Community – around 60 businesses currently occupy the Wilton Centre on Teesside.
Leadership – Pioneer Group executive director Toby Reid.
were left in no doubt that urgent action was needed now.
“ We ' ve had the meetings, the road maps, the pilot projects, and we ' ve published lots of reports and made commitments,” said organiser and host Dr Jen Vanderhoven, chief operating officer of the Biobased and Biodegradable Industries Association( BBIA).
“ But despite all these good intentions, much of our energy has actually just gone into staying afloat, maintaining the status quo rather than moving forwards.”
She added:“ The reality is that the current is moving and it ' s moving incredibly fast.
“ So, climate pressures, regulatory shifts, societal expectations and supply chain fragility are all reshaping our world.
“ And the question is no longer whether we act, but how fast we can act and how bold we can be.”
After the event, Toby Reid commented:“ At the heart of net zero challenge is the need to wean ourselves off the petrochemical-based products that make up a large part of our consumption as a society.
“ Rather than digging up more virgin fossil fuels we need to create bio-derived feedstocks for these commonplace manufacturing processes.
“ The chemicals industry is the key player in this transition and so we are delighted to host events like this.
“ Wilton Centre is home to many exciting companies driving this modern green industrial revolution.”
Although the concept of a“ driving a green industrial revolution” would have been an alien concept to people working at Wilton Centre in ICI’ s heyday, it is easy to imagine the scientists tackling the challenge with relish.
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That same curiosity and ingenuity has also driven present day businesses such as Absolute Antibody and Micropore Technologies to push back boundaries in drug development, with each playing key roles in the fight against Covid-19.
All of the scientists, researchers, administrative staff, restaurant workers, maintenance teams and security personnel who have worked at Wilton Centre during its 50 years will be celebrated at a special event in September 2025.
During the day, a mosaic depicting the site’ s past, present and future will be unveiled and it is hoped people like Dawn Campbell, John Dale and Eileen Milward will be there to share more memories.
Although Wilton Centre has had different owners – and now multiple business tenants – there has been one constant across the 50 years.
From supporting Children in Need to raising tens of thousands of pounds for dozens of local charities, the Wilton Centre community has always come together to help others.
Money has been donated to numerous good causes, including research into breast cancer and Alzheimer’ s, and every year presents are given to children spending Christmas in hospital.
The centre works with Footprints in the Community, which aims to reduce poverty and hardship in the area, and at the start of 2025 it helped the male suicide prevention charity Andy’ s Man Club establish a new group in Redcar.
Wilton Centre’ s support for Zoe’ s Place baby hospice in Middlesbrough goes back more than a decade, using every imaginable ways to raise money- from skydiving to sales of the honey produced in its grounds.
In June at the summer barbecue, inbetween enjoying their burgers and ice creams, people donated more than £ 1,000 to Zoe’ s Place.
The charity’ s senior corporate and major donor fundraiser Ashleigh Ennion said:“ We’ re so grateful for the continued support we’ ve received from the amazing team at Wilton Centre over the years.
“ Their generosity and that of their occupiers, especially through their annual BBQ and Christmas Fayre, have become something we truly look forward to, not just because they’ re brilliant events, but because they’ re a genuine reflection of their community spirit.”
She added:“ Their kindness goes directly toward supporting the babies and families in our care.
“ It’ s a privilege to work alongside such a thoughtful, caring and committed group of people who really do go above and beyond for Zoe’ s Place. We simply couldn’ t do what we do without them.”
For more information about business space at Wilton Centre contact: Claire Morton: c. morton @ wiltoncentre. com Richard Wilson: r. wilson @ doddsbrown. co. uk Chris Hartnell: Chris. Hartnell @ carterjonas. co. uk