The Waterline Summit 2023 - Net Zero Humber: How far we have come

Tying in with a COP28 theme of 'Global stocktake', the second event at The Waterline Summit 2023 was all about looking at what progress has been made in the Humber region and where we are in the journey to net zero right now

Hosted by Deb Oxley, OBE DL, the panel discussion brought together leaders from some of the region's leading companies to share their decarbonisation journey and their future plans.

Sue Allan, CFO of Willerby talked about the R&D which has made possible the first all-electric caravan, and also about the value of durability of their products. Being able to give a second life to used caravans through export to markets abroad has meant that their products' lifespans have been extended, reducing waste.

Dr Sarah Shaw, Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the University of Hull Business School explained more about the partnership working between the University of Hull and companies including Wren Kitchens which has fostered innovation in decarbonisation, waste reduction, and production efficiencies.

Lloyd Atkin, Managing Director of The Bio-D Company shared the company's values and philosophies in striving to create eco-friendly products and their experience of achieving B-Corp Certification. He voiced his insight into how the next generation coming through are looking much more closely at a potential employer's CSR and things like B-Corp Certification are becoming more sought-after.

Maggie Short, Global Procurement Lead, CSR, Sustainability & Supplier Diversity, Smith & Nephew and Paul Andrews, Global Energy Director at Smith & Nephew talked about Smith & Nephew have put a lot of effort into reducing their carbon footprint and the importance of having the workforce on board.

Lizzie Wilkinson, Domestic Product Director, Groupe Atlantic pointed out that the UK's domestic heating market is huge and that any attempts to decarbonise needs to include heating. Ideal Heating's drive to increase output of electrically powered heat pumps has posed challenges to their production systems and again, including the workforce on making these changes is key to success.

Some great advice from the panel for businesses who wanted to go on their own decarbonisation journey included to first measure where you are now. Carrying out Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions analysis to find out where you are is hugely important, followed by Scope 3.

After some questions from the audience, we concluded the day with lunch and a trip to the Student Sustainability Challenge exhibition to learn more from the next generation.

SPEAKERS

Deb Oxley OBE DL

Founder Oxley Works, Deputy Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire and Chair of Humber-based charity CatZero and national charity Ownership at Work

As previous Chief Executive of the Employee Ownership Association, Deb led the campaign with national and regional government, business groups and the media to increase the profile and impact of employee ownership in the UK economy.

An influential and passionate advocate, Deb represented the UK EO sector with business groups including the CBI, FSB and ICAEW, influencing their understanding of and engagement with the campaign.

Deb initiated a new partnership to grow EO in the English regions, was pivotal in shaping an EO focused industry leadership group in Scotland and was regularly a member of academic gatherings to assess the future opportunities for EO as part of a more inclusive, compassionate economy. Deb regularly advocated for EO at national and international events and in the mainstream media. As an experienced leader, Deb recruited a strong team and Board to lead and deliver the EOA’s strategy, resulting in a 150% increase in the size of the EO sector.

Since stepping down from the EOA after almost 10 years in 2022, Deb has founded Oxley Works, a specialist consultancy working with employee owned and purpose driven enterprises and is a NED of a number of businesses and Chairs a number of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). Deb was awarded an OBE in 2019, is a Deputy Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Chair of Humber-based charity CatZero and a Trustee of national charity Ownership at Work.

Sue Allan

Sue is an accountant who grew up in Hull and has an accounting career spanning more than 30 years. She is CFO for the Willerby group, market leader in the manufacture of caravans and lodges in the UK and is the company’s Champion for Sustainability. She has previously held senior finance roles at DFS plc and at Ideal Standard international. Her voluntary roles include being a member of the Council for ACCA, the global accountancy body and sits on their global Sustainability forum. She is also on the board of CCAB, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s professional accounting bodies and a board member of Hull Truck Theatre.

Dr Sarah Shaw

Sarah is a Reader and Consultant in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Hull University Business School and is recognised as an industry role model in sustainable supply chain management. She leads on various multi-disciplinary sustainability research projects and has published in a variety of scientific journals. Her research focuses on the development of sustainable performance measures, dashboards and reporting tools for supply chains, helping organisations to shape and achieve their net zero goals and ESG ambitions.

Sarah has over 15 years logistics industry experience at a senior level and is also a Board Director & Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), UK Board Director of IWLEX and has won numerous accolades for her work. She won ‘Leader of the Year’ in the Women in Logistics Awards 2017 and was finalist in the Women in Business Awards - Humber, 2018 in the category of ‘Women Breaking Boundaries’. She spent a huge amount of time ‘addressing the talent gap in logistics’ by developing degree apprenticeships and now leads a ‘ future thinking’ MBA suite of programmes at Hull University Business School, with sustainability at its core.

Sarah’s recent work includes: ‘Black Grass, A Cereal Killer’ which hit the agricultural headlines in the UK in Farmers Weekly in 2022. Also, supply chain carbon mapping work and tool is making waves in the sector nationally and she is working with numerous household brands such as Wren Kitchens, The Royal Mint and Birds Eye on carbon emission mitigation/sequestration and improvement projects.

Maggie Short

Maggie Short is the Procurement Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Procurement Centre of Excellence and Supplier Relationship Management team at Smith+Nephew. In this role she has implemented a 5 year CSR strategy for monitoring, managing and mitigating CSR risks in our supply chain. During her previous procurement roles, she managed many categories including Engineering Services, Facilities and Energy, and led process efficiency projects across procurement. One of Maggie’s current priorities is collaborating with our suppliers to tackle the climate emergency.

Paul Andrews

Paul is the Global Energy Director for Smith + Nephew and is responsible for energy management, compliance and carbon management. During his previous facilities roles he led energy efficiency programmes and compliance schemes. The climate emergency and thus reduction of emissions and security of energy supply is at the forefront of his current priorities.

Elizabeth Wilkinson

Elizabeth Wilkinson is the Domestic Product Director at Groupe Atlantic UK, ROI & NA, responsible for future domestic product strategy. With 6 years at Groupe Atlantic and prior experience in an International Marketing role, Lizzie enjoys working with a broad range of customers and bringing new products to market. ‘In decarbonisation and climate change we are faced with one of the biggest challenges of our generation, but it’s exciting to be in a position to help make this change through the products and support we offer our customers.’