Your vibe attracts your tribe

This week has been packed with high-impact meetings, powerful conversations and some of the most inspiring moments I’ve had in recent months. At the heart of it all? Partnerships, purpose, and people.

We started strong at Kingsnorth with a visit from the senior management teams of both Skanska and the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) project. Having these two major players on site at Syntech Biofuel HQ is a real marker of how seriously our industry is now taking the decarbonisation agenda, and how Syntech ASB is increasingly being recognised as a cornerstone in delivering on it.

Skanska’s commitment to sustainability is well documented, and LTC continues to demonstrate progressive thinking in both its construction approach and material choices. Seeing their leadership teams engage directly with our team, take time to understand the science and systems behind Syntech ASB, and ask genuinely challenging (and encouraging!) questions gave us all a boost. It reminded me just how far we’ve come, from small-scale biofuel trials to conversations about national infrastructure integration.

But if that was energising, Thursday turned the dial all the way up.

I had the immense privilege of delivering a keynote address at a major sector event hosted by the KKB Group who are local to us here in Kingsnorth.  KKB put on a marvellous event and all credit should go to Del, Craig, Andy and the whole KKB family. I say family because whoever you talked to in a KKB shirt was warm and genuinely welcoming. You can’t fake that, it shows good culture and made for one of the best events of this type I’ve been to.

The curried goat and jerk chicken they laid on for lunch went down a storm as well, especially with the 50 or so squaddies who came from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Regiments, KKB are great supporters of the armed forces including sponsoring the Mayor of Dartford’s Veterans Breakfasts which supports our vets suffering with PTSD,  a brilliant initiative.

It was a splendid gathering that brought together a who’s who of UK construction and infrastructure. National Highways, Lower Thames Crossing, Balfour Beatty, JCB, Volvo, Skanska, Tarmac, the list of attendees read like the ultimate project delivery dream team.

The event was held in the sort of sunshine that tests both your SPF and your stamina, but the energy was incredible. We spoke about real-world decarbonisation, what it takes to move beyond the buzzwords and deliver practical, scalable change. I highlighted Syntech ASB’s role as a fully traceable, UK-made, waste-based alternative to fossil diesel and how it’s already slashing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 93% on live projects across the country.

But what made the day special wasn’t just the machinery or the sector muscle, it was the people.

We were joined by Jim Dickson MP and Vince Maple, two individuals who continue to use their platforms to champion local innovation and community-first economic development. Their presence, and that of the Mayors of Medway and Dartford, sent a strong message: collaboration between public sector leaders and private innovators isn’t just happening, it’s gathering pace.

And then came the session on health and mental wellbeing, an area so often overlooked at industry gatherings, but one that couldn’t be more important.

The Medway Healthy Workplaces team delivered practical, evidence-based insights that had everyone in the room reflecting on the health of their workforce and their leadership culture. It was powerful, pragmatic, and extremely well received.

But for me, and I think many others, the real heart of the day belonged to Billie, a member of the KKB team who stood up in front of an audience filled with senior execs, engineers, procurement leads and MPs, and shared her personal story. Her talk on mental health, lived experience, and the importance of speaking up. It was raw, honest and incredibly brave.

There are moments at these events where the noise falls away, and you feel the room genuinely listening. Billie created one of those moments. I hope she knows just how impactful her words were, not just as a colleague or a speaker, but as someone who changed the tone of the entire day for the better. She absolutely smashed it.

So, as the week closes, I’m left thinking about the blend of big decisions and small details that make real progress possible. Yes, we need the machinery, the policy frameworks, the materials science and the numbers to stack up. But we also need the relationships, the trust, the lived experience, and the courage to talk about things that don’t come with datasheets or technical spec.

I’m grateful to everyone who made this week such a powerful one, and especially to the teams at KKB, Balfour Beatty, Skanska, and LTC for putting their time, energy and leadership into showing up and moving things forward.

Story by Syntech Biofuel