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Entrepreneur
8 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Investing in a Greener Future
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Clean energy is no longer just a government target or a topic for climate reports. It has become a global economic driver and a fast-growing space for innovation. What was once viewed as a specialist sector is now central to how countries plan for growth, security and long-term resilience. For UK founders, this presents a moment of real opportunity. Whether your business is in technology, logistics, finance, construction or professional services, understanding clean energy finance is now part of building a future-ready company. As the world transitions toward low-carbon systems, the ability to navigate this space will separate those who can scale sustainably from those left behind. Over the last 15 years, I've worked across public and private sectors. I've helped shape major infrastructure deals in the UK as the Project Finance Advisor for the UK Cabinet Office and Infrastructure Project Authority, and led the design of energy investment strategies in Mongolia, where we are actively positioning the country as a green energy exporter for Asia. What I've learned is that clean energy is not an isolated sector. It cuts across industries, borders and policy frameworks, which means opportunity is everywhere for those who know how to engage with it. Clean energy is part of the mainstream economy This is a critical mindset shift. Clean energy is not a side project or a corporate social responsibility box to tick. It is a core driver of economic transformation. Global investors are now treating renewable energy, battery storage, grid infrastructure and green hydrogen as long-term, high-quality assets. These are not speculative bets, they are increasingly seen as stable investments that align with both climate targets and commercial returns. Institutional investors, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are actively building portfolios in this space. The environmental and social impact is important, but so are the financial fundamentals. These projects are producing returns, creating jobs and supporting energy independence. For UK founders, this means that if your product or service plays a role in supporting decarbonisation, energy efficiency or the broader clean economy, you are operating in a growth market. Capital is already flowing in, and demand is growing, so the moment to act is now. Public policy is creating new momentum In the UK, the alignment between policy goals and funding mechanisms is becoming stronger. The government's net zero strategy is backed by institutions like the UK Infrastructure Bank, and public-private partnerships are helping accelerate the delivery of climate-aligned infrastructure. This policy shift is opening new doors for founders. Businesses that help reduce emissions, digitise infrastructure, or create smarter, more sustainable systems can now find clearer routes to support. These may come in the form of grants, co-financing, tax incentives, or simply greater access to decision-makers focused on delivering impact at scale. It is rare to see this level of clarity between long-term policy goals and real-world investment tools. For entrepreneurs, especially those building in tech, sustainability, or infrastructure, this is a window worth paying attention to. You don't need to be in the energy sector to be part of this Some of the most promising innovation in clean energy is coming from outside the traditional power and utilities space. This is because clean energy is more than just generation and transmission, it includes everything from how buildings are heated and cooled, to how transport systems operate, to how supply chains are monitored. Founders in sectors like agriculture, logistics, retail and software are already creating tools that help track energy use, reduce emissions, or integrate renewable sources. It could be a data platform that helps companies report on their carbon footprint. It could be a startup working on smart insulation materials for homes, or it might be a digital service helping consumers manage their household energy use more effectively. The clean energy economy is broad, what matters most is that the solution addresses a real need, delivers measurable results, and can scale sustainably. The barriers to entry are lower than many assume, but the rewards for getting it right are growing every day. There is untapped opportunity in global partnerships One area that is often overlooked is the opportunity to scale internationally by supporting emerging markets. Countries with abundant renewable resources, like Mongolia, are increasingly looking to attract international expertise and capital to help build out their energy systems. This is where blended finance plays a key role, combining funding, concessional loans and commercial investment to reduce risk and get projects moving. UK-based founders with technical knowledge, digital solutions, or infrastructure experience are well placed to contribute to these efforts. These partnerships do take time and they require patience, cultural awareness and long-term commitment, but they also offer access to new markets and the chance to be involved with transformational projects on a global scale. Founders who are open to these kinds of collaborations often find that they can grow faster, diversify revenue streams, and play a leadership role in shaping how the global energy transition unfolds. Flexibility and resilience will carry you further than speed alone Clean energy is moving fast, but it is also complex. Technologies are constantly evolving, regulatory environments shift, and the needs of end users can change quickly. Founders who build their businesses around adaptability, rather than just speed, are far more likely to succeed. That means understanding that what works in one country may not work in another. It means designing solutions that can scale up or down depending on funding, policy or local infrastructure, and it means accepting that long-term value often comes from solving problems steadily and sustainably, not from rushing into markets without a clear plan. Resilience can be built into the core of a business. Whether through flexible financing structures, modular technology, or an agile operating model, founders who prepare for change will be better equipped to respond when challenges arise. This mindset, grounded in practical awareness and long-term thinking, is what sets resilient companies apart in the clean energy space. A final word for UK founders The global shift toward clean energy is one of the defining transformations of our time. It brings together climate action, economic opportunity, and international collaboration. For UK founders, there is a real chance to contribute to this transition in meaningful and commercially viable ways. You do not need to be an energy specialist to get involved. What matters is that your business is built to solve a real challenge, that it can evolve with the market, and that it aligns with the direction the world is already moving in. Clean energy is not just about emissions. It is about creating a fairer, more resilient, and more prosperous economy. Founders who recognise this will be better placed to lead in the years ahead, not just by building successful companies, but by building a better future too.
Spectator
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
The power of wax seals has never waned
In our electronic age it hardly comes as a surprise that Pat MacFadden's Cabinet Office intends to do away with the use of seals on most official documents, such as grants of patents to inventors. Old-fashioned wax seals, hanging from the bottom of parchment documents, may be seen as cumbersome, but most sealings nowadays consist of an embossed impression on a thin wax wafer. I used to seal documents myself when I occupied the ancient office of 'Registrary' in my Cambridge college. Most memorable was the sale of land the college had owned in Rickmansworth since the 16th century – by now a muddy private road thought too costly to maintain. And last week, when the name of a new Chancellor of Cambridge was proclaimed, we were told that 'in evidence of which we have caused these our Letters Patent to be created, and the Common Seal of said University to be affixed to them'. Sealing these documents conveyed authenticity, but also conferred solemnity. Four thousand years ago, any Babylonian worth his salt carried a small cylinder seal with which he could certify valuable packages and documents. In England, the custom of officially sealing documents can be traced back beyond 1066, to the reign of Edward the Confessor, so it is appropriate to hesitate before dismissively approving the abandonment of seals. Abolition will not be total. There are certain documents which will still require a proper royal seal, such as letters patent creating peers of the realm. Here colour coding comes into play. Those seals are green. Documents concerning the royal family have blue seals. The appointment of bishops merits a vermilion seal, and red is the colour of most full-scale sealings using melted beeswax (or artificial substitutes). Royal seals are magnificent double-sided objects; the matrix from which the impression is made is a closeable metal box, and they hang from the document rather than being stamped upon it. They are symbols of power and are designed to impress. A real lumpy wax seal issued by sovereign authority was not usually a free gift. Medieval Italian cities that begged for privileges from the Holy Roman Emperor had to pay handsomely for whatever sealed documents they managed to obtain, leaving them disgruntled and rebellious. Churning out mountains of sealed documents was a valuable money-spinner for the medieval papacy. Clients paid well above the already substantial cost of producing a handwritten document on expensive, good quality parchment, and the wax used in the seal was not cheap. To acquire the best wax it was necessary to turn to lands beyond the authority of popes and emperors – to Muslim North Africa and Mongol Crimea, where Venetian and Genoese merchants made fat profits exporting blocks of beeswax to Europe. Most of it was dispersed into the atmosphere as candle wax (smelly tallow being impermissible in churches), but much of the rest survives as wax seals appended to charters. Fleeing from England in 1688, following a disastrous reign and William of Orange's invasion, King James II supposedly dropped the royal seal into the mud of the Thames so that his rival could not gain control of it. He understood better than Pat MacFadden that wax seals are, and always have been, the ultimate guarantee of authority.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Prevent scheme needs to 'rapidly' adapt to online world, review finds after failures in Southport case
The Prevent scheme needs to "rapidly" adapt to the online world "where so much radicalisation takes place", an independent review has found. The anti-extremism programme has been under increased scrutiny after two recent terror incidents involving Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana and Sir David Amess's killer Ali Harbi Ali damaged its reputation. Lord Anderson KC was appointed as the new independent commissioner for Prevent in January and the long-awaited report into the scheme was published on Wednesday, outlining 10 recommendations to improve the programme. His recommendations can be summarised into five major themes, including adapting to the online world and applying Prevent to people who have no fixed ideology but "a fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks". 4:22 Lord Anderson recommended that "all feasible and right-compliant avenues should be explored as a matter of priority to enable evidence of online activity to be more effectively used". The online behaviours of self-radicalised extremists were "increasingly difficult to detect and interpret". This is because the average age of a person referred to Prevent is now 16, and 40% are aged 11-15, making them "digital natives", Lord Anderson told the Home Affairs select committee on Tuesday. "Wider decisions loom on how Prevent can be better tailored to the online world inhabited by so many of its subjects; how best to deal with those whose ideology amounts to little more than a fascination with extreme violence; and whether Prevent should ultimately be embedded in a more general violence reduction strategy," the report concluded. What is anti-terrorism programme Prevent? The aim of Prevent is to "stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism". The government-led, multi-agency scheme also helps to rehabilitate and disengage those who are already involved in terrorism, and safeguard communities from threats. Referrals to Prevent lead to a "gateway assessment", made by specialist police officers to determine whether there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect the person is "susceptible to becoming a terrorist or supporting terrorism". The individual will then receive tailored support to reduce their susceptibility to being radicalised into terrorism, if appropriate. The Prevent programme has three main aims: • To tackle the ideological causes of terrorism; • Intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation; • Enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate. Additionally, Lord Anderson said he believed Prevent "could work as part of a comprehensive violence prevention and safeguarding strategy" in the longer term. The report recommended that a Cabinet Office task force be set up to explore the possibility of formally connecting Prevent to a broader violence prevention and safeguarding system, as latest figures on Prevent referrals for 2023-24 included in the report show 36% of 6,921 cases were made up of concerns of vulnerability but no ideology or counter-terror risk. The review was launched following the killings by Rudakubana and Ali. Rudakubana, then 17, killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in the attack at the Hart Space in Southport, Merseyside, on 29 July last year. He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder in January and was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in jail, with the judge saying it's "highly likely" he will never be released. It was revealed that Rudakubana, now 18, was referred to the government anti-extremism scheme - known as Prevent - three times before the murders due to a fixation with violence. Each time his case was assessed, he was not deemed a terrorism risk, and he has never been subject to a counterterrorism police investigation or declared a subject of interest to MI5. Prevent report puts it simply - too many people slip through the net Social Affairs correspondent @BeckyJohnsonSky Prevent failed - and people died. This is the latest report to highlight the fatal errors made in assessing the risk posed by the Southport attacker and the man who murdered the MP Sir David Amess. Families of the victims are understandably demanding answers. Relatives of the three young girls murdered in Southport last summer are urging the government and the authorities to "do more than simply paying lip service". The report acknowledges that Prevent "lacks teeth". Put simply, too many people slip through the net. Many will be surprised that the Home Office needs to be told that Prevent needs to adapt to the online world. Radicalisation online is not new. We have known for years that worrying numbers of people are viewing graphic content online, disappearing down rabbit holes guided by social media algorithms. Human error plays a part: the murderer of Sir David Amess was "exited" from the programme after he convinced a case worker he did not pose a danger. But in the case of Axel Rudakubana who carried out the Southport murders, three referrals to Prevent led to no action being taken because, despite an obsession with mass killings, he was assessed to not subscribe to one particular ideology. The author of this report is clear that was the wrong decision. The nature of terrorism has changed, he says. It's harder to tell if someone has a terrorist ideology or something else. However, he warns the authorities should stop "fussing about" that - and instead put the safety of the public first. Chris Walker, representing the three bereaved families in the Southport Inquiry, said: "We note the findings of the report pointing to the failings of Prevent in the Southport case, in particular that referrals to other agencies who could have intervened with the defendant were not followed through with. Given the disturbing and violent behaviour exhibited, opportunities to intervene were then lost. "We now turn to the inquiry in establishing the key decisions that were made in this case, who made them and how, if they had not been made, would the results have been different. "We have been clear from the start of the Inquiry process that, as representatives of the bereaved families, real change needs to come in order to prevent other families going through what my clients face." Islamic State (ISIS) supporter Ali was referred to Prevent years before he stabbed Conservative MP Sir David Amess to death during a constituency surgery at a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea in October 2021. His case had been closed five years before, after just one meeting for coffee at a McDonald's to deal with his interpretation of "haram" (forbidden under Islamic law), as well as texts and calls with an "intervention provider". Despite Prevent policy and guidance at the time being "mostly followed", his case was "exited too quickly", security minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons in January. Lord Anderson said lessons "must continue to be learned" from the failure to stop both killers. "Prevent failed to provide what might have helped them. Whether different decisions might have spared their victims will never be known: both attacks came years later, and many imponderables intervened," he said. "But wrong decisions were taken; more should have been done; and from these failures, lessons must continue to be learned." Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to "immediately act" on Lord Anderson's findings. She said in a written statement that officials would clarify Prevent thresholds in guidance for frontline workers, who have a duty to refer individuals to Prevent, so they understand that those fascinated with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks should be referred to the counter-terror programme. This work would be completed by the end of September, Ms Cooper added. Sir David's family were left "deeply upset" and "frankly offended" by the way Lord Anderson's report had been handled by the Home Office, said Radd Seiger, the adviser and spokesman for the family. He said the family were given "next to no notice" of the timing or advance sight of the report published on Wednesday, but received a "dismissive" letter from the home secretary, which he said was designed to "protect the government following its failings" and not support them.
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan warns of US tariffs after trade deal reached: monthly report
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government on Tuesday warned of downside risks to the Japanese economy stemming from U.S. tariffs in its first monthly report after Japan struck a trade deal with the United States that set a tariff rate lower than initially threatened. The government still maintained its overall view that the domestic economy is recovering moderately in its economic report for July, citing a pickup in consumer spending and improvement in employment and income conditions. The report said it was positive that the deal removed "uncertainty" for the economic outlook but added that the impact of U.S. tariffs, which are still higher than those before U.S. President Donald Trump took office, has been observed "in some areas." Export volumes of autos for the United States have remained nearly flat in recent months compared with a year earlier but Japanese automakers have cut prices of vehicles for the U.S. market or boosted shipments of low-price products. Such efforts to mitigate the impact of an increased tariff of 27.5 percent imposed on U.S-bound cars in April are squeezing their profitability. Japan and the United States agreed on 15 percent tariffs on cars and other products last week in Washington. Trump said earlier in the month that the world's biggest economy would impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Japan starting Aug. 1 under "reciprocal" tariffs. The assessment of overall exports was revised down to "almost flat" from "showing movements of picking up," citing a pause in machinery shipments to other Asian countries, the Cabinet Office said. The government said separately the same day in its annual white paper that Japan is at a "critical juncture" over whether it can shift to growth driven by wage increases. Japanese companies offered the highest pay increases in decades last year and agreed on similar wage growth this year but risks from the U.S. tariffs and inflation could hinder the economy from getting on a steady growth path. The paper said the U.S trade policy could affect the broader Japanese economy, possibly undermining corporate hiring and capital spending and private consumption. "It is important to continue careful analysis of the effects of tariff measures and to take every possible step to minimize their impact on domestic industries and the economy," the paper said.
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- South Wales Guardian
Public to be assured in emergency alert drill in September
Millions of devices will vibrate and make a siren sound for around 10 seconds as they receive the text of fewer than 100 words at around 3pm on September 7. It will assure the public that they 'do not need to take any action' and include a message in both English and Welsh. The Government has been carrying out a public awareness campaign to ensure people know when the test is taking place, including those facing domestic abuse who may have hidden phones. On Monday, the Cabinet Office said the text message will include both English and Welsh and be sent to mobile phones on 4G and 5G networks in the UK. It will read: 'This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby. 'You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. 'Find simple and effective advice on how to prepare for emergencies at 'Visit for more information or to view this message in Welsh. Ewch i am ragor o wybodaeth neu i weld y neges hon yn y Gymraeg.' Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: 'Just like the fire alarm in your house, it's important we test this system so that we know it will work if we need it. 'The alerts have the potential to save lives.' Since the first national test of the system in April 2023, five alerts have been sent, including during major storms such as Storm Eowyn in January when lives were at risk. Other activations took place when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered in Plymouth, as well as during flash floods in Cumbria and Leicestershire. Some MPs have called on ministers to use different modes of communication for the alert in order to ensure it reaches people who do not have access to a phone. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Sarah Olney has suggested the Government follows Scandinavian examples where the public have been handed pamphlets about preparing for emergencies.
