Thompson quits Natural England to head up Wessex's EnTrade platform

Natural England’s chief operating officer Guy Thompson has been appointed managing director of EnTrade, Wessex Water’s groundbreaking environmental services trading platform.

Thompson (pictured) will started at EnTrade on 19 February but already has a good knowledge of the platform, which brings buyers and sellers of catchment services together in pursuit of more efficient catchment spending. At Natural England, he both helped EnTrade’s first trade in 2016 (to save 20 tonnes of nitrogen in the Poole Harbour catchment) by supporting a cap on nitrogen inputs there, and last June entered the market as a second buyer – for seven tonnes of nitrogen.

Thompson’s appointment suggests Wessex intends to expand significantly EnTrade, which is currently administering its fifth round of auctions and was named in the government's 25 Year Environment Plan earlier this month as a "more efficient way of tackling pollution”.

David Elliott, director of strategy and new markets at Wessex Water, said: "We are really proud of what EnTrade has achieved in such a short time, and we have an ambition to grow the service to facilitate wider environmental improvement by enabling greater collaboration. Guy's appointment is a clear signal of our intention to invest in EnTrade and he will be a wonderful addition to our team.”

Thompson added: "I believe the water industry can play a powerful role in innovating for the environment. "I'm looking forward to establishing EnTrade and helping Wessex Water secure its vision to become a provider of outstanding environmental services and create great places for people to live and work.”