Keolis Nottingham – operator of Nottingham Express Transit – was rewarded for their commitment to biodiversity at the Global Light Rail Awards. The operator were first in the Environmental and Sustainability Initiative category whilst there was also success with a Highly Commended accolade in the Best Customer Initiative category.
The victory in the Environmental and Sustainability Initiative category came thanks to their biodiversity project led by infrastructure manager, Glenn Oakes. The successful project comprises many years of personal commitment from Glenn, which has seen a number of sustainability initiatives incorporated into Nottingham’s tram network.
With close collaboration with Nottingham Wildlife Trust, NET have facilitated safe habitats for wildlife along the tram network through using wildflowers and hedgerows, while also ensuring any necessary maintenance work such as felling trees is done with as little disruption to nature as possible, and in ways that can support future biodiversity.
As well as being nominated in the Safety Initiative, Employee of the Year and Rising Star categories, NET were also highly commended in the Richard Brown Best Customer Initiative Award category. This was for the Accessibility for All campaign which saw the network partner with visual communication experts, Widgit, to develop assets to empower individuals with travel or language barriers to use the tram confidently.
Sarah Turner, Service Director and Safety Director at NET, said: “As a public transport operator, and such as key part of Nottingham’s infrastructure, our duties go so much further than giving our customers a safe and convenient way to travel so it’s fantastic to be recognised for our biodiversity schemes. Thanks to our team, led by Glenn’s initiative, we’re confident that we’re not only reducing our impact on the environment, but helping to make positive adjustments that support areas where we can make a real difference.”
Away from the Global Light Rail Awards and there is more cause for celebration as NET’s marketing team, with the support of creative agency Michon, has been recognised for their effective design and with a “silver” award in the 2024 DBA Design Effectiveness Award for the 2022 freshers campaign. Using bold messaging, focusing on discovering Nottingham and communicating the benefits of using the tram over other forms of transport, it appealed to students who were keen to experience a new city in a post pandemic world. It led to a substantial increase in Academic Year Student Passes being sold during the period of a special promotional when compared to before the pandemic.
Alison Sweeney, Head of Marketing at NET, said: “This campaign was produced at a crucial time for us as a network, as the world opened up again following a long period of lockdowns, and it was important that we communicated the right message to encourage people to travel again. The results of this campaign speak for themselves, and was a step in the right direction as we continue to engage more and more with this younger audience who are looking for sustainable ways to travel.”