Preparing for Outage Season: Reflections from the Viridor National Contractor Forum 2026

By Mustafa Ali, Graduate Management Associate

As we prepare for the upcoming outage season across our Energy from Waste facilities, I am reminded of the learnings that came out of our most recent Viridor National Contractor Forum, which takes place every January. This forum provides a valuable opportunity for the Viridor team to reflect on last year’s outages, learn from them and align with our key contractor partners for this coming year.

The forum brought together contractor partners from across the country - many who have supported our outages for years and will be supporting us again this year. As someone early in my career, it was reassuring to see the emphasis Viridor places on collaboration, learning and continuous improvement as we look ahead.

Safety set the tone from the outset. Our SHEQS team shared the progress made over the past year, including reductions in injuries and high‑potential events, alongside improvements in reporting and investigations. More importantly, the focus was firmly on how these learnings are shaping the way we operate going into the next outage season.

We’re continuing to roll out streamlined CDM inductions and strengthened supervisor safety‑critical standards—not just because they’re required, but because we want everyone to go HomeSafe. Every One. Every Day. It was clear from the discussions that this isn’t a slogan; it’s a shared mindset across Viridor and our contractor community.

A real highlight for me was hearing from Lee Munckton in our ESG team, who spoke about our sustainability journey and recent achievements. Viridor has secured an EcoVadis Platinum rating, placing us in the top 1% of companies globally for our sustainable practices. What stood out wasn’t just the achievement itself – which is amazing - but the ambition to keep improving and to bring our contractors, customers and suppliers along on the journey with us. During one of the breaks, I heard contractors discussing how they could pursue EcoVadis recognition within their own organisations and the benefits this could bring for them.

Open and honest conversations about recent outages were another important feature of the day. Challenges experienced during some of last year’s outages - including emergent work like refractory and boiler repairs - were discussed transparently. Rather than glossing over these issues, the forum created space to share lessons learnt, highlight best practice and explore how we can improve planning, risk identification and quality control going forward. That level of openness builds trust and leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.

I am supporting the planning of Runcorn’s next outage, so was particularly interested in the 2026 Outage Plan and how it reflects what we’ve learned. The continued move towards a 24‑month outage cycle across the fleet represents a significant shift, requiring greater investment in plant resilience and asset life. With an ageing fleet and growth on the horizon, this forward‑looking approach feels both ambitious and essential and fills me with confidence in the long-term reliability of our facilities.

Our Head of Procurement, Robert Wheat, introduced the 5‑Gate Sourcing Process. This is a structured approach that covers everything from supplier identification through to awarding contracts. What struck me was how much this process is about strengthening supplier relationships. By involving Engineering, Operations and Legal from the start, we’re setting clearer expectations and enabling smoother, safer delivery during outages.

This year’s forum was our largest to date, with close to 90 contractors in attendance. The atmosphere was open, collaborative and genuinely constructive. The final rotating discussion sessions, which covered safety, outage delivery, emergent work and innovation really demonstrated just how comfortable people felt speaking candidly and sharing ideas.

That openness says a lot about the culture we’re building together. We don’t just talk about improvement; we actively invite a proactive “see‑it, sort‑it” approach and make sure we act on what we hear.

As we head into the next outage season, the message from the National Contractor Forum was clear: by listening, learning and working together, we’re building a safer, smarter and more resilient future for our Energy from Waste operations.

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