Utility and environmental leaders in New Year honours

Prominent figures working in the utility sector who have led and contributed to environmental work and addressing energy challenges and climate change have been recognised for their achievements in the 2022 New Year Honours list.

Recipients of the Queen’s honours included the chief executives of the Energy Institute and Wales and West Utilities as well as leaders at SSE and National Grid.

The list was dominated by those who had served their communities or specialist fields throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but those working in climate change adaptation and environmental sectors also featured heavily. In recognition of services to the environment and public sectors, several staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA) made the list.

Order of the British Empire

Jonathan Broomfield, Defra director, for public service

Professor Lynne Elizabeth Frostick, board member at the Environment Agency (EA), for services to flood risk and coastal erosion management

Louise Kingham, chief executive of the Energy Institute, for services to the energy industry

Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Syed Viqar Ahmed, founder and chair of Community Energy London, for services to community energy, decarbonisation and community benefit in London

Kathryn Anne Brown, head of climate adaptation at the Committee on Climate Change, for services to climate change research

Reverend James Alan Cruddas, deputy director at Defra, for public service

Graham Winston Edwards chief executive, Wales and West Utilities, for services to business and to the community in Wales

Julie Kim Anne Foley director, of flood risk management strategy and national adaptation at the EA, for services to managing flood risk

Zoe Elizabeth Keeton, head of regulatory affairs UK and Ireland at RWE Renewables, for services to the renewable energy sector

John Andrew Kneen, HR manager at Shell Energy, for services to diversity and inclusion

Catherine Isabel McClay, head of futures at National Grid, for services to the energy sector and the promotion of decarbonisation

David Peter Newton, policy manager for energy, consumers and engagement within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), for services to people experiencing fuel poverty

Members of the Order of the British Empire

Jacqueline Maxwell, head of customer relations at SSE, for services to the energy supply industry

Elizabeth Parkes, director of climate change at the EA, for services to climate change and environmental protection

Medalists of the Order of the British Empire

Peter Nicholas Gysin, senior policy adviser at BEIS, for services to energy policy and international trade