Reimagining what’s possible: Watch the 2025 Sustainable Innovation Call highlights
At Wates, our purpose – reimagining places for people to thrive – underpins our commitment to shaping a more sustainable built environment. Innovation sits at the centre of that ambition.
Through our Sustainable Innovation Call, we champion the technologies and partnerships that can help organisations not only meet but also exceed their environmental goals.
Late last year, we were proud once again to act as the catalyst for collaboration: creating a platform where innovation becomes action, and where pioneering sustainable solutions can be adopted and scaled at pace.
In partnership with the Sustainable Business Consortium to support Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Leeds Building Society, Coventry Building Society and Skipton Building Society, we ran the 2025 Sustainable Innovation Call. This call brought together some of the UK’s most forward-thinking suppliers to pitch technologies capable of helping the financial services sector decarbonise its estates. Entrants tackled challenges including operational and embodied carbon, waste reduction, biodiversity, low carbon travel and behavioural change.
From more than 100 submissions, a highly competitive shortlist participated in a “green Dragon’s Den” style final. Their pitches showcased some of the most exciting sustainability solutions emerging today – from smart thermostats and zero emission boilers to next generation solar tiles and high-performance insulation coatings. These winning technologies have the potential to reshape the way financial institutions manage energy, carbon and efficiency across their portfolios.
Watch the video to experience the energy, ambition and ingenuity behind the competition.
The event highlights captured in the video reveal the passion and creativity of the finalists, as well as the collaborative spirit that continues to drive this initiative forward. Their innovations will now be piloted across participating bank and building society estates, enabling hands-on testing, shared learning and accelerated progress towards net zero.
The video also celebrates the achievements of nine additional suppliers recognised as highly commended for their groundbreaking, future focused solutions.
The event drew together sustainability leaders and technical experts from across the sector, each offering their perspective on what’s required to build a greener, more resilient future.
Dr Zainab Dangana, Head of Sustainable Technology Services at Wates Group, reflected on the power of partnerships:
When expertise and ambition come together, real change becomes possible. This competition is proof of that.”
Dr Zainab Dangana
Head of Sustainable Technology Services at Wates Group
Representatives from the participating financial institutions echoed this sentiment, underscoring the need for cross-sector collaboration to accelerate the transition to net zero.
What truly sets this competition apart is its commitment to real-world impact. Winning innovators secure opportunities to pilot their solutions with major financial institutions and join the Wates Innovation Network (WIN) – a curated platform connecting customers with proven technologies that deliver measurable sustainability benefits.
This isn’t innovation for innovation’s sake. It’s innovation designed to transform operations, reduce carbon and create long-term change.
Learn more about the Wates Innovation Network.
