Station Delivery, Belfast Grand Central Station Project.

• The panel examines how public transport impacts society whether environmental, social or economic. These leaders will discuss how we can work together to change behaviours and rethink how we move. What could or should the future look like, what do we need to do to get there and how can the Better on Board Charter help.

12.05pm: Questions & Answers

12.15pm: Launch of The Better on Board Charter

• Intro: Intro: Gavin Annon, President, Belfast Chamber

The Better on Board Charter is a movement to drive modal shift and signals an unprecedented collaborative response to achieving a cleaner, greener and healthier Northern Ireland where public transport is the first choice for travel.

Pic Op with Belfast Founding Partners: Belfast Chamber, NI Chambers, PWC, Linen Quarter BID, Ulster University, QUB, IoD, NI Consumer Council, the Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland, Farrans.

12.30pm: Lunch and Networking

Host or Publisher Linen Quarter BID