Wates Group and Lloyds Banking Group have announced the four joint winners of a sustainability innovation competition which aims to find a new generation of green tech businesses to help Lloyds in its transition to net zero carbon operation
The sustainability innovation competition saw over 100 companies apply and following a rigorous assessment process by Wates’ technical advisory panel, a small number of finalists pitched their products at a Dragon’s Den style event held in The Shard, London on 28 January.
Four winning suppliers have now been selected and they will pilot their products across Lloyds’ branches and offices.
The products include an intelligent thermostat that improves the efficiency of air conditioning and friendly bacteria that can unblock urinals and reduce wastewater.
To ensure that the technologies are properly tested and rolled out on mass scale, a budget of £100,000 will be made available.
The four winners of the sustainability innovation competition are:
- Advanced Bacterial Sciences: a drain unblocking system that uses friendly bacteria to remove wastewater issues such as blocked urinals.
- Quattro Seal: a liquid sealing system that increases air tightness in buildings, generating energy savings of up to 27%.
- Coolnomix: a high impact intelligent thermostat that maximises air conditioning efficiency and reduces energy consumption with a return on investment in under 24 months.
- HSG (Ureco): an eco-friendly urinal sleeve system that helps prevent costly blockages, reduces water usage and removes odours, without the need for strong chemicals and cleaning agents.
These suppliers are considered strong contenders to deliver against Lloyds’ ambitious operational pledges, including the commitment to net zero carbon operations and a 50% reduction in energy consumption by 2030, as well as a 40% reduction in absolute water consumption by 2030.
Partnership
This is the first green innovation competition launched by Wates and Lloyds and builds on the businesses’ already existing relationship, which includes a ten-year programme of fit-out works by Wates Smartspace across Lloyds’ buildings. The partnership has seen eight sustainable technologies piloted by Lloyds, including one that reduces water use by 85%.
The winning products will not only be rolled out across Lloyds’ branches and offices nationwide, but they will also be added to the Wates Innovation Network (WIN) Portal as Innovation Partners – a free to use online marketplace for suppliers of environmental technologies that enables them to connect their product with built environment customers across the supply chain.
‘Too often, new, viable technologies fly under the radar’
Dr Zainab Dangana PhD, head of sustainable technology services at Wates Group, said:
“The work we’ve been doing with Lloyds Banking Group is about connecting our customer with the products that can help it achieve its environmental goals. Too often, new, viable technologies fly under the radar because suppliers are unable to get in front of the right decision makers.
“We’re bridging that gap, but we need to see more companies like Lloyds putting their weight behind the green businesses that are critical in our national drive towards net zero.”
Matteo Deidda, senior sustainability manager at Lloyds Banking Group, said:
“The response to the Sustainability Innovation Competition has been fantastic. We are very excited to work with the finalists and our partners in the coming months, to pilot these technologies in our offices and branches.
“The winning technology will have access to our innovation budget to test their solutions in our buildings, and roll out at scale if the pilots are successful. This is a great opportunity for speeding up our transition towards a greener future and achieve the group operational climate pledges.”
