Aberdeen firms Sentinel Subsea and fish Joseph Robertson are among a growing number benefitting from Scottish Enterprise (SE) net-zero support.
Sentinel was founded in 2018 to aid operators around the world in transitioning to a more-sustainable future.
It also helps make sure industry regulations and standards are conformed to in different global regions.
The company aims to remove the complexity from monitoring subsea assets. Its passive systems are designed to operate without the need for active power subsea, routine system checks or data communication to the surface.
Emissions-busting tech
Chief executive Neil Gordon said: “When it comes to the ever-growing number of suspended or shut-in wells in the North Sea reaching the 2,000 mark, we understand the cost-to-risk ratio operators consider.
“With economic recovery and the energy transition in the forefront of our minds, the industry recognises the need for passive well-integrity monitoring to detect emissions across all stages of the well life-cycle.
“Sentinel’s customised passive well-monitoring technologies can significantly reduce operational expenditure and allow operators to have the necessary time to plan for impending abandonments, and align company principles to support ESG (environmental, social and governance) targets.”
The company was part of a recent pilot scheme from SE, working with Impact Forecast to support companies to calculate the carbon savings of products and services.
A validation report by Impact found a single Sentinel WellSentinel system has the potential to save around 400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over a 10-year period – allowing operators to save both emissions and costs.
Sustainability is the only way to go for north and north-east businesses
Sentinel has had SE support via Grey Matters, then High Growth Ventures.
This has boosted entrepreneurial skills development and engagement with investors to raise funding for future growth and help access grants.
SE continues to support Sentinel with its international expansion, including co-investment with north-east angel investment group Alba.
From subsea expertise to fish
Meanwhile, fish processor Joseph Robertson has had support from SE’s manufacturing advisory service to look at the company’s sustainability offering to customers, and it now has a sustainability manager.
The business specialises in secondary food processing and is one of the largest independent value-added seafood manufacturers in the UK.
The firm, which has been around since the 1870s, supplies a range of products to major retailers.
Managing director Michael Robertson said: “Since working with Scottish Enterprise back in 2018 and making the decision to resource the role of sustainability and CSR (corporate social responsibility), we have been on a sustainability journey.
“This has meant we now set targets and reduce food waste, as well as increase food donations, and we also reduce energy consumption through equipment replacement and behaviour changes.
“Not only that, we have also changed how we choose, approve and manage our supply chain, with a focus on ethical performance of our key partners – moving towards a focus on their environmental performance because of our commitment to net-zero.”
Conversation