The festival is once again being split into two with a ‘mini-fest’ taking place this month followed by its usual two week event in September.

Stuart Clarke, festival director of the Leeds Digital Festival, said: “We’re delighted to be returning for our seventh year and helping to highlight some of the incredible talent and innovation we have in the Leeds City Region, focusing on sustainability and the fight against climate change.

"Our ‘mini-fest’ will feature 14 events and we’ll be back in September where we expect over 300 events, across all aspects of tech, from fintech to healthtech to data, coding, careers and much more.

“Leeds Digital Festival has become the largest tech event in the UK and its open platform nature means that everyone is invited to take part.

“We’ve become increasingly international in recent years and will be welcoming a number of international visitors in September.”

Events include Leeds-based Crisp discussing how much disinformation about climate change can be found online and what people can do about it.

The Data City will be looking at the journey to a Net Zero economy and the ‘hard truths’ needed to get there while Infinity Works will be discussing what the tech sector can do to make a difference for the sustainability agenda.

Will Saunders, founder and creative director of Leeds-based Good Will Studios, is hosting an event on April 25 talking about branding sustainable tech companies.

Mr Saunders said: “In a world where every business is branding themselves as ethical and sustainable, I think it’s more important than ever to help those who are genuinely doing something good to stand out and be heard.”

Technology underpins society, says Mr Saunders, and there is a strong business case for taking a more sustainable approach.

He added: “Technology and innovation can be an incredible thing to uplift society and really improve our lives. But it can come with a cost, and that cost is usually at the expense of the natural world and biodiversity.

“There is a strong business case for sustainability, as most people want to buy the greener option and they genuinely care about the environment. Not to mention that people want to work at companies that are forward thinking, ethical, and as sustainable as possible – sustainable tech brands can attract top talent.

“Market trends suggest that those who do not bake sustainability and environmental considerations into their products or business are at greater risk of being left behind.

“So being sustainable is not only good for people and the planet, it can be profitable too.”

An international reach

The appeal of Leeds Digital Festival has grown beyond the region, attracting an international audience in recent years. Before the main part of the festival in September, a delegation from the festival will be visiting Estonia.

Stuart Clarke said the delegation will be meeting a number of start-ups, visiting the Latitude59 tech event in May.

The festival has “built a close relationship over the years” with Estonia, he added.

Leeds Digital Festival will run from April 25 to 27 and September 19 to 30. For more information visit: https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/events/

Leeds Digital Festival is back next week with a focus on innovation in the sustainable tech sector