Inside Blue Earth Summit: Q&A with Co-Founder Linley Lewis

As we approach Blue Earth Summit 2024, we sat down with co-founder Linley Lewis to discuss his role as COO and the vision behind Blue Earth. From managing logistics to ensuring a top-tier experience for attendees, Linley is at the heart of making sure Blue Earth Summit delivers real value. In this Q&A, Linley shares insights into what makes Blue Earth Summit unique, how it balances purpose and practicality, and how it’s evolving as it moves to London.

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Q1: What’s your role within the event?

I’m one of the three founders, and my focus is on the operations. Officially, my title is COO, and what that means is I’m basically pulling together all the different components from production, what the event looks like on the ground, what different markets come into the event, who the attendees are, how they’re going to get value out of being there, and what the partners are doing and how they’re activating, is our speaker line-up gender-equal and diverse, etc.

My focus is very much on the overall experience, everything from what the food and drink is to how that fits into the ethos of the event. For me, it’s a really exciting role because it’s very physical and tangible. The only way Blue Earth is going to have longevity in the market is if it offers something different and has a unique proposition within the landscape. But that’s not enough, it also has to deliver attendees a tangible return on their time and investment.

People are committing three days of their time and paying at different price points, so the event needs to serve a functional purpose. We want people to leave not just with inspiration, but with contracts, partnerships, new ideas—things that are going to change their landscape for the next 12 months. My role is to oversee all of that from the ground up.

Q2: What’s unique about the event?

We like to say that we’re “not another boring climate event.” And that’s not to say climate events are boring—although some can be. What we’re trying to do is bring inspiration back into the sector, which I think has sometimes been lost. On one side, you have activists who can make the space feel daunting and scary. On the other side, you have corporate ESG, carbon, and industry frameworks that often just feel like another cost centre for businesses, with no real inspiration behind it.

What we’re trying to do is strip away the complications and focus on why businesses need to adjust. The inspiration behind it is simple: protecting the planet and the environment we love to live and play in. We’re inspired by the outdoors, and that’s always been our focus. Our goal is to give businesses a tangible return while keeping the inspiration alive throughout the event.

Events are a show—we’re selling tickets to something that people want to enjoy. They want to learn, be inspired, and make connections. So we bring together startups, investors, new ideas, philanthropists, brands, and charities. It’s a complete ecosystem of people, along with inspiring speakers and media. It’s a melting pot of industry leaders, all engaging and connecting.

We also ensure open access with our annual bursary pass, bringing in younger people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to keep that inspiration vertical throughout the event.

We do things differently in a tangible way too. For example, day three of our event has always been unique. We focus on the outdoors, with activities like surfing in past years. This year, we’re doing freediving, breathwork, cold water swimming, running, walking, and doing yoga. It’s a different feeling—people say the event feels very “real.” There’s an earthiness and positivity to it, even though we’re tackling one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Our goal is to create a positive environment that makes people feel inspired to solve problems, not just overwhelmed by them. If we can keep doing that, we’ll always have a unique position in a busy event marketplace.

As an event organiser and COO, we’re constantly looking at what makes us different. It’s a competitive space. People have limited time and resources, so if we’re going to put an event on, it has to deliver. It has to be unique and special—something people want to attend and feel they need to attend.

Q3: Is Blue Earth just panel discussions?

At Blue Earth, talks are just one part of the event. They’re a very important part, and they do draw people in, but the real focus of the event is the marketplace within it. We’re going to have 80 different exhibitors, and we anticipate 30,000 meetings. The exhibition floor is buzzing with activity—a thriving meeting area where startups meet investors, investors meet each other, charities meet brands and philanthropists, and new ideas connect with the marketplace. Service agencies are also there to catch up with clients or find new ones.

That marketplace is the heartbeat of the event. We don’t measure success by the forwardness of the talks, although those are important. What we measure is the action that comes from the event. For us, it’s all about forging connections and partnerships. How much investment has gone into startups? How many companies are now collaborating because of Blue Earth? How many charities are working with brands, getting the funding they need to do their work? The more connections we can bring together, the more valuable the event becomes. The impact of Blue Earth goes far beyond the three days—it rolls out across the year and has a lasting impact across industries.

Q4: A lot of people think it’s an ocean event.

When we came up with the idea for Blue Earth, we wanted to create an event that brought together startups, investors, adventurers, mavericks, and influential people. As founders, we came from an ocean background—we were involved in the surfing industry, surfing media, and action sports. The issues surrounding the ocean were very personal to us. But from the beginning, we always wanted to create an event that was more than just ocean-focused.

The ocean is obviously a huge part of the earth, but the land is just as crucial, as are the people on it. We didn’t want to create an event that isolated or focused too narrowly on one area, which is why we came up with the name Blue Earth—it’s meant to be all-encompassing. The colour blue represents the water that surrounds us; if you look at a photo of the globe, it’s mostly blue. But the earth is equally key, and it needed to be at the heart of the event.

When you break down the sectors of the event, oceans actually represent only about 10% of the content. It’s an important part and very personal to us, and we naturally have a lot of connections in that space. But the event is far more than that—it’s all-encompassing. We tackle issues that affect the entire planet and society, not just the oceans.

Q5: How did the idea come about?

As I mentioned before, I’m one of the three founders of the event. Our professional backgrounds were independently interspersed in media, experiences, and fundraising. We’d often look at events we enjoyed attending but felt there wasn’t really an event in our industry that truly drove us to engage. Events were often too specific to a particular industry, or they were large expos or conferences that weren’t very fun or engaging, and we found it hard to connect with people in meaningful ways.

Through our work with startups, we started engaging with more and more companies that had environmental agendas as they built their brands and rolled out solutions. We realised there wasn’t an engaging event platform for discussing the most important issues of our time—environmental and social challenges, and how business is growing and evolving to deliver the solution.

That’s where the idea came from: to create an event that tackled environmental and social issues in an inspiring way, while also helping people connect over things they love.

The event came together as a collection of all our different learnings and industry experiences. Now, as we head into our fourth year, it’s been an exciting journey. Year one was about getting the concept in place with a two-day event. In year two, we saw significant growth and participation extending to 3 days. Year three allowed us to really focus on why people were coming to the event, to go deeper into the content and ensure people got real value out of attending. And now in year four, we’re getting ready to launch in London, which feels like a massive step in the evolution of Blue Earth.

Q6: People have commented that they love the realness of the event. Do you think that this will be lost now that it’s in London?

It’s amazing when you mention that you’re moving to London. People who aren’t in London sometimes imagine it as this city where everyone’s walking around in suits and briefcases, but London isn’t like that at all. It’s an incredibly real city with a huge startup community. It’s the capital, where the scale of startups, innovation, investment, environmentalism, and activism is just bigger. London acts as a magnet and attracts more people because of that scale.

Bristol was an amazing launch pad for us. It connected us to the Southwest, which we felt was a bit neglected in terms of events. But we’ve outgrown the venue there, and the demand from the market meant we needed more space. That’s why we’re moving to London this year.

That doesn’t mean we’re losing our ethos. We’re still getting people active, and there’s just a number of small things within the event that maintain the vibe e.g. we’re still going to have things like the fire pit in the middle of the event, cooking food over the fire. We’re collaborating with larger organisations like Chef’s Manifesto and Beans is How, but the core.

We haven’t just packed the event full of large corporations. Yes, they’ll be there, but so will our charity partners, and others like the Soil Association, the Ocean Surf Community, and a huge range of organisations. That’s what gives the event its realness, different sectors coming together, creating conversations and connections that they might not have expected.

We’ve really focused on structuring the event to ensure people from different walks of life are there, all getting something out of it. The event wouldn’t work if it were only full of bursary applicants or just startups. Bursary applicants need companies to talk to, startups need investors and larger companies to sell into. We’ve always focused on having a mix, and that’s what gives the event its realness.

Q7: What parts of the event do you love?

I live and breathe this event now—it’s my core focus. For 12 months of the year, I’m concentrating on how it’s going to work, pulling everything together, thinking about the ideas, the impact, and the connections. But there’s also the practical side—how does the money stack up? Do we have the right partners, the right ticket holders, and all the other elements that make the event a success?

For me, the event is the crescendo of all these different parts coming together. As the campaign builds momentum, you start to see every avenue light up. The excitement grows on LinkedIn, people start talking about it, sharing ideas, and then we get all sorts of people reaching out to get involved. We love being open-minded to new collaborations because it’s so exciting.

When the live event finally happens after all that build-up, it’s just an incredible experience. It all comes down to those three days of action. I have to make sure the tangible, less glamorous things are working—are there enough food vendors? Are the toilets clean? Is the attendee flow smooth? Are there any blockages?

Then there’s the content—are people inspired by what they’re hearing? Can they hear the stage properly? Is there any background noise? In the marketplace, I’m checking if people are meeting who they want to meet, if the meetings are happening, if people can use the app to forge connections. Then there’s the evening events—how’s the socialising going? Is it flowing?

As an event founder, seeing all these different elements come together is just such a buzz. Of course, things can go wrong, but it’s all about how you handle it. Bringing the team together to solve problems efficiently is key, and we’re good at solving issues quickly.

What I love most is when everything starts working—when you get into your groove and your flow. The events industry is challenging because so much rides on one moment, but the beauty and excitement come from that one moment creating ripples across sectors, industries, and momentum. Being at the heart of that is exhilarating and what keeps me coming back. There’s nothing more thrilling than delivering a live event.

Q8: How does Blue Earth Summit stack up sustainably for the live event?

Sustainability is something that’s really built into the DNA of Blue Earth Summit, it’s how we operate naturally. When you think about making an event sustainable, there are three main areas that we focus on: materials, transport, and food and drink. These are the core factors that have the biggest impact on an event’s footprint.

Materials:

The materials you use at an event are often the biggest source of waste, and we’ve always made a big effort to minimise single-use items. For example, most of our signage is printed on cardboard, which can be easily recycled, but we go a step further by reusing much of it. In fact, we’ve designed the exhibition stands and signage to be completely reusable.

This year, we’re partnering with Used Creative, an organisation that repurposes materials from retail spaces and other events. Imagine a beautiful shop display that only has a lifespan of three months—what happens to it after? We bring these materials into our event, giving them a second life, and then pass them on for reuse in other spaces. It’s all part of creating a circular economy within the event industry, and it’s something we’re really proud of.

Transport:

Transport is often the single largest contributor to an event’s carbon footprint. In fact, studies show that up to 70% of an event’s emissions come from how attendees get to the venue. By hosting the event in Woolwich, which is well connected by public transport, we’ll be minimising car travel significantly. We’ve partnered with Trainline to encourage attendees to use trains rather than cars, which significantly reduces emissions. Not only does Woolwich offer great accessibility, but public transport also naturally helps us lower the event’s environmental impact.

We also encourage attendees to carpool where necessary and ensure that transportation options are communicated clearly so people know the most eco-friendly way to attend.

Food and Drink:

Food and drink choices play a huge role in sustainability. For example, serving plant-based meals can reduce an event’s carbon footprint by as much as 50% compared to a traditional meat-heavy menu. At Blue Earth Summit, we’ve committed to serving only plant-based, meat-free food. This helps us reduce emissions and is more in line with the values we want to promote at the event.

Additionally, we’re using Nopla seaweed-based foodware this year, which is fully biodegradable and reduces reliance on plastics. We also run a reusable cup system run by circular co to minimise waste further. In fact, by switching to reusable cups and cutlery, we’re able to eliminate thousands of single-use plastic items that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Positive Investment:

Whilst we’re focusing hard on reducing our impact on the environment as much as possible, you can’t remove everything i.e. you will always end up with some residual carbon footprint, and each year we have partnered with ethical organisations such as Earthly to make nature-positive investments on our behalf, increasing nature and biodiversity to offset the event’s carbon footprint.

Thanks for Reading!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about Blue Earth Summit and what makes this event so unique. Want to dive deeper? Visit our website to learn more about the upcoming summit and explore our programme