O.C.O Technology host visit by the Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk

Carbon-negative aggregates firm welcomes Lady Dannatt to its Wretham facility as part of King’s Award for Enterprise celebration

NORFOLK-based carbon capture specialists O.C.O Technology recently welcomed The Lady Dannatt, MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk, to their Wretham operation, following the company’s success in receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development.

As HM The King’s representative, Lady Dannatt presented the prestigious award on 13 March – which consisted of a Grand of Appointment and an engraved glass plaque bearing the Emblem – in front of around 120 guests, including O.C.O customers from as far afield as Japan, Spain, Italy, and the US, at the special event. 

Commenting on her recent visit, Lady Dannatt said: ‘I am absolutely delighted to be here for this very special presentation of the King’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2024. The handover of industry awards on behalf of His Majesty is always a delightful duty, and I have been given the most phenomenal tour here today, probably one of the most interesting I have been on. The award is clearly very well deserved.

‘These awards have become the most prestigious recognition a company can receive and are proof that UK businesses are increasingly visionary in leading the world in the development of new environmentally sustainable practices. Huge congratulations to O.C.O Technology.’

Assisting Lady Dannatt was Deputy Lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Lonsdale TD, who officially presented the Grant of Appointment, signed by His Majesty the King.

Before the presentation, Lady Dannatt took a guided tour of the £10 million Wretham production facility, which uses innovative carbon capture technology to process waste materials from energy-from-waste (EfW) plants, converting them into carbon-negative manufactured aggregate for the construction industry. The carbon stored in the aggregate also allows O.C.O Technology to offer their own verified carbon removal scheme. 

To mark the occasion, the company presented the Lord-Lieutenant with a certificate confirming it had retired a carbon credit in her name – representing the verified removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This represents 431 average UK car journeys and is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by 45 trees in a year. 

O.C.O Technology’s group chief executive officer, Steve Greig, who was joined by his fellow directors and employees for the ceremony, commented: ‘We were honoured to welcome Lady Dannatt to our facility and to have the opportunity to share insight into our groundbreaking work. The fact we could assure Lady Dannatt that her attendance was genuinely carbon-negative made the occasion even more special and was a perfect way to demonstrate the benefits of our high-quality carbon credits.

‘Receiving our King’s Award has been an absolute pinnacle of our success, and we are hugely proud of our achievements. Not only has it underlined our commitment to carbon capture and sustainability, but we are now able to fly the flag for UK technology around the world in an even bigger and better way than we did before.’

When the King’s Awards for Enterprise were announced last May, O.C.O were one of 28 organizations nationwide to be named as a recipient in the Sustainable Development category. The aggregates firm was commended for adding value to stakeholders’ environmental performance (through carbon reductions and waste avoided), while its research and development programme was highlighted for fostering innovation in new product applications, such as asphalt and concrete.