Young people have been honoured for their role in the successful completion of the ‘Greener than Green’ project, which helped ensure the future of their hometown sports club.

The celebration event, held at Cleator Moor Celtic Football Club, brought together key partners, community members, and young innovators to commemorate the project’s achievements.

The ‘Greener than Green’ project, a collaboration between the Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH), Co-Lab Engineering, and Cleator Moor Celtic, tasked young people with developing a sustainable solution to help secure the future of the community sports group.

Faced with rising energy costs and an uncertain economic climate, the club, which has more than 400 members aged between six and 60, aimed to halve its energy bills and reduce its carbon footprint.

With support from iSH, Co-Lab Engineering, and help from a range of organisations including Jacobs, Westinghouse, React, Technology Consortia Ltd, Radiance Renewable Energy Solutions and other regional contractors including JT Atkinson and Travis Perkins, 15 young members of Cleator Moor Celtic, aged between 12 and 14, spent last year’s half-term holiday working together to research and develop ideas that would enable the club to become more sustainable.

One year on, the solution has been delivered, thanks to funding from Sellafield Ltd and Electricity North West.

The installation of new solar panels was unveiled at the event in front of regional figureheads, including Euan Hutton, chief executive officer at Sellafield Ltd.

The renewable energy generated will help sustain the club for future generations and support the club’s growth by reducing its energy costs.

Gary McKeating, managing director of iSH, who led the event, said: "We’re delighted to celebrate this project coming to fruition – a real partnership between Cleator Moor Celtic and the local business community.

"It is an important local organisation that provides sporting and social opportunities for the community and involving the club’s young members has been a huge success, a real legacy for them and the club."

Euan Hutton, CEO of Sellafield Ltd, said: "Buildings we are building at Sellafield today, the people who will operate them have not started their GCSEs yet, and the buildings we are planning to build, the parents of the people who will operate them have not even met yet.

"So we have lots of cool jobs in robotics and other areas of Sellafield and the supply chain, but we also need a sustainable community to support those jobs, because the people who will do those jobs want to have cool places to be and cool places to live and that includes having a good, sustainable, inclusive sports club like this.

"The fact that the young people here tonight have achieved this, saving their local football club money with a renewable, sustainable solution, delivered as part of an innovative project with the help of funders and the support of the supply chain, fills me with hope for the future."

Twin sisters Sofia and Lilly Murphy were among those who took part in the initiative.

Sofia said: "I was really excited to be involved in the project and I enjoyed learning new engineering skills."

Lilly said: "Learning about different renewable technologies was a great experience and I’m pleased the solar panels will help the club reduce costs."

Cleator Moor Celtic chairman Neil Grears, who spoke at the event, said: "Thanks to everyone for getting this project, which is all about sustainability, self-sufficiency and using natural resources, over the line - to the funders Sellafield Ltd and Electricity North West and everyone involved, it means an awfully great deal to a non-profit organisation like us."

More information about iSH is available at https://ishco.co.uk/