Global business of AES Engineering was 'net zero' in 2021, eight years earlier than planned, says company's MD

Chris Rea, Managing Director of AES Engineering, plans to to set a new gold standard in the battle to protect the environment.

Mr Rea said: "Our business made a commitment to invest £29 million on environmental projects between January 1, 2021 and April 1, 2029.

"Our global business was net zero for 2021, eight years earlier than committed. We placed orders to a value of £7.76m for environmental projects between January 1, 2021 and January 14, 2022."

Mr Rea confirmed that more than £7m of the orders placed by the Rotherham based group were "for the health of the planet, as we buy green energy in the locations invested in".

He added: "Replacing externally purchased green energy with internally generated green energy has no benefit on our CO2 scorecard, but is good for the planet.

"In the 1950s and 1960s, businesses were all about naked capitalism and making profit,'' said Mr Rea. " In the 21st century we learned to embrace all ‘stakeholders’, that is employees, customers, suppliers and communities. Our investment makes the statement that our most important stakeholder is the planet."

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. Net zero is reached when the amount added is no more than the amount taken away.

Last year, Mr Rea said he wanted to provide a road map for other companies and organisations who share his concerns about ethical, balanced and sustainable development.

This latest commitment builds on the company’s support for the Betterworld.Solutions campaign, which encourages global industry to adopt an investment policy to prevent global warming.

The company aims to lead by example and encourage sharing of best practice by demonstrating what is both practical and possible by outlining specific dates, targets, times, amounts and investments.

The company plans to invest in solar panels, battery storage and other energy-saving measures, as well as considering a wide-range of other measures including tree planting.

Last year, Mr Rea appealed to other business leaders to speak out and share their own positive messages on how to tackle the climate crisis.

He added: “Please make your voice heard by speaking to staff, colleagues and when using social media or other communication channels. When the future of your children and grandchildren is at stake it is better to say, and do too much, than not enough.”