On Monday 9 October 2023, we celebrated with our suppliers at our GEM Awards. Open exclusively to our suppliers, the GEM (‘Going the Extra Mile’) Awards highlight the innovative and impactful contributions our suppliers make across the business.
It was great to be back together, as the last time we hosted the awards was before Covid in 2019. There were over 140 people there from a range of large and small businesses from across our supply areas. The awards help to keep our strong relationships with our suppliers and make us an unrivalled partner, which will be vital as we gear up for AMP8.
We wanted to make sure that the night benefitted the local economy as much as possible. So, we held the event at The Fed in Dunston, which is run by northeast business, Ramside Events. We also worked with other suppliers in the region, Big Purple for the sound, lighting and decoration, Printed.com for the printing of programme cards, NE Trophies who provided the sustainable bamboo trophies for our winners and in a change for runners up this year, we presented them with a certificate and a ‘Treephie’ instead.
The team at Ingram Valley will now use our ‘Treephie’ donation to plant some ornamental oak trees at the entrance to the beautiful valley in Northumberland, that the runners up will be able to visit and watch their trees grow over the years to come. We also held a raffle on the night with our generous suppliers donating over £1,500 to company charity WaterAid towards the vital work they do.
There were 12 awards presented on the night and the winners and runners up were:
A customer focused approach is a key pillar of our values.
We love our customers and we make sure they are at the heart of everything we do. We are looking for a supplier who delivers world class customer service and an unrivalled customer experience while delivering excellent outcomes for NWG.
WINNER: Mazaru / Writing it Well!
RUNNER UP: Esh Construction, NWG, Jetaire, Pipetek / Our Customer, Our Family
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Mott MacDonald Bentley |
Harrowgate Hill Rising Main Replacement Scheme |
|
Shout Digital |
Shout Digital - an agency with customer experience at its heart |
|
Mazaru | Writing it Well! | |
Bluewave Technology Ltd |
Revolutionising customer experience for developers with a self service portal and application platform |
|
Esh Construction | Jetaire, Pipetek | Our Customer, Our Family |
Part of our plan is to be leading in innovation within the water sector and beyond.
As such we place a high value on creativity and innovation, and we encourage our suppliers to partner with us to find innovative solutions that drive efficiencies, improve customer experience or simply add value to what we do.
Creativity can come in many forms from new product development to the creative use of technology, and if it helps us to work smarter then it definitely fits under this category!
WINNER: Origin Tech Ltd / No-Dig
RUNNER UP: IDeA (Esh-Stantec and MMB) / Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan – Developing an Industry Leading Plan
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Selwood | Selwood - Whittle Dean | |
Origin Tech Ltd | No-Dig | |
Mott MacDonald Bentley |
Mosswood and Lumley UV |
|
IDeA |
Mott MacDonald Bentley and Esh- Stantec |
Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan – Developing an Industry Leading Plan |
Microsoft Corporation |
NWL Knowledge & Content Services |
We place great importance on health, safety and wellbeing.
It is embedded in everything we do. We are looking for a project, organisation, initiative or simply an action, where excellent health, safety and wellbeing has been displayed.
WINNER: Esh-Stantec / Going the Extra Mile to Remove the Stigma of Mental Health
RUNNER UP: United Living Water / United Living's ‘Don't Walk By' campaign
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
United Living Infrastructure Services |
United Living's ‘Don't Walk By' campaign |
|
Mott MacDonald Bentley |
Supporting your Ankles - Beyond Zero Campaign |
|
Esh-Stantec |
Going the Extra Mile to Remove the Stigma of Mental Health |
One of our values is ‘we are one team’.
We place great importance on working together while promoting co-operation to achieve our objectives. By working well as a team we can come up with smarter ways of working and improved performance and outputs.
We are looking for a team who have demonstrated excellent team performance while living our values to achieve an excellent outcome.
WINNER: Stantec, Mott MacDonald, North East Catchment Hub and The Rivers Trust / Harnessing a One Team Approach through our PR24 Catchment team
RUNNER UP: Siemens PLC / Siemens working alongside the Smart Programme to successfully deliver the supply of a new Meter Data Management System
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Shout Digital |
Shout & the NWG App Delivery team - One Team in spirit AND practice |
|
Mott MacDonald Bentley | Esh-Stantec |
NWG Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans |
Siemens Plc |
Siemens working alongside the Smart Programme to successfully deliver the supply of a new Meter Data Management System |
|
Stantec |
Mott MacDonald, North East Catchment Hub and The Rivers Trust |
Harnessing a One Team Approach through our PR24 Catchment Team |
Landal GreenParks UK |
Landal GreenParks and Landal Kielder Waterside |
NWL and its Supply Chain take pride in achieving excellent business results.
This award is for a supplier that has delivered exceptional results to NWL by going above and beyond the standard scope of their contract. We are looking for suppliers that have supported our corporate goals or wider business strategies in addition to completing their standard supplied goods or services.
WINNER: Esh Construction, NWG, Esh, Jetaire, Pipetek / Reducing Sewer Flooding
RUNNER UP: Bluewave Technology Ltd / Digital transformation of the Developer Services experience
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Bluewave Technology Ltd |
Digital transformation of the Developer Services experience |
|
Esh Construction | Jetaire, Pipetek | Reducing Sewer Flooding |
Esh-Stantec |
Esh Stantec AMP7 WINEP Programme |
|
Mott MacDonald Bentley |
Warkworth Clarifier refurbishment |
|
Esh Construction | Jetaire, Pipetek |
Driving Excellence in Reactive Repairs and Maintenance Framework |
Responsible Procurement plays a vital role in ensuring NWG can achieve its vision.
We are committed to ethically procuring goods, works and services in a way that generates maximum value not only to our organisation but also to the society and economy, while enhancing the environment and complying with all the relevant laws.
NWG have committed to working with ethical suppliers who help to achieve our 7 Impact Initiatives as part of our Responsible Procurement Strategy. We are looking for a supplier who has demonstrated an outstanding responsible approach as part of working with NWG and who has ethics embedded firmly within their organisation.
WINNER: Farrans Construction / Farrans Construction delivering Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley
RUNNER UP: Lucion Services / Lucion Services
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
PF Cusack Tool Supplies Ltd | Road Furniture | |
Saint-Gobain PAM UK | Saint-Gobain PAM UK | |
Lucion Services | Lucion Services | |
Farrans Construction |
Farrans Construction delivering Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley |
|
Potts Print | Potts Print |
We place great importance on the legacy impact we create through the works and services we provide.
We are looking for suppliers who can demonstrate how they have created a positive lasting impact which has enhanced our brand and reputation within the wider communities which we serve.
WINNER: Esh-Stantec / Construction in the Curriculum
RUNNER UP: Esh-Stantec / Run2 Academy, Apprentices and Graduates: The Workforce of the Future
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Anglian Land Drainage Ltd |
Button Farm Outfall Improvements |
|
Esh-Stantec |
Construction in the Curriculum |
|
Mott MacDonald Bentley |
Castle Eden Dene Pollution |
|
Esh-Stantec |
Run2 Academy, Apprentices and Graduates: The Workforce of the Future |
One of the key drivers to delivering affordable, reliable and resilient services is to have high performing projects and programmes which deliver to agreed milestones while providing notable outputs, benefits or efficiencies.
The projects or programmes could come from any area of our business activity from IS programmes, investment projects, water efficiency projects or working smarter initiatives (to name a few!).
WINNER: Esh-Stantec / Johnson Street Storm Overflow Project
RUNNER UP: Selwood / Selwood – Whittle Dene
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Aqualogic (WC) Ltd |
Northumbrian Water Group - Water's Worth Saving - Audit Programme |
|
Esh-Stantec |
Johnson Street Storm Overflow Project |
|
Selwood | Selwood - Whittle Dean | |
Stantec |
Hanningfield Water Treatment Works (WTW) – Delivering Reliable and Resilient Services |
|
Selwood | Selwood - Portrack Lane |
This Award specifically recognises the challenges and outstanding achievements of Small Enterprises who support us to achieve our vision of being national leader.
We are particularly looking for those who have made strides in improving their company through implementing best practice. To be considered for this category the supplier needs to have fewer than 50 employees and a turnover of less than £10m per annum.
WINNER: Steve Davidson Advertising Limited
RUNNER UP: Wild Intrigue /Osprey Cruises
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Steve Davidson Advertising Limited |
Steve Davidson Advertising Limited |
|
Wild Intrigue CIC | Osprey Watching Cruise | |
Shout Digital |
Shout digital - a company building on its NE roots |
We will achieve a net zero carbon emission position in 2027, three years ahead of the PIC ambition and will be the first water company in England to meet this ambition.
We are looking for suppliers who have contributed / supported our journey to net zero through reducing, replacing, removing, or offsetting carbon on capital projects / programmes or through the works / goods / services you provide to NWL.
WINNER: Mott MacDonald Bentley / Mosswood Run to Waste
RUNNER UP: Esh-Stantec / Driving Carbon Change Through NWG’s Innovation Festival
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Mott MacDonald Bentley | Sustainable Site set Up | |
Selwood | Selwood | |
Esh-Stantec |
Driving Carbon Change Through Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival |
|
Mott MacDonald Bentley | Mosswood Run to Waste | |
Lucion Services | Lucion Services |
Having recently launched our TIDE Strategy (Together for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity), NWL are committed to working towards a more diverse workforce which reflects all customers throughout our regions.
Diversity helps our success and ability to innovate, with different people bringing skills and thinking to improve what we do and how we do it. We are looking for suppliers who reflect NWL’s D&I commitments within their own company strategies and are actively working towards / on the way to achieving an equal, diverse and inclusive workforce.
WINNER: Mott MacDonald Bentley / MMB EDI Strategy
RUNNER UP: Esh-Stantec / Celebrating and Embracing the Unique Minds and Strengths of our Neurodivergent Talent
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Hach UK | Hach DE+I | |
Mott MacDonald Bentley | MMB EDI Strategy | |
Stantec |
Celebrating and Embracing the Unique Minds and Strengths of our Neurodivergent Talent |
|
Turner & Townsend | Turner & Townsend |
NWL are committed to investing in our people and developing their skills by attracting the best people to come and work for us, helping them to develop their potential and in turn they help us to deliver the very best service for our customers.
This means we constantly invest in the skills, training and experience of our employees. Through apprenticeships, research partnerships, sponsored PhD placements, NGO relationships and much more we invest heavily in our greatest asset – our people.
It is important that together, we maximise the sector’s investment in skills and ensure we develop a sustainable and skilled workforce for the future. Therefore, we are looking for an outstanding, early careers, individual from our supply chain who you have identified is “one to watch” for the future.
WINNER: Adam Cullen, Aqua Consultants
RUNNER UP: India Hutchinson, Esh-Stantec
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIERS
SHORTLISTED SUPPLIER |
JOINT ENTRY | ENTRY TITLE |
Turner & Townsend | Andrew Hunt | |
Esh-Stantec | Aaron Oakes | |
Mott MacDonald Bentley | Marc Mogie | |
Stantec | Julia Brito Jambo | |
Aqua Consultants | Adam Cullen | |
Esh-Stantec | India Hutchinson |
If you have any further queries regarding our GEM awards, please email GEMawards2023@nwl.co.uk