The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) has confirmed that Tom Heap will be the keynote speaker for Day 2 of the Resourcing the Future conference.

Later this month, broadcaster and freelance journalist Heap will present the presentation to an audience of professionals in the waste and resource management industries.

Heap is known for creating and presenting BBC Radio’s flagship climate change podcast, ’39 Ways to Save the Planet’, which was produced in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society and explores potential ways to relieve stress from global warming. Heap has also directed several BBC Panorama documentaries on food, energy and the environment, and has also hosted BBC Radio 4’s regular environmental series, “Costing the Earth”.

Beyond announcing Heap as a speaker, CIWM also revealed that this year’s conference will be free for all delegates. The institute says it is keen to ensure that “financial pressures do not hamper progress towards a world beyond waste” and that removing the conference tax barrier should ensure equal access to sharing collective knowledge and expertise that is “essential to achieving global goals and implementing vital initiatives”. CIWM has confirmed that those who have already paid will be reimbursed.

The CIWM also confirmed that the Resourcing the Future conference will be held this year as a hybrid event, meaning that delegates can choose to attend in person or register online. The exhibit will explore how the role of the waste and resource management sectors has shifted from ‘essential service’ to ‘critical solution’ in delivering circularity and net-zero – it will cross the environmental and policy changes that impact the industry, outlining the roadmap to a ‘world beyond waste’.

The Resourcing the Future conference will take place October 20-21 at One Great George Street, London.

Tom Heap said of the main presentation: “I look forward to sharing some of the insights gained from creating ’39 Ways’ and discussing how the waste and resource management industry can be growing. more proactive in decarbonizing the planet. I also want to tell the public why I have high hopes for the environment and why I think a number of factors have aligned to give the potential for real change as we recover from the pandemic and we are heading towards COP 26 later in the year. “

Sarah Poulter, CEO of CIWM, commented: “As a professional non-profit organization, we must strike a balance between generating funds from activities and investing in valuable initiatives to support members and achieve our goal. RTF, with its program focused on change, will add essential value to members and our industry in these uncertain and difficult times, and contribute to our goal of moving the world beyond waste. We are therefore investing to make the RTF accessible to all.