Here, edie rounds up five positive sustainability stories from last week.
Published every week, this series charts how businesses and sustainability professionals are working to achieve their ‘Mission Possible’ across the campaign’s five key pillars – energy, resources, infrastructure, mobility and sustainability leadership.
Across the UK and across the world, leading businesses, cities, states and regions are turning environmental ambitions into action. Here, we round up five positive sustainability stories from last week.
ENERGY: UK CCUS cluster delivers £1.5bn of UK supply-chain contracts
The East Coast Cluster, which is one of the UK Government’s first two carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) clusters, has announced that it has awarded £1.5bn worth of supply-chain contracts to UK businesses.
The cluster is a partnership between bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies, called the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), developing the common infrastructure needed to transport and store CO2 from emitters across the Humber and Teesside.
This will serve NZT Power, which is aiming to run the world’s first gas-fired power station with CCS, as well as future carbon capture and low-carbon hydrogen production projects on Teesside and Humber.
NEP began construction in 2025, and the project is expected to become operational in 2028.
As construction activity ramps up, major contractors working on the project have signed more than 230 individual sub-contracts with UK businesses, including £500m of new awards through competitive tenders since Q3 2025.
NZT Power and NEP have confirmed that they are on track to deliver more than 50% UK content across the build while creating and supporting more than 3,000 jobs.
The East Cost Cluster estimates that it can remove 50% of the UK’s industrial cluster CO2 emissions.
NEP’s managing director Rich Denny said: “This is just the beginning. As more capture projects connect to our network and we develop additional offshore storage, opportunities for the UK supply chain will continue to grow for years to come.”
RESOURCES: New partnership to transform broccoli waste into sustainable protein
East of Scotland Growers has partnered with UK food-tech company UPP to generate low-carbon, hypoallergenic vegetarian protein products from previously wasted broccoli crops.
Under the 5-year agreement, East of Scotland Growers will deploy UPP’s self-propelled automated selective harvesting system, called UPP’s Harvesta, across its farms to automate broccoli harvest operations and save nearly 30% of harvest costs.
Harvested material from ESG farms will be supplied to UPP as a proprietary side-stream feedstock of up to 100,000 tonnes of broccoli biomass annually, enabling both organisations to unlock a new revenue stream from biomass that would otherwise have gone to waste.
UPP’s plant-processing technology transforms broccoli side-streams into nutritious, allergen-free ingredients for hybrid sausages and burgers, pasta, soups, sauces, bakery products and pet food.
The companies estimate the five-year collaboration to generate up to £10m in gross profits shared between the parties.
ESG’s commercial director Andy Laing said: “This collaboration not only improves farm profitability but also contributes to a food system that is more sustainable, resilient and impactful.”
MOBILITY: Hydrogen fuel cells to power Yorkshire logistics fleet
Intelligent Energy will supply fuel cell systems for forty warehouse trucks in Yorkshire and Humber as part of the €20m Lighter than Aire project.
This EU-funded initiative focuses on the logistics corridor between Bradford and Leeds.
Starting in June 2028, the fleet will utilise IE-LIFT units which replace standard industrial batteries with a combined fuel cell and hydrogen storage system.
These units allow for three-minute refuelling times to eliminate the downtime associated with traditional electric charging cycles. The project aims to integrate hydrogen production and distribution within a single regional ecosystem to lower costs.
Beyond material handling, the programme will also support more than 150 hydrogen passenger vehicles.
Intelligent Energy’s head of product line David Fields said: “The US market has set the pace in hydrogen intralogistics, with fuel cell-powered forklift trucks operating at Walmart, Amazon and other major organisations over the past decade.
“This project gives us the opportunity to deploy our IE-LIFT technology on home soil, and to demonstrate its value to operators across the UK and Europe.”
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: Antarctic research hub gains top sustainable construction rating
The British Antarctic Survey’s Discovery Building at Rothera Research Station has earned an Outstanding BREEAM accreditation for sustainable construction.
This £100m facility is the first in Antarctica to reach the standard, which is currently held by only 1% of accredited projects globally. Designed to consolidate several older structures into a single hub, the building aims to reduce the station’s carbon emissions by 25%.
Energy efficiency features include combined heat and power generators that capture waste heat and a management system that automates ventilation based on room occupancy.
The exterior uses insulated panels and more than 80 solar panels on the northern side.
To further save energy, a spinal corridor allows staff to move between areas without opening external doors, while a curved wind deflector prevents snow buildup to reduce clearing efforts.
Construction on the project began in 2019 and is scheduled for completion this year.
The British Antarctic Survey’s director Dame Jane Francis said: “This is a historic achievement.
“The Discovery Building is not just the largest UK construction project ever undertaken in Antarctica; it now has the highest level of UK sustainability accreditation.
“The rating reflects the dedication of everyone involved and our absolute commitment to polar science and operations which support our journey to net-zero.”
SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP: Green Climate Fund approves $960m for new projects
The Green Climate Fund Board approved $960m in climate finance for 18 new projects during its 44th meeting in Songdo. This decision brings the total portfolio to more than $20bn across 354 global programmes.
Additionally, in a significant structural shift, the Board designated host cities for new regional offices to establish a physical presence in the regions it serves.
New offices will be located in Panama City, Amman, Nairobi, Abidjan, and Suva. The headquarters in South Korea will continue to manage operations for Asia.
Nearly half of the new funding was allocated to African projects, including a $250m initiative with the World Bank for energy access in 21 countries.
The Board also approved the first single-country investments for Chad, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Additionally, ten new organisations were accredited to help implement climate actions at national and regional levels.
Co-Chair Leif Holmberg from Sweden said: “The decision to establish regional offices brings GCF closer to its partners and will increase our efficiency in the delivery of climate finance on the ground.
“I am pleased that six projects were approved through our streamlined assessment approach, demonstrating that our reforms are delivering faster pathways to climate finance.”