Oh Yes! Net Zero members take centre stage at Hull investment breakfast
The opportunity for businesses in the net zero transition was one of the key topics at a breakfast panel discussion held in Hull.
The Insider Invest in Hull session, hosted by business news and events organisation Insider Media, focused on investment opportunities for companies in and around the Hull area.
Conversation flowed from devolution and freeport status, to how the drive to net zero can act as a springboard for growing businesses.
Among the panel was Daniel Haley, Managing Director of Oh Yes! Net Zero member organisation GW Power-Safe.
Mr Haley spoke about the investment the business has made in its own carbon reduction plan, and how the net zero transition had led to him co-founding sustainability consultancy business C3 Group.
He said: “GW Power-Safe started back in 2014 as an electrical contractor working in the construction industry.
“As that business grew, we became increasingly aware of customers who were at the start of their net zero and decarbonisation journeys. They were unsure how to implement the changes needed, and so I co-founded C3 Group to provide sustainability consultancy advice.
The Insider Invest in Hull breakfast panel was chaired by Ian Leech (far left), Editor of Yorkshire Business Insider.
“Working with companies from the very start to develop and implement a carbon roadmap, we’ve seen great success in the full end-to-end service. C3 Group and GW Power-Safe complement each other, offering first the consultancy and then the installation.
“As a business, GW Power-Safe is currently moving to a new, bigger site, and we’re investing heavily to retrofit that building to become net zero.”
Mr Haley was joined on the breakfast panel by Cllr Mike Ross, Leader of Oh Yes! founding partner Hull City Council, and fellow members Latus Health and Wykeland Group.
Cllr Ross discussed the opportunity for Hull and East Yorkshire after the region’s devolution deal was signed off by government in September.
He said the deal would underpin the region’s future, and provided “opportunities in skills, investment and so much more.”
Sitting alongside Cllr Ross was Jack Latus, Chief Executive of Latus Health, a Hull-based occupational health and wellbeing services provider.
Founded in 2017, Mr Latus said Latus Health was on track to be a UK market leader in the next four to five years, with further opportunities for international growth in the future.
The panel included representatives from Oh Yes! Net Zero Founding Partner Hull City Council and members Latus Health, C3 Group and Wykeland Group.
Jonathan Stubbs, Development Director at Wykeland Group, shared the property developer’s work alongside Hull City Council to make the city centre an attractive place to live, work and socialise.
Wykeland is playing a leading role in the regeneration of Whitefriargate in Hull city centre, including the restoration of the landmark Burton building.
Mr Stubbs also highlighted the importance of freeport status in the region to “supercharge the economy,” and said when coupled with the devolution deal, it could be transformational for the Humber.
Oh Yes! Net Zero unites organisations which share a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint and transitioning to net zero.
More than 180 organisations have joined the movement since it launched in 2022, with £150m of combined climate change investment pledged by five members alone.
Oh Yes! Net Zero is at the heart of the region’s transition from the UK’s biggest carbon-emitting industrial cluster to a sustainable, green future for all.