A 1,050-feet long tunnel is being driven under Sheffield’s Brightside Lane as Sheffield Forgemasters’ flood alleviation works reach a pivotal point.

Tunley Environmental has launched its new Guide to Sustainable Pharmaceuticals, providing pharmaceutical and medical device organisations with a practical roadmap for navigating carbon, compliance, product lifecycle assessment, supply chains and environmental risk. The pharmaceutical sector faces a particularly complicated sustainability challenge.

One of the world’s largest pipelay vessels, Saipem’s Castorone, has arrived in the Southern North Sea, marking the opening of an exciting chapter for the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), bringing one of the UK’s first carbon capture and storage networks closer to reality.

A three-pronged sustainability strategy focusing on fleet, buildings and waste is being launched by Ipsum Group, as the business ramps up its journey to net zero.

Castings Technology has installed a multi-million-pound vacuum arc remelting (VAR) furnace at its new £18m facility in Sheffield, marking a significant milestone for the South Yorkshire engineering sector. The installation is the largest of its type in commercial use in the UK and ranks among the largest globally.

Firms across the private sector expect momentum to remain weak in the run up to the new Chancellor’s first Budget in October – but businesses’ overall outlook is the least pessimistic in almost two years, according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator report.

The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism over prospects for the UK economy, rose to -49 in August, from -63 in July 2026. Conversely, business leaders became slightly less optimistic about the prospects for their own organisations, with confidence falling to -5, from -2 in July.

More than two thirds of SME business leaders are grappling with finding time to step back and work on the business due to being stuck in the day-to-day, according to new research. This was cited as the biggest challenge facing SMEs (68%), followed by the rising cost of doing business (51%) and balancing investment in growth with day-to-day operations (48%).

Regeneration specialist Compendium Living has appointed Lisa Johnson as its new project manager to support large-scale housing schemes across the UK, including major developments in Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Business confidence in the North West rose 10 points during August to 59%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds, taking confidence levels above the UK average. Companies in the North West reported stable confidence in their own trading outlook month-on-month, unchanged at 58%.

Britain’s youth unemployment crisis is the symptom of a wider cost of doing business problem. The CBI’s youth employment report ‘Opportunity in Every Postcode: Ensuring Young People Have Options, Wherever They Live’, shows that growth is needed to move the dial for more than a million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Lancashire-based technology and waste specialist firm, Envirovue, is set to double in size over the next 12 months as it gears up for its next phase of expansion. Having welcomed 13 new employees over the past year, Envirovue is expanding its presence at Hardmans Business Centre in Rawtenstall to accommodate its growing team after forecasting 100 per cent growth for the fifth consecutive year.

Four specialists recruited as growing numbers of North West SMEs seek help to adopt technology and develop skills

Greater Manchester engineering firm witnesses a sharp rise in defence RFQs, coinciding with MOD spending boost, can supply meet demand? Engineering specialist BEP Surface Technologies is seeing a new wave of defence-related enquiries and RFQs for specialist grinding and hard chrome plating.

Manufacturing order books saw a noticeable improvement in August according to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey (ITS), following a sharp deterioration over April-July. Total order books were reported as below “normal” to the least extent since November 2024, with export order books recovering to “normal” for the first time in over four years.

A NATIONAL business funding roadshow helping ambitious businesses connect with investors, lenders and advisers has helped generate a £6.1 million funding pipeline.

Salko UK, a mechanical and electrical solutions provider, has successfully completed expert maintenance works across three exhaust gas housings and diffusers in the Netherlands. Working in partnership with ENGIE, Salko UK deployed a 13-strong team to complete essential work that was delivered in just over a month.

Employment Hero, the AI-powered employment platform, has extended its partnership with Leeds United for the 2026/27 season, becoming the first brand to take over and rebrand the club's iconic Legends Club.

New CBI and Oliver Wyman report identifies an emerging AI ‘execution divide’ and calls for a national partnership to make AI work for Britain.

The way businesses across the UK manage waste is set to change as the UK government moves towards heightened environmental responsibility and transparency. In October 2026, the UK government will begin rolling out its mandatory digital waste tracking initiative, requiring companies to record their waste movements throughout the supply chain.