How to develop robust and sustainable business cases

Event summary

In collaboration with City Science and the Greater South-East Net Zero Hub — funded by Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme and DESNZ’s Net Zero Accelerator Programme, respectively — CIPFA has developed a series of three one-hour workshop webinars designed to help finance officers build their skills and knowledge in delivering Net Zero objectives.

Date

19 November 2025
Starts: 13:00
Ends: 14:00

Location

online

Standard price

£0.00 excl VAT

Book now

About this event

The first session will focus on developing a sustainable business case, exploring best practices, addressing key challenges, and using tools that support investment decisions aligned with Net Zero targets.

Who should attend?

This event is aimed at CFOs, Deputy CFOs, Finance Leaders across the UK public sector.

How will you benefit from attending?

Key learning outcomes include:

understand the challenges of developing a sustainable business case and how to address them
learn how to unlock private capital for Net Zero by understanding key barriers to working with the private sector
explore how to incorporate wider social returns within the Green Book process and establish consistent methods for evaluating projects — including financial, financial with co-benefits, and place-based economic growth approaches
gain practical guidance on collaborating with internal climate teams to develop strong, credible business cases while streamlining finance officer input

CPD hours

This carries one CPD hour.

Topics

Capacity building
/ Capital finance
/ Leadership
/ Local government
/ Performance improvement and policy
/ Sustainability

Speaker - Amit Verma, Sustainability Policy Manager, CIPFA

Amit is a Chemical Process Engineer with over fifteen years of experience in technical and policy management. He has worked across diverse industry sectors including Oil and Gas, Food and Drinks, Construction and Renewables in technical leadership positions delivering complex projects worldwide. Currently, Amit is leading Sustainability function of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) as Sustainability Policy Manager within the Policy and Technical team. His role involves developing a comprehensive carbon emissions reduction strategy for CIPFA to meet its Net Zero ambitions, working with diverse stakeholders for sustainability standards developments and implementation, responding to technical consultations, developing CIPFA thought leadership activities and projects both within the UK and internationally.

Speaker - Laurence Oakes-Ash

Laurence is a seasoned finance professional with over 25 years of experience and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. His career spans a broad range of roles, from managing one of the UK’s largest renewable energy investors to leading financial operations within local authorities. He founded City Science with the vision of helping Local Authorities accelerate their journey to net zero. City Science has been commissioned by Innovate UK to provide Finance and Investment technical support to places participating in the Net Zero Living programme, helping them identify and address the non-technological barriers to achieving net zero.