OCL Regeneration won two awards at the prestigious 2022 Highways UK Awards in London last night and was highly commended for another. The Highways Awards wins seal yet another successful awards night for the partnership with Hampshire County Council and Milestone Infrastructure.
First up, the collaboration, which centres around the impressive Micheldever Recycling Depot, achieved a “highly commended” in the Highways Partnership section. Then, moments later, the team picked up the winners trophy for the Environmental Sustainability Award (sponsored by Total Energies) for the Hampshire Highways Carbon Strategy.
Hampshire Highways Carbon Strategy
In 2020 Hampshire Highways launched its Carbon Strategy for the service, placing climate mitigation and resilience at the heart of decision-making. Setting bold ambitions, the Strategy aligns with Hampshire County Council’s target for Hampshire to be carbon neutral by 2050. The Hampshire Highways Carbon Strategy is specific to the service and aligns to the County Council’s own Carbon Strategy.
With 5,500 miles of road network, the Strategy considered how increased rainfall frequency and intensity and rising temperatures would impact the total highway asset. Again, building in resilience considerations and choosing the right materials for the right location.
Topping off an incredible evening, the trio won the highly-coveted Judge’s Special Merit prize (sponsored by Kiely Highways) for the Hampshire Highways Carbon Strategy, awarded to the pinnacle of projects covered at the event.
The 2022 judging panel consisted of representatives from National Highways, Highways Sector Council, Institute of Highway Engineers, the Welsh Government, Transport Scotland, and Hertfordshire and Kent County Councils.
Building A Low Carbon Society
Speaking after winning the awards, MD and founder of OCL Regeneration, Stuart Gready said: “This is an amazing achievement for us all, especially given the quality of the other projects and solutions on show tonight. My heartfelt thanks go firstly to our great people, of whom I’m immensely proud. Without their talent and dedication, we would not be able to deliver our mission statement around excellence in decarbonisation and circular solutions in infrastructure. I also thank and congratulate our partners and supply chain. This award recognises the importance and priority of what we are achieving together.
Gready continued: “OCL continues to prove that collaboration and carbon reduction are not just buzzwords for us; they are deeply embedded pillars that are key to everything we do. For me, these awards mark progress in change, both in methods and behaviours, which is so important in our sector’s approach to combatting climate change and helping clients reduce the output of carbon and achieve Net Zero. In addition, OCL is committed to finding new and innovative products and treatments, pushing the boundaries to help the industry build a lower carbon society.”
As 2023 edges closer, OCL looks forward to revealing details of additions to its proven low-carbon assessment, design, and delivery services. And with more partners joining the fold and a clear ambition to expand its offering in new geographies to maximise decarbonisation wins, the future looks bright.
The gala evening also raised more than £1,500 for Highways’ charity partner, Mind.
