A tidal lagoon for the Severn, fume-free hydrogen flight, growing grass for human consumption and off-grid water recycling for our homes are high on Ecotricity boss Dale Vince's list for Keir Starmer's government to back – if he can get the Prime Minister to listen.

Having donated £5m to Labour's coffers since Sir Keir became the party's leader, the fiscal help from the vegan campaigner and owner of Nailsworth's world-famous Forest Green Rovers may well have earned the Stroud businessman a place at Labour's informal policy table.

But just in case it hasn't, Mr Vince set out his vision for how Labour can best avert climate crisis at a fringe event at the party's Liverpool conference last night.

The Cow in the Room saw Mr Vince, who is campaigning to end animal farming, face the press for a robust Q&A, answering questions as part of Labour's sustainable growth, social justice and environmental progress (SERA) campaign.

Dozens of Labour MPs are signed up to the campaign's aims, but as yet none of the three Gloucestershire newcomers are in on the plan. And while SERA might sounds very radical and new, it's actually been up and running since 1973 and is the only environmental group affiliated to Labour. Now that Labour is in government, the group says its aim is to help "deliver their mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower".

Mr Vince spoke about a variety of ways in which we can take action as individuals to mitigate climate change and praised the government for "stepping out of the way" by taking the brakes off onshore wind development while also immediately reversing the previous government's plans to permit a new coal mine in Cumbria.

He also hit out at the existing "outdated" rule which insists that school dinners include meat and dairy products for at least three days per week. The use of animals in agriculture is now the biggest driver of climate crisis, he said, telling the audience that the Nailsworth-based Devil's Kitchen business within his Green Britain Group portfolio now supplies nutritionally balanced vegan meals to one in four of the UK's primary schools.

He said: "There are schools which want to go further. They don't want meat and dairy on the menu perhaps every day of the week, or even at all. But it is the law of the land. I am hoping to have a conversation with the new government to encourage them to change the law."

Rejecting an assertion that he was against farmers, he said he wanted to see the industry being "reborn", adding: "Theyhave to be part of the move to net zero, they have to move away from animal agriculture, we know that the science tells us that - and they already grow grass to feed to animals."

Mr Vince also revealed progress on the development of specific grass culture at Ecotricity which enables a "grass to gas" energy stream that can also incorporate protein production during the process for the development of a cruelty-free food source. For farmers, he said, signing up to such a production scheme would be less risky than the associated risks of animal farming, while the increased efficiency of the scheme would free land in less suitable areas for rewilding.

Producing protein directly for human consumption, rather than via the 10% yield in animal faming, was a "win win", he said, and his technicians were now working to develop a grass-based burger which, as an ironic riposte to the popular footballing taunts that "you can't eat grass", could soon be put on the menu at Forest Green Rovers for visiting fans.

Tidal energy production  was also discussed. Back in 2018 when a government select committee was reviewing the Swansea Bay todal lagoon project, Ecotricity revealed two alternative visions to such schemes, and the idea hasn't gone away: at last night's conference Mr Vince indicated that Ecotricity has been working on a design for an offshore lagoon - which was more productive than coastal schemes because it captured energy through water flow both when the tide comes in and by release of the water captured, in the opposite direction, when the tide is low.

Mr Vince also touched upon design prototypes he has in development for a two metre square submerged water processing unit which can be either retrofitted to existing homes of added to new-build home spec; the unit would take in all water sources from domestic use and filtrate it to return potable water to the house.

And such ideas are not, of course, a case of taking the proverbial pee: as already up and running at Forest Green Rover's Nailsworth home stadium, urine from away fans is captured, processed and used to keep the pitch in tip-top form. Results are impressive: so far this season, the team is unbeaten.