North East subsea engineers go green with £300,000 investment

Subsea engineering and technology innovator, SMD, has spent more than £300,000 on sustainable infrastructure, including the installation of solar panels on top of its head office, a complete transition to LED lighting across all sites, and the launch of a company-wide electric car leasing programme, with seven on-site charging points.

The company has made significant environmental improvements to its Wallsend headquarters and announced plans to achieve its ISO 14001 environmental standard certification by the end of the year.

The initiative is being led by operations director, Richard Bray. Speaking on the upgrades, he said: “As a forward-thinking and responsible company, we pride ourselves on improving the world we live in.

“Much of our underwater technology has been designed to facilitate the clean energy transition, making offshore renewable energy a safer, more financially viable option for companies across the globe. It is not only a no-brainer to improve our on-land operations, but also a huge milestone to adopt our sustainable approach for our North East base.

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“I am delighted to say that our long-term investment has already yielded tangible benefits; our new LED lighting uses 90 per cent less energy than previous fixtures, our solar panels are meeting 70 per cent of our energy consumption needs, and our site-wide recycling points are diverting more of our waste away from landfills, minimising our carbon footprint.

SMD chair, Mike Jones, added: “As part of our business growth strategy, our dedication to expansion is matched by our commitment to environmental stewardship.

“Our pursuit of the ISO 14001 certification represents our desire to implement sustainable practices at every level of our operations and have a measurably better impact on the planet.

“We are proud to further our environmental agenda while engineering the technology necessary for our clients to do the same.”