NET takes home string of awards for sustainability and design.

Keolis Nottingham, which operates Nottingham Express Transit (NET), has been awarded for its commitment to biodiversity at a leading industry awards ceremony.

The tram operator came first in the Environmental and Sustainability Initiative category in the Global Light Rail Awards 2024, winning with its biodiversity project led by infrastructure manager, Glenn Oakes.

The successful project comprises many years of personal commitment from Glenn, which has seen a number of sustainability initiatives incorporated into Nottingham’s tram network. Through close collaboration with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, NET has facilitated safe habitats for wildlife along the tram network through using wildflowers and hedgerows, while ensuring any necessary maintenance work such as felling trees is done with as little disruption to nature as possible, and in ways that can support future biodiversity.

Other successes for NET at the Global Light Rail Awards 2024 included receiving ‘highly commended’ in the Richard Brown Best Customer Initiative Award category, for its Accessibility for All campaign which saw the network partner with visual communication experts, Widgit, to develop assets to empower individuals with travel or language barriers to use the tram confidently. NET was also shortlisted for the Safety Initiative, Employee of the Year and Rising Star categories.

Sarah Turner, service delivery and safety director at NET said: “As a public transport operator, and such as key part of Nottingham’s infrastructure, our duties go so much further than giving our customers a safe and convenient way to travel so it’s fantastic to be recognised for our biodiversity schemes.

“Thanks to our team, led by Glenn’s initiative, we’re confident that we’re not only reducing our impact on the environment, but helping to make positive adjustments that support areas where we can make a real difference.”

NET’s marketing team, with the support of its creative agency Michon, was also recognised for its use of effective design and was awarded ‘silver’ in the 2024 DBA Design Effectiveness Award for its 2022 freshers’ campaign. Through the use of bold messaging, focusing on discovering Nottingham and communicating the benefits of using the tram over other forms of transport, it appealed to students who were keen to explore a new city in a post-pandemic world. With a particular focus on activations at freshers’ week events, it resulted in a substantial increase in Academic Year Student Passes being sold during the promotional time, when compared to the last pre-Covid year.

Alison Sweeney, head of marketing at NET said: “This campaign was produced at a crucial time for us as a network, as the world opened up again following a long period of lockdowns, and it was important that we communicated the right message to encourage people to travel again. The results of this campaign speak for themselves, and was a step in the right direction as we continue to engage more and more with this younger audience who are looking for sustainable ways to travel.”

Sarah Turner, service delivery and safety director at NET added: “This awards success is testament to the ongoing dedication of our team, working across all areas from operations to communications. These efforts go a long way towards ensuring that we can consistently improve on our service which, in turn, creates a better experience for customers, which is always our goal.

“With schemes like those recognised in our recent award wins, we’re confident in the strength of our network and it’s only set to improve as we head into the future.”

To find out more about NET, visit https://www.thetram.net/