Carbon Reduction Award
Recognising companies leading the way on decarbonisation by reducing emissions across their own business and projects. This award celebrates technical, operational and service innovation with a tangible impact on carbon and a clear, measurable plan for the future – including work with employees to drive behaviour change across the workforce.
Carbon Reduction Award
Recognising companies leading the way on decarbonisation by reducing emissions across their own business and projects. This award celebrates technical, operational and service innovation with a tangible impact on carbon and a clear, measurable plan for the future – including work with employees to drive behaviour change across the workforce.
National Grid DSO
Carbon-Smart Flexibility: Making Every Unit of Clean Energy Count
National Grid DSO is putting carbon at the heart of flexibility decisions. We developed a first-of-a-kind approach that accounts for the carbon and societal benefits of keeping renewable generation online. The impact is measurable: the carbon intensity of our flexibility dispatch has fallen from 13.8kgCO₂e/MWh in ED2 Year 1 to 0.97kgCO₂e/MWh in Year 3 – a 93% reduction. Since April 2025, we have had only three days where carbon-emitting flexibility was dispatched. Alongside Demand Turn Up helping reduce renewable curtailment, we are demonstrating how flexibility can actively support a cleaner electricity system.
P.F. Cusack (Tools Supplies), Affinity Water, CLC Utility Services and McFadden Utilities
Closing the Loop on Traffic Management Recycling
PF Cusack is driving sustainable change across the highways sector through collaboration, circular economy innovation and product development. Working with Affinity Water, CLC Utilities and McFadden Utilities, the partnership has increased recycled-content traffic management products, reduced carbon emissions, diverted waste from landfill and encouraged wider industry adoption of sustainable manufacturing.
Scottish Water
Beyond Net Zero
Scottish Water has delivered strong Year 5 progress across its 2040 Beyond Net Zero Ambition and Net Zero Routemap, reducing emissions through operational efficiency, renewable energy, lower-carbon fuels, PAS2080-certified capital carbon management, low-carbon materials and improved forecasting. Its wider approach also advances carbon capture through peatland restoration, woodland creation and natural regeneration, while supporting innovation in wastewater process emissions and hydrogen. Through new procurement frameworks, practical tools, Net Zero Hero events and sector collaboration, Scottish Water is embedding carbon reduction into everyday decisions and helping accelerate low-carbon delivery across the utility and infrastructure sectors.
SSEN Transmission
Asset Management and Operations Teams SF6 emissions reduction
SSEN Transmission's Asset Management and Operations teams have delivered world-leading performance in reducing SF₆ emissions while supporting rapid electricity network expansion essential for the UK's energy security, affordability and green transition. In 5 years, the teams more than halved SF₆ leakage rates, reducing them from 0.22% to 0.10%, while cutting overall SF₆ emissions by 9% despite the amount of SF₆ installed across the network doubling. Through operational excellence, proactive asset management and relentless focus on leakage prevention, the teams significantly exceeded regulatory targets and demonstrated that decarbonisation and network reliability can be delivered together.
United Utilities & Accenture
Simpler, Smarter, Better: Transforming Operational Carbon Reduction
United Utilities' Simpler, Smarter, Better (SSB) programme is transforming operational carbon performance. Approved and funded initiatives provide a pathway to reduce operational emissions by more than 90,000 tCO2e annually by FY30 against a footprint of approximately 550,000 tCO2e per year. Developed with Accenture, SSB embeds carbon reduction into executive decision-making, operational management and frontline delivery. As a business-wide operational transformation programme, SSB combines workforce engagement, operational optimisation and targeted investment to drive efficiency, grow renewable energy production and accelerate innovation, providing a credible funded pathway to deliver United Utilities' Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitment.
WGM Engineering and Scottish Water
Remanufacturing Critical Raw Water Pumps
Scottish Water and WGM transformed an emergency asset challenge into a compelling model for lower-carbon water infrastructure. Working as one team at Milngavie WTW, the partnership challenged the default approach of replacement and remanufactured critical raw water pumps for reliable service. Through shared operational insight, carbon intelligence and specialist engineering, the project delivered carbon savings of 40% to 63% per pump, alongside 43% cost and 76% programme savings, while safeguarding water supplies. It proves that collaboration and circular-economy thinking can retain value, reduce embodied carbon and create a scalable route to resilient, affordable infrastructure across the water sector.