Employees the key to net zero success, Ideal Heating director tells The Waterline Summit

SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGE: Ideal Heating’s Domestic Product Director, Lizzie Wilkinson, centre, at The Waterline Summit

By Rick Lyon

A director of Ideal Heating has told a major sustainability event that educating and involving employees is vital to the success of the drive to net zero.

Domestic Product Director Lizzie Wilkinson joined a panel of business leaders at the launch of The Waterline Summit 2023, the Humber region’s largest decarbonisation event.

The event focused on the progress made by businesses, large and small, to decarbonise their operations, as well as challenges presented by the net zero transition.

Lizzie spoke about the work Hull-based Ideal Heating has done to involve its employees in the company’s sustainability journey.

Initiatives include the launch of an employee carbon calculator, enabling staff members to understand and positively impact their personal carbon footprint, and heat pump awareness training.

DECARBONISATION EVENT: Business leaders taking part in The Waterline Summit, organised by Future Humber and the University of Hull

Ideal Heating is investing £60m at its National Avenue site in Hull, with a focus on the manufacturing, distribution and development of low carbon heating products, such as heat pumps.

The developments include plans recently approved for a new UK Technology Centre – a research and development facility dedicated to developing the heating solutions of the future.

Earlier this year Ideal Heating also opened its National Training and Technology Centre in East Yorkshire – an industry-leading facility dedicated to tackling the shortage of heating engineers qualified to work with heat pumps.

Lizzie told the event: “As a company, we’re diversifying our product portfolio to include heat pumps and similar low carbon solutions.

“A big part of our activity is centred on our people – making sure they’re aware of the work we’re doing and are very much part of that sustainability journey.

DRIVE TO NET ZERO: The Waterline Summit event focused on the progress made by businesses to decarbonise their operations

“We’ve also been actively upskilling our team, including our service engineers, so they can work with heat pumps and similar products. It’s an approach that runs right across our business and all of our operations.”

Delivered by Future Humber and the University of Hull, The Waterline Summit is the Humber region’s largest decarbonisation event, helping to unlock opportunities for clean growth and for the region to lead the UK’s green industrial revolution.

Lizzie joined The Waterline Summit launch event panel alongside experts from the university, holiday home manufacturer Willerby, medical tech manufacturer Smith+Nephew and eco-friendly household product specialist The Bio-D Company.

Hosted by Deb Oxley OBE, founding director of Oxley Works, the event also highlighted the importance of initiatives such as the Oh Yes! Net Zero campaign – a collaboration of businesses and organisations committed to the drive to net zero.

Lizzie said: “There is no single solution to decarbonising homes and businesses. It will be a blend of technologies and low carbon solutions which are needed to make it happen.

“At Ideal Heating, we’re well positioned to drive that change. We’ve got the expertise and decades of experience in the UK heating industry to develop these products and get them into homes and businesses.”