The first UK carbon storage scheme to reuse existing infrastructure has secured a lease with The Crown Estate, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for offshore CO₂ injection and long-term subsurface storage. Repurposing existing offshore pipelines, platforms and wells is expected to cut upfront capex versus newbuild assets and shorten the timeline to first injection. For civil and geotechnical teams, the focus will be on verifying legacy asset integrity, adapting well and pipeline materials for CO₂ service, and reassessing seabed and reservoir behaviour under cyclic injection pressures.

WSP has been appointed to all three lots of the Environment Agency’s National Groundwater Modelling Framework, covering strategic modelling, regional and catchment-scale studies, and site-specific assessments. The framework will support regulation of abstraction, flood risk and drought management by standardising numerical groundwater models used to assess aquifer behaviour, contaminant migration and interactions with rivers and infrastructure. Consultants working on EA-regulated projects should expect closer alignment to EA-approved modelling tools, datasets and calibration approaches over the framework term.

EcoVadis has awarded MKM Building Supplies a Gold medal, placing the independent merchant in the top 5% of 150,000 companies assessed worldwide for environmental, ethical, labour and human rights, and sustainable procurement performance. Key measures include opening its first two BREEAM Excellent certified branches in Cheltenham and Wolverhampton, rolling out electric forklift trucks across the network, and tightening supplier requirements via a strengthened Code of Conduct. For specifiers and contractors, MKM is also widening access to renewable heating technologies, energy‑efficient products and lower‑carbon construction solutions aligned with evolving UK building regulations.