Fuels Industry UK (formerly UKPIA) will once again be participating in Hazardex Live 2025 with Environment, Health, and Safety Specialist Simon Wood set to talk about the importance of a flexible, risk based, efficient planning system to deliver Net Zero.

The UK fuels sector, like much of the industrial base, is undergoing a seismic shift in its processes and operations made necessary by the net zero targets. As plans are put in place to make the needed investment that can manage our emissions while keeping operations economic, the planning and permitting regimes come into starker focus as potential enablers, but also potential hurdles for operators. 

Well-publicised shared concerns about planning for access to grid power will be felt by refineries and terminals, right down to those who want to provide EV charging facilities. But there are already other examples where companies are exploring new technologies but are finding that planning consents or changes to existing permits are making an already difficult transition, still more challenging.

This presentation will explore examples where reducing environmental impacts may not be possible with zero or falling impact on sites and those which neighbour them, and the balance which may need to be struck to develop the UK’s lower carbon manufacturing sector.  We will consider emerging barriers to investment and consider the ways that operators can work with regulators to deliver sustainable – both economically and environmentally – solutions.

About the author:

As Environment, Health and Safety Specialist, Simon Wood provides Fuels Industry members with expert advice on regulatory developments for environmental, process safety and occupational health and safety topics across the downstream oil sector. Simon Joined in January 2020 having previously gained experience with EDF Energy and the British Standards Institution developing and deploying strategies to deliver consensus through improved stakeholder understanding during negotiations