I, like James Byrne, am a new Industry Insider for the UK end of GLD (hello GLDers!). After many many months of reading, investigating and ‘testing of water’ I decided to begin my career in the cleantech sector by starting a market research & analysis business around 6 months ago. Although relatively new to the sector, I have found the UK cleantech space to be full of ambitious and passionate people; though it is fair to say I’ve found myself in the minority.

What has also struck me is the diversity of philosophies on where the cleantech industry could or (for the more affirmative) should be going. A recent idea I was discussing with someone focused on the premise that the industry should no longer be called cleantech, but solely tech. A similar concept to our current 1 pence coin being initially called a ‘new-pence’ until the new was dropped soon after its inception. The fact that these questions are being discussed at the moment is what really draws me to this industry; especially in the UK where over the next decade there will be a huge cultural shift as cleantech no longer need be called cleantech (as it is the norm). At least I hope that this is the case.

Starting a career in the cleantech industry was daunting and most of all confusing. With new deals, industry developments and energy policy changing on an almost daily basis, it pays to have a list of useful cleantech resources at your disposal, in the drop of a hat. So what are those all-important top five useful UK cleantech resources? Well here is a list of the ones that I have found useful whilst starting a cleantech career out here in the UK:

• Policy: The Carbon Trust, DECC and Ofgem websites are an extensive source for reading up on energy policies and knowing about the latest consultations

• Investment: Of the many available resources I have found NewNet’s daily email newsletter invaluable for the latest investment deals and general company developments

• Installers: YouGen have a great (and award winning) website that lists renewable energy suppliers and installers with ratings and recommendations. They also have a bunch of ‘Energy Experts’ who blog and are able to answer questions

• Thinkers: George Monbiot and Jeremy Leggett are active bloggers, writers and activists in the cleantech space, though some of their material is quite provocative – a good thing, no?

• Finally I wanted to put in a more informal resource. The Guardian newspaper’s online Environment section is a diverse collection of news, thoughts and ideas

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About George Phillips

George is a cleantech analyst and distributed energy campaigner. George launched the consulting venture IndREcon in 2010, reviewing cleantech innovation business plans before joining Orion Innovations, a London based specialist strategy consultancy firm focusing on innovations in emergent sectors, primarily Smartclean industries. George is originally from London, but lived in North America and Europe for almost 10 years. He is currently developing GLD in London UK. @gphillipsUK @GLD_UK *Views expressed are my own *

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Tags: cleantech, cleantech resources, New Industry Insider, UK