The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Multisectoral Business Delegation focusing on “Net Zero” from Kolkata to the United Kingdom from 6th May to 9th May 2024. The delegation had B2B meetings in London, Birmingham and Glasgow. This was a follow up trip after the visit of the Delegation from the UK to The Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in November 2023, for which the Country Session was coordinated by BCC&I, and also the visit by a high-level delegation from the UK to Kolkata to exchange knowledge on clean technologies, policies and sectoral skill developments attending a Session on “Net Zero Pathway for States and Businesses” in March 2023 which was organised by BCC&I in association with The British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata.

The constituents of this delegation were decision makers and sectoral industry captains from Energy, Education, Legal, Water, Agri/Horticulture & Fertilizers, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Technology amongst others. The delegation consisted of 14 members. The Department of Business and Trade, Government of UK and The British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata assisted to organize the B2B meetings in London and Glasgow. The list of Indian Delegates is as given below :

The delegation arrived in London in the afternoon of 6th May 2024. The delegation formally commenced from 7th May 2024 with a programme on “Net Zero – UK & India Collaborations” in London at Hilton London Kensington followed by B2B meetings in the sidelines. The opening session of the programme was graced by Mr. Gautam Ray, President, BCC&I and President- Corporate, RPSG & Mr. Abhijit Roy, MD and CEO Berger Paints India Ltd. and Senior Vice President, BCC&I; followed by a Special Address on Opportunities of UK-India Collaborations by Mr. Sourav Niyogi, Trustee, Bengal Heritage Foundation and Senior Partner, IBM.

A panel discussion was set up on “Roadmap to Net Zero” featuring, Mr. Ian Sutherland, CFO and Head of Net Zero, Tide, Mr. Sthitadhee Sarkar, Transmission Control Delivery Manager, National Grid & Mr. Suranjan Som, Vice President, Hitachi Digital. The panel discussion was moderated by, Mr. Jayanta Kumar Chakraborty, Consultant, Indofil Industries Limited.

A session was organized for the Delegation Members to introduce their businesses to the Members of London Chamber of Commerce & Industry, UK India Business Council & Bengal Heritage Foundation and the B2B interactions followed thereafter, post programme.

President Mr. Gautam Ray, paid homage to Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore on his birth Anniversary at his bust installed at Gordon Square in London. He also met the Chairperson, Founder and Members of The Tagore Centre, UK on the occassion of Rabindra Jayanti.

The delegation also visited Aston University in Birmingham on 8th May 2024 for a meeting with Dr. Prasanta Dey, Professor, Aston University, Professor Pawan Budhwar, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor International, Aston University, Birmingham, UK & Dr. Krishna Chaitanya Balthu, Lecturer, Aston Business School. The discussions mainly focused on Industry Academia collaboration opportunities in Sustainability, Circular Economy and related areas.

On 9th May 2024, the delegation travelled to Glasgow for the concluding set of B2B Meetings of the Business Delegation. These meetings were held from morning to the afternoon, at Radisson Blu, Glasgow. This commenced with the meeting with Ms. Seona Shand, International Trade Director, Scottish Chambers of Commerce in Glasgow for discussing possibilities of business collaborations. 

Subsequently, the Delegation members engaged in vibrant and engaging B2B discussions with the business fraternity in Scotland. 
The Business Delegation to the United Kingdom formally concluded in the evening of 9th May 2024 in Glasgow after the B2B meetings.