Business leaders visit Tees Valley to tackle challenges
Business in the Community (BITC) has brought together senior business leaders to understand how businesses can work with communities to address the challenges they face.
This includes exploring opportunities that the growth of the low carbon economy in the Tees Valley region should provide.
The aim is to find ways to work in collaboration to address these issues.
Louise Kingham (Image: Supplied)
Louise Kingham CBE, senior vice president, Europe and head of country, UK at bp, was among the business leaders from sectors including energy, mining, education, and banking who attended.
They were brought together to discuss how businesses can collaborate with the community to drive a Just Transition.
This refers to a transition to a low-carbon future that benefits everyone.
They also discussed long-term solutions to support economic regeneration in the region.
The visit is part of BITCβs flagship The Kingβs Seeing is Believing programme.
This initiative was established by the then Prince of Wales in 1990 and has seen over 25,000 business leaders take part.
The programme is designed to encourage business leaders to think strategically about the implications for their own businesses and the practical actions that can be taken in response, leading to meaningful and sustained impact for both businesses and communities.
During their visit, the business leaders visited several community organisations supported by BITCβs Community Climate Fund.
These included Dormanstown Primary Academy, Corus Club, Grangetown Generations Centre and Library, and the Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre.
Each of these organisations plays a role in supporting the local community and addressing the challenges they face.
Ms Kingham said: “Teesside has a long and proud industrial heritage and weβre proud to be part of its regeneration as we progress hydrogen and CCS projects in the region, together with our partners.
“The Kingβs Seeing is Believing visit was a great opportunity to talk with the local community and businesses about how we can work together to support economic regeneration in the region and to see the valuable work of some amazing local organisations.
“We look forward to continuing our work with BITC as part of the Community Climate Fund to support communities in the Tees Valley.”
Kieran Harding, acting CEO of Business in the Community, said: “The Kingβs Seeing is Believing visit programme provides a unique opportunity for senior business leaders to spend time in their local communities to understand first-hand the barriers facing the people living and working there and to come up with long-term solutions to these challenges.
“We know that only through business collaboration with local government and community organisations can we drive impactful collective action in these communities.
“BITCβs mission exists to engage business to take action to create more equitable opportunities for people and the Kingβs Seeing is Believing programme is one of the most powerful ways to achieve this.”
The visit comes as the decline of steel and heavy engineering industries has seen job losses across the area, leading to high unemployment rates, low educational attainment and increased environmental deterioration.
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The unemployment rate among 16-64-year-olds in Tees Valley is 4.7 per cent, far higher than the average unemployment rate in England of 4 per cent and the UK average of 3.8 per cent.
In addition, one in four workers in Tees Valley is in severely insecure work, compared to the national average of 19.8 per cent.
Data from the ONS also shows that more than a third of households in Redcar and Cleveland are experiencing one dimension of deprivation.