SPONSORED BY HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS
NET ZERO AWARD
Education Training Collective deputy CEO Jason Faulkner( left) received the Net Zero Award from Mark Ashall, representing Holiday Inn Express and Station Suites.
WINNER
THE EDUCATION TRAINING COLLECTIVE( Etc.)
A college group boss feels its commitment to“ young people and the future” helped clinch it the Net Zero prize at the Tees Business Awards 2025.
Committed to meeting the needs of its communities, the Education Training Collective( Etc.) comprises Bede Sixth Form College, Innersummit, NETA Training, Redcar and Cleveland College, Stockton Riverside College and The Skills Academy.
And CEO Grant Glendinning says that the“ reach” of the Tees Valley, combined with its own initiatives, will prove crucial in the move towards net zero.
He said:“ It’ s really nice to win this award in recognition of the hard work that’ s being put down by the college and the whole group.
“ It’ s our focus on young people and the future. You can adjust your business to be net zero because there’ s a mandate to do that, but we’ re committed to making sure our young people have the qualifications, resource and facilities through programmes such as BP Scholars and the Net Zero Industry Scholarship – it’ s really exciting.
“ And it’ s about the reach of the Tees Valley – not just focusing on Redcar or Middlesbrough where plants are going to be built. It’ s about social mobility to ensure everyone has the opportunity to work on these huge-value jobs in the future.
“ Young people are passionate about net zero in terms of their own recycling and the basics. But in terms of the wider net zero piece, what does that mean in terms of real job opportunities?
“ They’ re not all clean and pristine jobs – welders, platers and the like still have to put the shifts in and get dirty. So, I think the educational piece we’ ve got is to open minds that you can stay local and work local with high-value jobs.”
Initiatives pioneered by the Etc. have included a Clean Energy Education Hub at Redcar and 40 bp-backed Teesside Clean Energy Technician Scholarships for school leavers.
The Etc. – which pipped Eastgate Engineering Services and PD Ports to the Net Zero Award in a category sponsored by Holiday Inn Express – is also among several supporters of the Tees Valley Net Zero Industry Scholarship scheme, which aims to train a new generation of skilled workers in key industrial roles crucial to the success of Tees Valley’ s net zero ambitions by offering 141 scholarships across the region.
FINALIST
EASTGATE ENGINEERING SERVICES
An electrical and instrumentation contractor based in Billingham, Eastgate’ s ability to work in technically complex net zero sectors, supported by a commitment to safety, quality and innovation, places it as a trusted partner for the delivery of some of the largest and most challenging projects within the industry.
It doesn’ t just deliver services, it provides tailored solutions, all the while using its rich experience in sectors such as power, oil and gas and industrial manufacturing to influence energy transition to net zero.
And with the increasing demand for renewable energy infrastructures, Eastgate is well placed to play a key part in that global transformation while continuing to grow its own business in a sustainable manner.
FINALIST PD PORTS
The operator of Britain’ s sixth-largest port, Teesport, PD Ports aims to be the UK’ s most sustainable port operator and is well on the way to achieving net zero operations by 2040 through a combination of infrastructure investment, research and long-term changes to operations.
With the reduction of carbon emissions and more sustainable operations a business-wide endeavour for PD Ports, it has broken down the journey to net zero into achievable steps, the first being to achieve carbon-neutral status across its Tees-based landside operations by 2027.
Already, CO2 emissions in its Tees-based landside operations are back to levels last seen in 2000 – and the publication last summer of its first sustainability strategy gives a blueprint for further change.
SPONSOR’ S REFLECTIONS:
Mark Ashall, director Ashall Projects:“ Two of our key priorities are sustainability and giving back to the local community, so sponsoring this award reflects both. There were some excellent submissions and it’ s great to see everyone doing their bit. We’ ve been on Teesside for just over 10 years and what I really like about the region is the willingness of everyone to roll their sleeves up and get things done.”
120 | Tees Business The voice of business in the Tees region | 120