South Yorkshire Sustainability Awards: Net Zero Business and Lifetime Achievement honours in same company

The Rotherham firm reached net zero across its 230 locations, covering all scope one, two and three greenhouse gas emissions, in 2021.

It has also, through its Betterworld.Solutions programme, gone a long way to inspire other businesses to start their own journey.

The company was duly hailed Net Zero Business of the Year at the South Yorkshire Sustainability Awards. The category was sponsored by Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC).

AES Engineering also employs the person who won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

It was for an individual who has made a long standing commitment to change and, through years of dedication, achieved exemplary success across South Yorkshire and beyond.

Group engineering director Stephen Shaw holds responsibility for numerous global businesses. A true professional with outstanding levels of knowledge.

He has been the voice and the huge push behind promoting women in engineering. AES Engineering recognises that women make up just nine per cent of the UK's engineering workforce, an imbalance that the university's Women in Engineering project was established to address.

Mr Shaw said: “Working in industry we see the need to improve the gender balance across all engineering disciplines, which has been demonstrated by the university. We know the ability is there among the next generation of students. We are proud to be doing our part to level the playing field, and open up our sector to women from whose talent we can only benefit.”

Mr Shaw received his award from David Naisbitt, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire.

The other finalists in the Net Zero Business category included Hybrid Air Vehicles, which is leading aviation’s net-zero transition by designing and manufacturing efficient, airship-style craft. Wherever Airlander is used instead of another aircraft, it will deliver up to 90 per cent CO2 emissions reduction without reliance on sustainable aviation fuel or offsetting.

Hydrogen specialist ITM Power uses 100 per cent renewable energy for all of its projects.

EV conversion specialist Magtec recycles energy back to the grid and has a growing fleet of electric cars. Wayv. Talk and Broadband for Business is the first carbon neutral telecoms and broadband company within the UK.