Hays Travel is the first business to receive a Yu Energy award for its commitment to sustainability.

Founded by CEO Bobby Kalar in 2014, Yu Energy is a leading business energy supplier of green electricity, smart meters and carbon neutral gas.

Vilpa Lillie, senior lead at YU Energy, travelled to Hays Travel’s Sunderland head office to meet the team and present them with their special award.

Vilpa said: “With temperatures rising as they are, it’s impressive to see the commitment of companies as large as Hays Travel to reducing their impact on the environment.

“We proposed the idea of an award to our chief operating officer, to recognise Hays Travel’s efforts to be more sustainable. It was a real pleasure to present the award to the team in person and acknowledge their sustained effort and commitment to sustainability and producing less carbon. From refurbishing branches to be more energy efficient, to installing food bins the team is always coming up with something new."

Ken Campling, Chief Finance Officer of Hays Travel, said: “Hays Travel is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, and this award is testament to a brilliant team who are always coming up with new ideas to achieve that. In our head office and in our branches, teams are consistently innovating around green initiatives, recycling, and continuous improvement.

“Yu Energy and our teams have worked hard to get us where we are today. Vilpa went above and beyond to support us in our ambitions, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with YU Energy, thanks to the excellent service they provide.”

Ben Allen, Strategic Account Manager at YU Energy, said: "Over the last few years on supply with Yu, we've seen really impressive carbon reduction and energy management from Hays Travel.

“They have proactively installed smart meters across 97% of their national retail estate and are close to completely moving away from gas. Their approach shows a real commitment to monitoring and reducing carbon, at a pace of progress we don't typically see with large nationals."

YU Energy listed the key sustainable actions that led to Hays Travel receiving the award as:

• 97% smart meter roll out – to enable monitoring and targeting
• EV charging points and PV panels installed at head office
• REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) green power customer for many years
• Gas close to being replaced across the retail estate

Andy Hughes, Chief Operating Officer of YU Energy, said: "My congratulations to Hays Travel on receiving our 2026 Sustainability Award. It's great to see YuSmart metering across a national estate enabling real impacts on carbon monitoring and reduction".