AESSEAL wins Sustainable/Ethical Manufacturer Award

The Rotherham based global engineering company, AESSEAL plc has won the Sustainable/Ethical Manufacturer Award at the Made in Yorkshire Awards as a result of its commitment to mitigate climate change.

Managing Director Chris Rea said, “This recognition by Made In Yorkshire of AESSEAL’s work to reduce its carbon footprint, and encourage others to do the same, is a huge boost for company morale and will encourage us to do more, and do it faster, in order to mitigate the current climate crisis.”

AESSEAL plc is one of the first major engineering businesses in South Yorkshire to achieve net zero for its stage 1 and stage 2 emissions in the UK business. It has gone beyond net zero for 2021, with proven net savings generated as a result of the adoption of its water management systems by global industry.

The award,  handed over at a ceremony in Leeds on 29 July cites in particular the company’s reduction of electricity use by 28 per cent and gas use by a quarter over the decade to 2018. “Waste diverted from landfill and waste sent to landfill reduced by nearly half. AESSEAL says it believes it is its duty to also support other companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and last year launched the Betterworld.Solutions website sharing sustainability knowledge”, Made in Yorkshire concluded.

Betterworld.Solutions is operated as an independent forum to encourage global businesses to Adopt an Investment Policy to prevent global warming. As well as sharing best practice it offers free training to help other companies on the path to net zero.

The latest award for the Yorkshire precision engineering company pre-dates the latest series of environmentally-led investments, including its decision to spend £566,000 on fitting solar panels to the roof of its Mill Close factory, in order to reduce the total amount of electricity consumed at the site by a further 22%.

This follows a £183,000 purchase of energy-saving amorphous core transformers. This technology reduces energy losses on the power transformation required for powerful industrial equipment such as computer-controlled lathes from 5.1% to less than 1%.

The company announcement that it was ‘greening’ its factory roof came during a recent visit by Green Party Councillors, Douglas Johnson, Alison Teal,  and Paul Turpin following the power-sharing partnership between the Labour Party and the Green Party to run Sheffield City Council.

Reacting to the Made in Yorkshire award, Councillor Alison Teal congratulated the company and its management for realising the ambition to ensure the sustainability both of the business and the environment. “ AESSEAL’s endeavour to achieve net zero is truly impressive. Chris Rea is inspired by his love for his grandchildren. We can only hope he will inspire many other business leaders to follow his superb example.”

Thanking the organisers of the award and all those who have supported AESSEAL’s environmental strategy and the Betterworld.Solutions project, Chris Rea said, “We need to act before it is too late. There’s an urgent need for businesses to get behind the technologies already existing to cut energy and water consumption and reduce carbon footprints to net zero and beyond. If every global business does its bit, we can make a huge difference.”