Dear Colleagues,

CL:AIRE’s 20th Anniversary Conference was held at One Great George Street, London on 14th November 2019. Its purpose was to celebrate CL:AIRE’s 20th year anniversary and our industry’s achievements over those two decades. As significant as these landmarks are we also wanted to look to the future and the challenges we may face.

Due to the high quality of speakers and the fact that most presentations had not previously been delivered in the UK we were able attract a large audience of 200 delegates.

The Conference speakers were asked to contribute to a Special Publication to commemorate the day. This publication reflects the Conference Programme which was split between two lecture theatres, one focusing on sustainable soil reuse and the Definition of Waste Code of Practice and the other on technology and innovation in site investigation and remediation.

Many of the speakers also gave permission for their presentations to be recorded and these have been made widely available via CL:AIRE's website to delegates and CL:AIRE Members.

We ended the day with a drinks and canapé reception in the Great Hall at One Great George Street after the event for delegates to meet and share in our celebration.

We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their support without which this conference would not have been possible.

Richard Froggatt, Chairman of CL:AIRE’s Board of Trustees

Conference Programme

Our Speakers

Claudio Albano, Jacobs

Claudio is Senior Project Director for Jacobs Environmental Solutions in Europe. He is recognised as a leader in Sustainable Remediation practice. He has launched SuRF Italy, has been chairing international conferences and active in global initiatives (ISRA, NICOLE).

Paul Bardos, r3 Environmental Technology Ltd

Paul has more than 20 years of experience in soil science and biology, contaminated land and brownfields, waste treatment and risk management, particularly biological treatment technologies, sustainability assessment, soil and water issues. He is managing director of r3, a QP under the DOW-COP initiative and co-chair of the Steering Group of the Sustainable Remediation Forum in the UK.

Tom Butterworth, WSP

Tom leads the work on Biodiversity Net Gain for WSP, supporting a wide range for organisations to meeting their BNG objectives. He was one of the authors of the UK’s industry BNG guide and has over 20 years’ experience working for wildlife. Over this time, Tom has led practical management of SSSIs, developed local, regional and national biodiversity strategies and policies, led programmes of research and managed the delivery of the Government’s biodiversity strategy.

James Cartwright, GeoStream UK

As Technical Director at McAuliffe Environmental and its specialist remediation arm, Geostream UK, James leads all the two companies’ contaminated land remediation projects in the South of England. His 25-year career has seen him direct numerous large-scale in situ and ex situ groundwater projects in the UK and across the globe. This includes some of the UK’s biggest in situ soil vapour extraction, bioremediation, product recovery and ex situ thermal projects. A Chartered Engineer, James is a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management and is a DoWCoP Qualified Person.

Richard Clayton, WSP

Richard is the UK lead for WSP’s Ground and Water business, a team of 150 delivering contaminated land management, remediation, hydrogeology, site decommissioning and demolition. He has been with WSP for almost 22 years and has over 25 years’ experience in the characterisation and remediation of contaminated land. Richard was actively involved in the Sustainable Remediation movement and has recently supported the development of the RemSoc Practitioners Framework for Remediation.

Marc Dillen,Grondbank

Marc Dillen has a Master’s Degree in Economics. Subsequently he obtained a Master of Business Administration at the University of Louvain. He started his career as a researcher at KU Leuven (the Catholic University of Leuven) and afterwards he worked as an advisor at the Belgian prime minister’s office. Nowadays he is director general of the Flemish Construction Confederation.

The Flemish Construction Confederation is the leading business organisation, recognised employers' organisation and representative body of the construction industry in Flanders. It represents and defends the interests of some 10,000 member companies of all sizes, from small enterprises to global players, carrying out all forms of building and civil engineering activities.

Besides civil engineering and general contracting, Flemish companies developed an international activity in environmental engineering: water treatment, decontamination of soils, waste disposal, renewable energy, etc.

He is also director general and co-founder of Grondbank and Tracimat. Grondbank, a non-profit association, has been working since 2002 to support all stakeholders involved in earthworks. In addition to its traditional tasks, such as issuing soil management reports, Grondbank delivers solutions to practical earthworks problems. Tracimat is a construction and demolition waste management organisation that certifies the selective demolition process and uses an elaborate traceability system to check what is happening with waste that is generated during demolition works. With the Tracimat system we are able to establish which (hazardous) materials are used in buildings and in infrastructure and which materials will be released during the demolition works. All this information is gathered in the Tracimat database, a tool that allows us to collect interesting facts and figures on demolition waste in Flanders.

Steve Edgar, Vertase FLI

Managing Director of Vertase FLI and FLI-QDS, Steve oversees all aspects of both of the FLI Group Remediation businesses. He initially cut his teeth as a geologist for a consultancy working on a variety of remediation projects in the nineties during the founding years of the remediation industry. Since then he has spent most of his career in remediation contracting, designing and implementing in situ and ex situ remediation projects sites ranging in size and complexity from petrol forecourts to tar and chemical processing plants.

George Evans, Soilfix

George is founder and Managing Director of Soilfix, one of the UK’s leading remediation contractors. He has over 25 years experience in the design, implementation and verification of remediation works for divestment, redevelopment and regulatory drivers. He has led the design and build teams for remediation of a wide range of sites including former and current chemical works, landfills, manufacturing facilities, power stations, gas works and fuel sites.

Mark Fitzsimons, University of Plymouth

Mark Fitzsimons is a chartered chemist with extensive experience in the study of nitrogen and its environmental cycling and impact. He has studied and evaluated nitrogen behaviour in both marine and terrestrial environments and brings this expertise and experience to the FABSOIL project, on which he is Principal Investigator.

Jeff Gamlin, Jacobs

Jeff is Principal Technologist and remediation subject matter expert. He leads Jacobs subgrade biogeochemical reactor technology function and is leading a number of research projects to understand how metagenomics data can be used to better engineer sustainable and effective bioremediation processes. He has also supported international PFAS site characterisation projects and is involved in research with academic partners to evaluate thermal and biological degradation pathways for PFAS.

Liz Gray, Atkins

Liz is a Principal Consultant with Atkins and has worked with industry over the last 15 years to improve resource efficiency in construction. She has applied the DoWCoP to sites large and small and is particularly interested in its application to major infrastructure and multi-phase projects. She is a trainer for CL:AIRE delivering the DoWCoP training courses and sat on the original steering group that developed version 1 of the DoWCoP.

Liz has co-authored the IEMA guidance on the assessment of materials and waste in Environmental Impact Assessment and is an advocate of bringing excavated materials into the spotlight during the planning phase of a project to maximise reuse and sustainability benefits.

Tim Grossey, RSK

Tim is director for geophysics with RSK Environment Ltd. A chartered geologist with 15 years commercial experience Tim’s expertise lies in near surface geophysical surveys. Tim sits on the committee of the Near Surface Geophysics Group (NSGG), a special interest group of the Geological Society.

David Holmes, Ecologia

David joined Ecologia in 2014 and has been involved in a number of technically demanding projects, ranging from chemical oxidation on a former chemical works to large-scale LNAPL recovery in a geologically complex tidal site. He manages Ecologia’s R&D efforts and has investigated pore-transport processes in support of site verification, developed a field-based oxidant-monitoring protocol, and notably won the 2017 Best Scientific Advance Brownfield Briefing Award for Ecologia’s LNAPL probe. He has also been a member of NICOLE’s emerging contaminants working group, and most recently completed research into the photocatalytic oxidation of PFAS compounds in groundwater with the University of Greenwich.

Kevin Leahy, ERM

Kevin is a technical director at ERM and a chartered geologist, specialising in contaminant fate and transport in complex geology, especially fractured bedrock and the use of environmental sequence stratigraphy.

Gareth Leonard, Regenesis

Gareth is the Managing Director of REGENESIS in Europe. He leads a dedicated team of in situ remediation specialists to provide solutions for the contaminated land industry. Gareth has over 18 years contaminated land experience, having provided successful remediation designs and implementation for over a thousand projects across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Giacomo Maini, Ecologia

Giacomo initiated the formation of Ecologia Environmental Solutions Ltd in the UK in 2000, with the view of providing technical expertise and consultancy to companies operating in the contaminated land market. Over the years Ecologia has undergone significant expansion, opening UK offices in the Midlands, South West and set up a subsidiary company in Italy. The company has also increased the range of services offered by developing an in-house geotechnical capability. Giacomo’s role as Managing Director of Ecologia is to provide strategic guidance to the ongoing activities of the company and client liaison, but he also retains a very active role in several commercial and R&D projects. Giacomo is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and a Chartered Scientist.

Rick Parkman, AECOM

Rick leads the Remediation and Industrials Practices for AECOM Environment in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is also on the steering group and lead representative for AECOM at the Network for Industrially Coordinated Sustainable Land Management in Europe (NICOLE) which is a leading forum promoting co-operation between industry, academia and service providers on the development and application of sustainable technologies in contaminated land management, risk assessment and remediation.

Ian Ross, Arcadis

Ian is a Senior Technical Director and Global, In Situ Remediation Technical Lead / Global PFAS Lead at Arcadis. He has experience with multiple physical, chemical and biological treatment technologies and has won several national and international remediation awards for designing their application. His focus for the last 5 years has been solely on PFASs, following initial experience with PFOS in 2005 as a result of the Buncefield fire. He was part of the team authoring and reviewing the CONCAWE PFAS guidance document and has published several articles on PFAS analysis, site investigation and remediation, including a recent book entitled “Emerging Contaminants Handbook".

Jonathan Smith, Shell Global Solutions

Jonathan is the Soil & Groundwater Technology Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Shell Global Solutions, based in The Hague, and a Visiting Professor of Contaminant Hydrogeology at the University of Sheffield, UK. He has 25 years soil and groundwater experience in regulation and policy (Environment Agency), academia (Sheffield University) and industry (Shell), and has worked in the UK, USA and The Netherlands.

Alan Thomas, ERM

Alan is a technical fellow in ERM. He has over 25 years’ experience managing contaminated land and is still enthusiastic about new technologies and implementing new approaches. Alan is a strong advocate of sustainable remediation and is a member of the SuRF UK steering group.

Gary Wealthall, Geosyntec

Gary is the Managing Director of Geosyntec’s consulting business in the UK and Ireland. He is a Senior Principal with more than 25 years of experience in contaminant hydrogeology research and practice. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto and was previously a Principal Research Scientist with the British Geological Survey and Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield.

Gary specialises in the development and application of high-resolution site characterisation methodologies for the selection, design and implementation of advanced remediation technologies. He serves as a Subject Matter Expert for industry clients in Europe, North America, South America and South Africa. Gary is an Editorial board member of QJEGH and Member of CL:AIREs Technology and Research Group (TRG).

Martin Westwood, Jacobs

Martin is a geo-chemist with over 20 years of consultancy experience. He has extensive experience in undertaking and managing environmental risk assessments, geo-environmental site investigations and hydrological / hydrogeological characterisation. He has acted as designer and/or contract supervisor on a range of remediation schemes to facilitate development including waste storage sites, landfills, former industrial and military sites with impacted soils and groundwater. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES) and a Member of the Society of Brownfield Risk Assessment (SOBRA).

Nicholas Willenbrock, CL:AIRE

Nicholas is joint manager of CL:AIRE where he manages the development of the Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice ​(​DoW CoP​)​. His background is in Geology and Environmental Management working previously as both a consultant and contractor.

Jim Wragg, Geosyntec

Jim is a Senior Principal Hydrogeologist with more than 30 years of experience focused on the detailed investigation, assessment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, working primarily with site owners from the industrial sector. Jim has direct, recent experience in corrective action programme design and implementation, including regulatory negotiation. These projects have included a broad range of established and emerging technologies and techniques selected to match the remedial goals and site circumstances. He frequently employs high resolution investigation technologies, bench and pilot scale treatment tests to deliver bespoke remedy designs.

Our Sponsors

Operating from the UK and Germany, Cornelsen delivers innovative, robust and reliable systems, technologies and services for in-situ remediation and the treatment of groundwater across Europe. These include:

PFAS Treatment: Developed by Cornelsen and patented in Europe and the States, PerfluorAd is a truly cost-effective solution for PFAS contaminated groundwater.
Thermal Technologies: Together with our strategic technology partners we offer the widest range of thermal remediation technologies in Europe: Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH); Thermal Conductive Heating (ISTD/TCH); Steam injection and Steam/Air Sparging; STAR and STARx Slow Combustion.
Process Plant - Design and Build: The design & build of specialized & innovative process plants for remediation and water treatment.

Ecologia is a multi-disciplinary, specialist contaminated land company that provides advice and undertakes site investigation and remediation projects across the UK and Europe. We also have an established and excellent reputation for the implementation of a wide range of soil and groundwater remediation treatments.

Ecologia provides remediation design and sustainable remediation solutions to a wide number of customers from the public sector, property development and construction companies to the chemical and petrochemical industry. We also offer specialised support to insurance companies/loss adjusters dealing with environmental claims ranging from small-scale domestic spillages to major industrial incidents.

At Geostream UK, we design, build and deliver a bespoke, cost-effective remediation solution for every site. Our in-house specialists design and implement the appropriate combination of physical, chemical and/or biological techniques to meet client requirements, as well as delivering any associated earthworks and enabling works.

Working alongside our sister company – 50-year-old civil engineering expert, McAuliffe – we are the only UK company that can provide a complete remediation service entirely in-house. Services include: design and build remediation solutions, process equipment, chemical and biological technologies, stabilisation/solidification and physical remediation. We operate across the UK and internationally, with offices in Wolverhampton, Manchester, London, Dublin and Italy.

Geosyntec is a specialist environmental consulting firm and recognised thought leader in contaminated land and groundwater investigation, assessment and corrective action. We are at the leading edge of the design and development of innovative and sustainable remediation technologies to address complex environmental settings and difficult to treat contaminants.

We provide expert yet practical advice and solutions linked to understanding, managing and where possible eliminating residual environmental liability and unlocking value. Our stimulating, progressive, and friendly work environment enables us to recruit, retain, and develop the very best practitioners to deliver exceptional client service. 

John F Hunt Regeneration is an expert in land remediation, providing bespoke, cost effective, highly technical and scientifically advanced solutions to the development, civils, infrastructure and energy sectors.

Our specialist, technical support service integrates seamlessly with our contracting package on projects ranging from £50k to £75 million, whilst our advanced BIM capability with drone technologies ensures minimal environmental risks and certainty of outcome. We are leaders in accelerated bioremediation techniques, asbestos in soil remediation, and provide tailored water treatment options – our single source solution is enhanced with expertise from the wider John F Hunt Group for demolition, dismantling, asbestos consultancy and asbestos clearance.

Keltbray Group is a UK leading specialist business, which offers a range of self-delivered services. Our complementary divisional capabilities means we can offer clients stand-alone or fully integrated services, to meet the needs of diverse and complex projects. With a head office function of more than 25 highly qualified industry specialists we pride ourselves as industry leaders; with the technical capability to solve a range of soil and groundwater issues. It is our Mission is to safely and sustainably deliver pragmatic, robust and cost effective remediation solutions for our clients across a broad range of sectors throughout the UK.

National Grid has been a strong presence in the development of many leading industry initiatives over the last 20 years and is proud to have played a key role in establishing CL:AIRE as well as being an ever-present supporter of CL:AIRE since.

The company owns hundreds of former gasworks sites and employs a respected professional team with a long-standing track record of delivering annual programmes of site assessment, remediation and gasholder demolition, as part of our strategy to bring surplus sites back to beneficial use including providing land for new housing. The Company also manages land contamination issues on operational land across the UK including on operational electricity transmission sub-stations.

SPASF "Priroda" LLC is the leader in providing services to oil and gas industry in the Russian Federation related to the elimination of the consequences of accidental spills of oil and petroleum products, processing of oil and drilling sludge.

For 24 years, SPASF "Priroda" LLC has demonstrated a high level of professionalism in dealing with the consequences of accidental spills of oil and oil products and processing of oilfield wastes. SPASF Priroda LLC has highly qualified experienced personnel and high-tech, environmentally friendly equipment for processing of all types of oilfield wastes. 

Shell Global Solutions provides technical services and licensed technologies. What sets us apart from some other licensors and consultants is the knowledge we have gained from our corporate heritage as the owner and operator of large, complex industrial process plants.

Our technologies and business solutions reflect our many years of experience in designing, building and operating such facilities. 

Soilfix is a leading remediation solutions provider offering multi-disciplinary remediation services to industry, developers and main contractors. Our mission is to continually advance our understanding and management of risk in the ground.

Soilfix adopt a ‘brownfield first’ approach to development that can actually speed up the construction process by removing the barriers to construction on brownfield sites, whilst also protecting our environment. Since establishing the business in 2004, Soilfix has developed an outstanding track record for delivering innovative, technically robust remedial solutions on a wide variety of historical settings. This includes former gasworks, chemical works, landfill sites, shipyards and fuel storage facilities to name a few.

VertaseFLI is an established technically competent remediation contractor offering in-house designed and implemented remediation solutions for all types of contaminated land, brownfield sites, contaminated groundwater and ground gas.

We offer all commercially viable remediation techniques for both soil and groundwater without the need to subcontract any remediation works. We offer remediation contracting to clients designs and also on a design and construct basis.

Conference Videos and Special Publication

Conference Videos

• Videos of the presentations from the 20th Anniversary Conference are now available to view by delegates and CL:AIRE members. 21 presentations were recorded, 18 from the two parallel sessions plus the 2 keynote speakers and the Chairman's welcome.
• Please note that in order to watch the videos you will need to login to your account on the CL:AIRE website and your account should be created using your member organisation email address. If you think your account does not have the correct permissions to view the videos, please contact us via the Help Desk.
• Once logged in, go to Knowledge Centre > Videos & Podcasts > Innovation, Efficiency & Standards - CL:AIRE 20th Anniversary Conference to view all the videos.
• Three presentations without video have their slides available to download, also for delegates and CL:AIRE Members only (once logged in).

 Special Publication

• A Special Publication from the 20th Anniversary Conference has been compiled and is now available to download by delegates and employees of Principal and Supporter Member organisations. 20 papers are included, 18 from the two parallel sessions (1 - sustainable soil reuse and the Definition of Waste Code of Practice & 2 - technology and innovation in site investigation and remediation) plus the 2 keynote speakers.
• You will need to login to your account on the CL:AIRE website to download the publication (your account should be created using your member organisation email address). If you think your account does not have the correct permissions, please contact us via the Help Desk.
• Special Publication - 20th Anniversary Conference