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Royal Navy Warrant Officer leads the way in sustainability at Maritime UK Solent Awards
30 October 2024
Warrant Officer Lee ‘George’ Reeves won the Sustainability Leadership Award at this year’s event which celebrates the Solent’s outstanding maritime sector and its people.
The Maritime UK Solent Awards recognises the contribution that the region plays in the wider maritime sector and the people who drive it to be a world-leading regional industry. Amongst the 12 awards up for grabs, the Sustainability Leadership Award is presented to those who demonstrate the type of leadership that drives solutions for environmental, social and economic challenges in maritime.
WO1 Reeves won the award at this year’s event and was nominated by his team for implementing numerous sustainable initiatives across the Royal Navy, including the launch of a project to eliminate the use of disposable cups and mugs at Navy Command Headquarters at HMS Excellent, helping to drastically reduce waste across the site. As well as this, George has led a collaborative project across MOD, coined ‘Canvas Works’, to upcycle used or spent life rafts into merchandise such as handbags, raising almost £6,000 for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity; significantly lessening the impact on landfill whilst raising vital funds for charity.
Each project George has worked on has been defined to ensure data is collected to inform future policy and brings together multiple defence organisations and stakeholders to enable a wider positive influence.
WO1 Reeves’ role within the Navy is to develop short and long-term supply chain strategy, engagement and impact measurement in the climate change and sustainability space. The role involves liaising across the Royal Navy but also with external stakeholders such as the RNLI and Bournemouth University, supporting sustainable logistics and procurement to build on the Navy’s existing sustainability plan, and providing the military context and insight in implementing climate change and sustainability opportunities in the wider supply chain.
Sharon Jones, Maritime Enterprise Regional Lead for the Royal Navy, nominated George for the award. She said: “In my role with the Maritime Enterprise Engagement Team, we seek innovators who can support the RN’s climate change and sustainability delivery plan.
“George is always receptive to introductions, and his passion for doing his bit is the embodiment of Sustainability Leadership.
“It was my pleasure to raise awareness of the work of the team and George’s expertise through nominating him for the Maritime UK Solent Awards, and a real pleasure to see him recognised as the winner.”
On winning the award, WO1 Reeves said: “I’m delighted to receive this award in recognition of our great work in this area, and it is particularly pleasing to be acknowledged outside of the Navy by industry and the wider community.
“Winning this award adds another degree of legitimacy to our efforts, especially considering the high standards set by the competition we faced.
“Climate change is a challenging area, and we must continue to drive the cultural change to bring people onboard as we move forward.”
More information on the Maritime UK Solent Awards can be found on their website: www.muksolent.com.