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CAPTAIN WINS PRIZE AT DEFENCE SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCE

Captain Nigel Williams RAMC of 29 Regiment RLC has received a prize as one of the three winners of the Defence Sustainability Conference internal competition.

The Defence Sustainability Conference, which took place in January 2021, showcases the extensive work currently underway across the Ministry of Defence, Industry and Academia to optimise operational advantage and support the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (NZ50).

The conference aimed to highlight the need for clear policy developments and to provide a platform for innovative ideas and projects that are being delivered in support of a more sustainable future. The event is designed to create opportunities for developing best practice and collaboration, as well as creating a pan-sector network of stakeholders to help raise awareness of opportunities to challenge the current ways of working.

For Captain Williams’ prize, a subscription was purchased on his behalf to a company called ‘Climeworks’ based in Geneva, Switzerland, which specialises in removing carbon dioxide from the air.  

Capt Williams chose to donate this prize to his regiment and South Cerney Station so that it can become part of the station’s ongoing sustainability story and environmental portfolio to help reduce the site’s carbon footprint. Climeworks will now start to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the air in the Regiment’s name with its new large scale carbon dioxide removal plant ‘Orca’ which is located in the geothermal park in Hellisheidi, Iceland. The Regiment and Station are now one of only 4,230 ‘pioneers’ from around the world who are currently supporting the Climeworks program. 

The two-day conference was run as a collaboration between Team Defence Information, UK Defence Solution Centre (UK DSC) and the Ministry of Defence, with support from ADS Group and techUK. The event featured live speakers including: Lieutenant General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy Lead and Lieutenant General Richard Wardlaw OBE, Chief Defence Logistics and Support.