Your City, Your Say - Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is increasingly shaping the rules for doing business, from how you operate and who you supply, to the contracts you win and the costs you carry.

For businesses in Doncaster, the challenge is not just understanding the direction of travel, but what it means in practice. How local policy, planning decisions, infrastructure and investment will affect your day to day operations and future growth.

Join us for a straight talking, interactive session with senior leaders from the City of Doncaster Council, focused on the practical realities of this agenda and where it is heading locally.

We will explore how environmental sustainability is being translated into local decision making, how it connects with regional partners including South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, and what businesses need to be aware of now.

As with all Your City, Your Say events, this is your opportunity to ask questions, challenge thinking, and make sure business voices are shaping the city’s approach.

What to expect

🫂 Make the right connections
Engage directly with council teams and businesses facing similar pressures and opportunities.

🌟 Hear what is really coming
From policy shifts and planning changes to infrastructure investment and future pipelines.

🎗️ Get practical insight
Understand the support available, how expectations are changing, and where the commercial opportunities lie.

The conversation

Your City, Your Say: Environmental Sustainability in Doncaster

From procurement requirements and planning policy to infrastructure, energy and supply chains, this agenda is already influencing how businesses operate, invest and grow.

This session will cut through the noise and focus on what matters:

• What support is available to help your business adapt and manage costs
• How planning, procurement and local policy decisions could impact your operations
• Where major projects and investment will create new opportunities
• How supply chains and expectations are changing and how to stay competitive
• Where the real challenges and trade offs sit locally

Meet your hosts

Gemma Peebles CEO & Principal, Harrison College

Gemma Peebles is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Harrison College, a pioneering post 16 business and enterprise college in Doncaster dedicated to empowering young people, particularly those with high functioning autism and additional needs. With over a decade of experience in post 16 education, Gemma has led the organisation to become a nationally recognised model for inclusive, employer led education. Establishing partnerships with more than 200 businesses, she is known for championing inclusion and challenging stereotypes around neurodiversity. Gemma also serves as a Non Executive Director for the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, as well as her appearance as a TEDx speaker 

 

Dan Fell MBE Chief Executive, Doncaster Chamber

Dan Fell MBE is Chief Executive Officer of Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, where he has spent nearly two decades promoting inclusive economic growth across Doncaster and South Yorkshire, including ten years as CEO. He has led key achievements such as City Status, Doncaster UTC, and advocacy for Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Under his leadership, the Chamber became Chamber of the Year in 2019 and launched a ten year manifesto for prosperity. Dan also holds wider civic roles, including Governor of DN Colleges Group, Co-Chair of the Education and Skills Board, and Chair of the Mayor’s Business Advisory Board and partnerships work.





Our Panel

Mayor Ros Jones Mayor of Doncaster

Ros Jones is the directly elected Mayor of City of Doncaster Council, first chosen in 2013 and re-elected for a fourth term in 2025, a rare achievement that underlines the trust she continues to hold among local people. A former public-sector accountant and senior manager, she spent more than 30 years working in local services before entering politics. Since becoming mayor, she has overseen a turnaround of the council, leading efforts to stabilise finances, deliver investment and revitalise the borough. A strong advocate for jobs, apprenticeships, housing and community services, Ros seeks to bring sustainable growth and opportunity to Doncaster, driven by a belief that the town’s working-class roots and shared history can be a foundation for progress.


Damian Allen Chief Executive, City of Doncaster Council

Damian holds the position of Chief Executive at the City of Doncaster Council. Prior to this, he held the Council’s statutory Chief Officer role for Children (DCS) and Adults(DASS). Damian has pioneered designing and developing regenerative approachesacross ‘Team Doncaster’. This resulted in the Mayor’s publication of her 10 year borough strategy ‘Doncaster Delivering Together’ in 2021, with its mission of ‘Thriving People, Places and Planet’. Damian’s focus is on supporting the Mayor’s ‘Great 8 Priorities, which includes, driving investment, making Doncaster the best place to do business, invest and create good jobs, developing the skills to thrive in life and work, and building transport and digital connections fit for the future.

Richard Smith Head of Environmental Sustainability for City of Doncaster Council

Head of Environmental Sustainability for City of Doncaster Council. Richard Leads the design, coordination, and delivery of the Council’s regulatory and non-regulatory environmental sustainability services (built and natural environment), including energy transition, electrification of transport, buildings and housing retrofit, heat networks, woodland creation, development of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation, countryside services, allotments, and environmental education. Creating scalable opportunities to support economic growth, reducing the cost of living, improved health and wellbeing, and nature recovery in Doncaster.




Who should attend 

Business owners, senior leaders and decision makers who want to understand the commercial impact of environmental sustainability. This is particularly relevant for those in supply chains, infrastructure, construction, manufacturing and professional services, alongside partners involved in policy, planning and economic development.
 

Marketplace: Connect with council teams on the day

• Business Doncaster
• Skills and Education
• Procurement
• Planning and Building Control
• Business Rates