Business Edge 63

Inside 4 protecting our planet 6 business matters 20 ask the expert 24 big interview 36 finance focus 38 new members 40 training 42 diary of an entrepreneur

the magazine for sussex chamber of commerce members

Protecting our Planet AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

October/November 2021

Sussex Chamber of Commerce

The interconnected building Digitalise your workspace

We can visit your premises – anywhere across Kent and Sussex - to make it happen Contact Tim Rycroft | Tel: 020 3906 6070 | Email:timr@gcl.uk.com | https://gcl.uk.com/

We are recruiting!

For more information email philcottrell@gcl.uk.com

contents

October/November 2021 business edge

Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Sussex Chamber of Commerce currently represents over 1,000 member businesses. Membership of Sussex Chamber of Commerce offers access to invaluable business advice, money saving benefits, networking opportunities and provides a voice for businesses at a local, regional and national level. Business Edge is delivered free of charge to all Sussex Chamber of Commerce members as well as key business decision makers across the county. It has a circulation of 4,000 copies per issue.

Business Edge is a Sussex Chamber of Commerce publication.

If you have any stories you would like to tell us about or any comments please drop us an email at enquiries@

sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

SUSSEX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Unit 4, Victoria Business Centre, 43 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill RH15 9LR

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Welcome to our Business Edge magazine!

Green Sustainability and Climate Challenge #ChambersUnite #GreenerFuture #TogetherForOurPlanet #COP26 #ClimateChallenge A recent national survey carried out by the British Chambers found two thirds of businesses have no environmental or social value strategy. 70% of businesses surveyed felt “environmental sustainability” is about cutting carbon emissions, whilst most respondents, 82%, think it is about recycling and reuse of materials. The research highlights the mismatch between the clear understanding among UK businesses of what benefits can flow from environmental and social value policies.

This is why the global Chamber network is supporting members to find more environmentally sustainable ways of doing business and identifying opportunities to boost social value impact. We are looking to Government for a supportive regulatory framework that will help accelerate a green recovery and promote business growth to boost economic growth and jobs, enrich local communities and protect the environment.

Now is the time to develop a clear action plan to reach net zero. Starting your journey can be daunting but our Green Sustainability web page has been developed with global Chambers to provide insights, tools and support to help you build a greener future. Local business case studies will inspire you to start your own net zero journey. There are links to events, finance, funding, and toolkits. The web page will evolve over time.

Distinctive Publishing or Business Edge cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Business Edge.

Chief Executive Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Our business leaders’ conferences are back! We are excited to bring you our next face to face conference which will focus on Green Sustainability & Climate Challenge Conference. The conference will be held on the 2nd November at the Crowne Plaza Felbridge hotel from 10.30am to 2.30pm. Lots of opportunity to network and hear from our speakers. https://www.sussexchamberofcommerce. co.uk/events/chamber-events/greensustainability-and-climate-challengeconference Sponsorship packages are available to promote your business throughout the conference and in social media: https:// www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk/ membership/sponsorship/businessleaders-conference #ChambersUnite #GreenerFuture #TogetherForOurPlanet #COP26 #ClimateChallenge Remember to share your exciting news with us to help highlight your business to a wider audience.

CONTENTS welcome

DISCLAIMER

Ana Christie

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protecting our planet

25 26

protecting our planet

4-5

construction

business matters

6-9

protecting our planet

28-35

business support

12-13

finance focus

36-37

business matters

14-15

new members

hospitality & events

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new members/protecting our planet 39

ask the expert business matters big interview

20 21-23 24

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training

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events

41

diary of an entrepreneur

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AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

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protecting our planet

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

The difficult challenge of achieving Net Zero aircraft emissions How does Gatwick and the UK aviation sector plan to support UK climate change targets?

Tim Norwood Planning Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Director, Gatwick Airport

Sustainability is one of the most important issues facing society, not just aviation, and is something that must be tackled head on.

As consumers are doing across other sectors, an increasing number of passengers will look closely to see what the aviation industry is doing to reduce its environmental impact before booking, so it is vital the sector can demonstrate clear action in this area.

Gatwick has made good progress and achieved a 50% reduction of direct emissions from the airport by 2020, two years ahead of schedule. It is now aiming to achieve an 80% reduction by 2030 and ‘net zero’ before 2040, similar to targets from other major UK airports.

Achieving net zero carbon emissions from aircraft will be a more difficult challenge, however. There is no single silver bullet. A broad range of measures must be deployed and phased in over time as part of a long-term strategy that the entire industry must embrace.

Roadmap to Net Zero It reflects how important the UK sector takes this issue that together it became the first national aviation industry anywhere in the world to give a 2050 commitment to reach net zero for aircraft emissions.

Sustainable Aviation (SA) is a UK industry coalition including airlines, airports - including Gatwick - and aerospace manufacturers. Its Net Zero roadmap targets at least an overall 15% reduction in net emissions (relative to 2019 levels) by 2030, and a 40% net reduction by 2040.

The pace of decarbonisation will also ramp up as game-changing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), permanent carbon removals, and new low and zero-carbon technologies – such as electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft – are scaled up and become mainstream.

Low and Zero carbon technologies In the medium term, new electric, hybrid, and hydrogen engine technologies have great potential to deliver zero emissions - reflecting the recent evolution of road vehicles.

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It is just a small step, but last month, easyJet – which currently offsets all its fuel - and partners Wright Electric successfully tested the “most powerful electric propulsion motor of its kind”, which is part of their plans to produce a zeroemission, single-aisle aircraft.

In 2020, Airbus also revealed several zero-emission commercial aircraft concepts to enter service by 2035, including aircraft powered by hydrogen combustion capable of flying 1,000 nautical miles – perfect for short-haul trips.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels

Smarter flight operations – modernising airspace Redesigning our airspace and using new navigation technology will also generate significant carbon savings from aircraft emissions by making flying more efficient - leading to less airborne holding, fewer miles flown per aircraft and less fuel burn.

The UK’s airspace infrastructure has not changed significantly since the 1950 and the major project to modernise is already underway and could be complete by the mid-2030s.

Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are a more immediate-term solution however and can be used in existing engines and require no modifications to aircraft or refuelling infrastructure.

International cooperation

Developed from sustainable feedstocks like waste oils, fats, and even solid waste like everyday household rubbish, they are ready to go – provided there is sufficient Government backing.

Agreement at an international level will therefore be required to really impact on climate change, which is why the UK sector is pushing for a 2050 commitment to net-zero emissions at next year’s ICAO General Assembly - a United Nations body.

Independent research for SA, co-funded

by Gatwick, showed that - with the right investment - 14 SAF plants could be operational in the UK by 2035, producing 4.5 million tonnes of SAF by 2050.

This could contribute to a 32% reduction in UK aviation carbon by that time.

British Airways – which currently offsets its fuel for domestic flights - has set itself a 10% SAF use goal for all flights by 2030. Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is testing 100% SAF capable engine systems, while Boeing has said it will also deliver commercial airplanes ready to fly on 100% SAF.

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Aviation however is a global industry and requires global solutions to avoid simply moving emissions from one country to another.

Global agreement will be key as effective market-based measures must also be developed which – alongside new carbon removal and storage technologies can offset the remaining residual emissions.

Achieving Net Zero by 2050 is within the aviation industry’s reach, but it will require significant support from Government, major investment in new technology and cooperation at an international level.

tel: 01444 259 259

protecting business ourmatters planet

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Thermic Edge and Nuclear Fusion – The Future of Green Energy The need for a source of renewable clean energy has never been so great.

Bob Burgess Managing Director, Thermic Edge Ltd

Thermic Edge is an East Sussex based business, specialising in Technical Ceramics, High Purity Graphite, Vacuum Heaters, Furnaces and Heater Stages. These have applications in various specialist industries such as Semiconductors, Aerospace, Medical, and Energy.

Recently, Thermic Edge has been working closely with nuclear fusion projects with the hopes of building a brighter future for clean energy production. Their team is comprised of people coming from many industries related to UHV (Ultra High Vacuum), offering the unique skillset required to solve the complex problems that nuclear fusion presents.

Members of the team have been involved for 30+ years in big fusion projects like JET in Oxford, UK and ITER in Saint-Paul-lezDurance, France. These projects involved the design and production of brazing assemblies (Titanium to Ceramic Al2 O3 insulator/breaks 30 KV to 120KV) for the gas injectors of Deuterium and Tritium into the tokamak’s chamber.

Due to a very proactive past in nuclear fusion projects and because of their wide range of products and techniques, Thermic Edge is in a strong position to be involved in present and future tokamaks worldwide.

Recently partnering with the UK Atomic Energy Authority to aid in the delivery of sustainable fusion energy, Thermic Edge now supplies fusion start-ups across the UK with specialist bespoke parts and services for their research.

The impact of this research will be felt across the world, with more and more investments demonstrating a demand for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. The

future of nuclear fusion will hugely impact the future of sustainable large-scale industry. The contributions of Thermic Edge to the tokamak nuclear research programs taking place will help to spark a revolution in research and technology for years to come.

Spotlight on Member to Member offers Many of our members offer great benefits for fellow members of the chamber. If you are a member and haven’t yet made a Member to Member (M2M) offer, why not login to our website portal and create your own!

There are currently 62 M2M offers on our website. They cover a very wide variety of services and products with free consultations, discounts on services, other giveaways and some truly surprising offers that can also benefit your staff.

Remember to keep your M2M offers up to date, especially if they are limited by date!

We’re showing summaries of these offers here but for full details visit our website: www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk/membership/member-to-member-offers

Finding Solutions With A Free IT Consultation Do you want peace of mind as well as a boost to your company productivity through technology? We provide a clear action plan for all Chamber members on online security, data protection, automation of business processes or even remote working and data synchronisation for your staff anywhere. Call Richard from Associate Planet, a boutique IT and technology consultancy, for a free friendly consultation Email info@associate-planet.com Tel: +44 (0)7831 196534 https://www.associate-planet.com

SQL Server Health Check We are pleased to offer a 15% discount on a SQL Server Health Check to Sussex Chamber members. If your database or applications are slowing down or you have upgraded your hardware and not seen an improvement in speed, a health check is recommended to catch problems before they evolve into something bigger. enquiries@ballardchalmers.com 01342 410 223 https://ballardchalmers.com

20% site wide discount for Members Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd (ETI) is a British, award winning digital thermometer manufacturer, producing digital and infrared thermometers for food service and industry together with dataloggers, moisture meters, humidity, and pH meters.

Receive 20% discount online when you quote CHAM-20 at the checkout.

Tel: 01903 202151 Email: sales@etiltd.com www.etiltd.com

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

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business matters

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Net Zero “This is the decisive decade.” That is the clear message from COP26 President Alok Sharma and he called for “every country and every part of society to embrace their responsibility” if the world is to achieve the target of being carbon neutral – or net zero – by 2050.

Chris Peer Managing Director, Maritime House

The Reality of Global Trade Disruption

There is no doubt in my mind that the debate about climate change has moved on significantly since COP25 but turning debate and targets into meaningful action across the globe still remains a

I was already in the export trade when Harold Macmillan said that exporting is fun, an early experience of the disconnect between reality and the statements of politicians, but I have never previously experienced anything approaching the present difficulties in moving goods around the world.

huge challenge.

For business, implementing change also has to make commercial sense. In a challenging trading environment social conscience is of itself probably not enough to drive real and rapid change.

This is particularly so for the many SMEs that don’t access capital markets or

We are an international trading company, so shipping is central to our business and the impact of the pandemic has been dramatic.

First, several parties are involved in moving our goods from factory to destination, not only the shipping lines but also freight forwarders, Customs authorities, port operators, stevedoring companies, railways, and trucking companies. Ships call at many ports en route to our destinations so delays at any point can hold up the delivery of our goods to our customers. Covid-19 has kept ships’ crews at sea for months on end without a break and temporarily closed ports in China have caused containers to be in the wrong places and disrupted the activities of the other parties. Hundreds of container ships are waiting to dock at major ports worldwide.

Second, freight rates have been depressed for years, which has led to much reduced competition in the shipping industry as lines have merged and reduced capacity. Consequently, when worldwide demand responded to the financial stimulus provided by several countries, in particular the USA, to speed up recovery from the economic impact

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of the pandemic, there was a shortage of capacity to meet the spike in demand, so freight rates have rocketed. The rates we pay have increased 200-300% since April and rates from China have increased by 500-1000%.

Third, some customers who have got used to reliable deliveries and keeping low stocks to reduce working capital have been caught unawares and sometimes run out of stocks because they did not heed our warnings of the likely delays in delivery. This, combined with the large, frequent and unpredictable increases in freight rates which are imposed at very short notice, is testing the long-term relationships we have built up over the years.

We expect rates to remain high and unpredictable at least until the end of this year. Thereafter, they are likely to stabilise as trading patterns become more regular but certainly at significantly higher levels than pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, the shipping lines are the current masters of the universe, and their profits reflect that; Hapag-Lloyd have just reported half-year profits which exceeded their cumulative profit over the previous 10 years!

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

come under the scrutiny of regulators.

Some SMEs are taking the lead because “it’s the right thing to do” and they are to be applauded for that, but many have other fires to fight, perhaps don’t know where to start or feel that small changes won’t make a difference.

Sussex Chamber of Commerce is committed to helping businesses play their role through a wide range of initiatives. Our Green Sustainability hub Green Sustainability | Sussex Chamber of Commerce has been created to give more insight, support and best practice help, allowing businesses to understand how they can make their contribution to the challenge we all share.

tel: 01444 259 259

Rob Clare Chairman Sussex Chamber of Commerce

business advertorial matters

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Over £1.8 billion spent across the south on improvements with passengers returning to the railway more than 18 months after the first lockdown, Network Rail’s Sussex route says “welcome back” Network Rail Sussex route, which maintains and operates tracks from London Victoria and London Bridge to commuter towns of south London, parts of Surrey, Croydon and Brighton, spent more than £643m maintaining and upgrading the railway during lockdown, so passengers came back to a better railway.

Enhancements worth over £150m included the continued work to upgrade Gatwick and Crawley stations

“I want to pay tribute to the thousands of

Network Rail’s Sussex route has invested over £643m in the railway to support the country in its mission to ‘build back better’ so passengers can feel confident and safe when they return to travelling by train.

months to keep the country moving during

John Halsall, Network Rail Southern region managing director, said: “We’re really excited to welcome more passengers back to the railway now that the coronavirus restrictions have been lifted.

Network Rail and train operator colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the past 18 this incredibly challenging time.

“Our passengers deserve to travel with confidence, so we’ve been working hard to keep you safe with enhanced cleaning and new one-way systems to avoid crowding, and we’re asking passengers to continue to wear face coverings in crowded spaces out of respect to others.”

“Our passengers deserve to travel with confidence, so we’ve been working hard to keep you safe with enhanced cleaning and new one-way systems to avoid crowding, and we’re asking passengers to continue to wear face coverings in crowded spaces out of respect to others.”

Even at the height of the pandemic, Network Rail was working to keep trains running for critical workers, such as NHS staff, as well as making sure thousands of tonnes of vital goods, like food, fuel and medical supplies, were transported by freight trains every day.

Work to maintain and improve the railway continued, including the Gatwick station upgrade, access improvements at Crawley, a £22m investment in the Arun Valley Line and a £160m programme to upgrade the signalling between London Victoria, Clapham and Balham.

Chris Fowler, Customer Services Director for Southern, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming customers back on board. Over the past year, our colleagues have worked hard to keep services running to support key workers and essential travel.

“In addition, we’ve also continued to carry out our multi-million-pound, network-wide station improvement programme. Involving more than 1,000 projects and 250 stations – we’re confident that returning customers will enjoy a better station experience.”

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

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business matters

October/November august/september december/january june/july 2019 2018 2021 business edge

Workplace Mental Health: Managing Risk & Staying Compliant Workplace mental health should increasingly be viewed from a perspective of risk management and compliance, say workplace consultancy, Mente.

Many businesses have begun to pay greater levels of attention to employee wellbeing, as the benefits of a happy and healthy workforce have become clearer. Despite this, many businesses implement solutions that are uncoordinated and non-strategic, ultimately reducing their effectiveness.

Mente say that businesses can benefit from implementing comprehensive mental health strategies, which aim to reduce specific psychological risks. Collecting data from an employee survey is a key first step in this.

This would allow an organisation to find pain points, and to devise realistic actions that will make a difference.

Businesses must also ensure that they are fully aware of, and compliant with, the legislation surrounding mental health and stress at work. For example, employers currently have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by completing a stress risk assessment and acting on it. Ensuring compliance with such laws is an excellent starting point for

businesses who want to improve workplace mental health and safety.

Mel Joseph, founder and director of Mente, commented “Many businesses genuinely want to make a difference to employee wellbeing, and that’s excellent to see.

Despite this, few are viewing workplace mental health from a perspective of risk management and compliance. The issue with this is that psychological hazards can remain, ultimately taking a toll on worker health. This also leaves the business at risk of high operational costs of ill-health, as well as potential litigation. By focusing on risk management and compliance, businesses can support workers effectively, while minimising risk to the business.”

Mente help businesses to address mental health through their digital platform and mental health consultancy service. To find out more information, visit www.mentehealth.com

Mel Joseph Founder & Managing Director, Mente

Connectivity, Accessibility and Flexibility Speedcom is the biggest franchise for O2 and has taken the leap into Virgin Media O2 Business in a new way, to ensure that during the current times that all businesses are fully connected, have complete access to their accounts and have the flexibility to move with the needs of each unique business.

Virgin Media O2 wants to make sure that all businesses are connected, whatever the industry requires and so O2 has rolled out 5G to 75 Towns and Cities across the UK with more by the end of 2021 making flexible working paramount in times like these. With remote working still a big part of everyday life it only makes sense to be

“To keep the businesses connected without being able to travel, O2 have included EU calls and texts to the majority of their business tariffs.”

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able to use all of the software you would at work at home, with office 365 and a dedicated help line, your business will continue to flourish.

To keep the businesses connected without being able to travel, O2 have included EU calls and texts to the majority of their business tariffs. Having access to your account is very important to ensure any issues are dealt with as soon as possible, O2 has made sure that all businesses have full access to their account through My O2 Online and through Speedcom, a personal account manager, taking any worries around staying connected out of the equation. Accessibility is not the only reason O2 is one of the best networks for businesses but they also focus on flexibility, with tailored deals to suit every individual business. Through these difficult times Speedcom wants to continue to support all businesses big or small to help them expand and grow.

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Samantha Copland Business Manager, Speedcom Telecommunications Limited

tel: 01444 259 259

business matters

October/November june/july February/March december/january 2019 business 2021 2018 2021 business edge business business edge edge edge

Small Changes to Your Website That Can Increase Conversions A strong online presence is essential to any business, but the experience a user has with your website is what marks the difference between a site that merely blends into the digital ether and one that’s optimised for greater levels of traffic, enquiries and sales.

Mike Knivett Managing Director, Artemis Marketing

Intentional UX has the power to increase conversions and engagement, and small tweaks to your site can lead to a considerable boost to your bottom line.

What is UX? UX stands for User Experience, and it encapsulates everything relating to how your visitors and customers navigate and interact with your site. From the content a user engages with to how quickly they find what they’re looking for, and the ease with which they can make a purchase or get in contact with you, UX captures the entire customer journey from the moment someone visits your site to the moment they leave.

Google recently announced that Page Experience will be rolled out globally this year as a ranking factor. Now is the time to start paying attention to how your users interact with your site and the experience they have when doing so, to get more enquiries, turn site visitors into customers and increase revenue.

Optimise for Speed and Mobile Responsiveness Speed and responsiveness are critical to providing a positive user experience – 39% of users will stop using a site if it has image loading issues (source: UXCam), and 53% of mobile sites are abandoned (source: Google). A slow website can drastically impact on how many enquiries you get through your site and the chance of users making a purchase.

In order to improve the speed of your site, work with your developer to remove any unnecessary plug-ins and compress highresolution images. It’s also worth utilising Google’s Page Speed Insights to see where you can make additional improvements to help users take action faster.

Use Well-Written CTAs Calls to action (CTAs) are essential for creating a compelling value proposition – each page needs to have a clear purpose and goal. CTAs need to be action-focused and time-sensitive to inspire users to click and take action, such as changing ‘Contact’

to ‘Call Today’. But where you place CTAs is just as important as what they say.

If a CTA is hard to see, read or click on, it’s going to negatively impact the overall UX of the page. A study by the Nielsen Norman Group found that 84% more people are likely to view your content if it’s placed in the top section of the page. Colour psychology also plays a role, enhancing contrast and sparking subconscious impulses in users. Green and orange are popular CTA colours to motivate customers to click.

Remove Navigation Friction If a user lands on your site and can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll be frustrated.

The patience of that user decreases rapidly and they’re more likely to leave the page having not completed the desired action, whether that’s contacting you or making a purchase.

To remove navigational friction, keep the layout of your pages consistent and categorise menus in an intuitive way for the user. Keeping your web design in line with best practices and conventions, both for

desktop and mobile, will ensure that the site is easy to use.

Demonstrate your authority Answer frequently asked questions and demonstrate your depth of knowledge with helpful information, as well as build credibility by showcasing awards and accreditations. Most importantly, ensure you have clear reviews. Reviews are one of the most influential factors to buying decisions, so don’t hide your testimonials – celebrate them in a prominent location close to your essential calls to action.

In Summary UX sits at the core of your revenue opportunities, customer engagement and site ranking. If you prioritise UX, extra enquiries and sales will follow and you’ll be maximising the potential of your existing traffic. User experience is also a key metric in Googles algorithm which determines a website’s ranking position, so along with the quick wins of more enquiries and sales, it will also help your site rank higher organically which in turn will lead to even more people finding your business online.

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

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advertorial

October/November 2021 business edge

Return to work anxiety? You’re not alone During the pandemic, one of the areas that has most affected us is our work.

And it's no secret that anxiety levels are quite high as we start to return to the workplace. We've got used to the work from home lifestyle and feel a sense of safety in our own home. It has its own challenges of course; juggling the role of being a parent, teacher, employee and partner each day, but there are advantages to working from home, not least the shorter commute.

“Returnism” In contrast, work doesn't seem as safe as it once was. There are new rules and processes to follow, possibly new colleagues to meet, a “new normal” to settle into and permanent changes to adjust to.

Change can cause anxiety, particularly if you are the type of person who likes a settled routine.

Anxiety can manifest in a range of ways and vary from person to person. Typical symptoms are: Shortness of breath Feeling hot Racing heartbeat Tiredness or lack of energy Stomach aches and sickness

Anna Golawski

Difficulty concentrating

Owner Stratus Coaching

Feeling irritable or snappy Problems with sleep

Readjusting to the workplace First of all notice how you are feeling, what are you looking forward to about returning to work? What feels difficult? What are your emotions and feelings telling you?

Build up gradually. Don’t try and do too much too soon, create a phased return plan and acknowledge that it may take a while to get back to where you were before. Can you arrange flexible working arrangements for a period of time?

Take time out. In the workplace this may mean a short walk, five minutes in the kitchen making coffee or a social chat with a colleague.

Familiarise yourself with new rules and restrictions that may be in place, keep a safe distance where possible, and follow good hygiene measures to also avoid common winter colds and flu.

Give yourself a break. New work routines, coupled with added commuting time, is going to be exhausting for the first few weeks while you adjust. Use your weekends and evenings to rest and recharge.

Use support networks; not only family and friends but check what other supports your organisation may provide through employee assistance programmes.

Supporting your staff Employers have a duty of care to ensure that the workplace is sufficiently safe to

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return to, following the latest government guidance. Not just physically but also in terms of supporting workers wellbeing and mental health needs.

Open communication is key Clear communication with staff, listening to their concerns over the workplace will be critical to helping people to feel supported as they return to the workplace.

Reassure staff about the measures being taken to safeguard their physical health is important and shows you care.

Keeping your team up to date on your thoughts around longer term plans for more flexible working arrangements will also help staff to feel confident that the organisation is aware of their wellbeing desires and needs and trying to meet these where practical.

Individual Circumstances Address the concerns of vulnerable staff or those with new caring responsibilities. This will not just reassure those affected but also show the whole team that you value them as individuals.

Having a one-to-one meeting with each returning colleague in which they are encouraged to discuss any concerns they have about the workplace is a great way to find out who needs more support and agree individual arrangements for workplace return based on both their needs and those of the business.

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Equip line managers The relationship between employees and their line manager is key to success, and this means that managers need to be equipped to spot the signs of someone who may be struggling and be confident to proactively have a conversation with them and listen non-judgementally.

Support If you have Mental Health First Aiders, or an Employee Assistance Programme or other professional support, remind staff that this is in place in case they feel they need to access it.

If you are keen to ensure that you fully understand how to support your teams as they return to the workplace, wish to learn how to recognise common mental health challenges or want to reassure your team members that you have their wellbeing at the centre of your business, then you may wish to consider one of our Mental Health First Aid courses or free webinars.

Please contact anna@stratuscoaching.co.uk for full details.

tel: 01444 259 259

advertorial

October/November 2021 business edge

Covid-19 and Future Planning: Five tips on making your team and your business more agile The business world has changed and lots of people like myself, who enjoy working in an office, will need to work remotely from time to time.

Over the last 18 months, I have been so proud of how our team at OpenCRM adapted to everything that has been thrown at them. On virtually no notice, the entire team transitioned to working remotely. It was practically seamless.

I say practically because in those first few days and weeks we found a few areas where we needed to make some changes. Mainly implementing new processes or relying more heavily on software to keep things running smoothly.

But I think every business had similar hurdles to overcome.

The whole process highlighted to me the importance of agile business processes.

And fostering an equally agile working environment.

I’d like to share my top five tips on doing just that:

Tip #1: Regular, Recurring Team Meetings Having regular meetings, daily, weekly, or even monthly, allows remote workers to feel more engaged. But it also helps everyone stay up to date on what their teammates are working on.

These could be informal morning chats, where attendance and participation are optional. Weekly small team meetings to pass on progress and important news. Or even monthly company meetings for more general business updates.

The important thing is that you make a schedule and keep to it.

Tip #2: Autonomy and Responsibility One of the most common complaints I hear from managers about remote working is that they don’t know if their employees are actually working. But, I always ask, you know if they’re working based on their output, right?

By giving people responsibility and ownership of the jobs they need to get done, you motivate them to achieve their goals. It’s their task—and it will sink or swim based entirely on what they put into it.

I have always found this to be the best way to motivate people and it paid dividends when we moved to remote working.

Tip #3: Training and Guidance Of course, if you want people to achieve targets and goals, they need to know how to complete the various tasks and jobs along the way. And that means investing time, energy, and even your profits into

making sure they have the right training and knowledge to do so.

This process can feel slow and occasionally even expensive, but once one person has the know-how, they can share that with the rest of the team. Making everyone more effective in their day-to-day job.

Tip #4: Clear, Documented Processes So they’ve got the knowledge and the motivation, now they just need to know what it is they are supposed to do. And, importantly, how it fits in with the other people on their team and in the wider business.

Having clear, documented processes means that every single person knows what they are doing and why they are doing it.

You’ll also need to have somewhere for these various processes to take place…which brings me neatly to my next tip.

Tip #5: Have the Right Tools In order to do their job, remotely or in the office, your team need to have the right tools.

When working remotely, this means they need systems that let them work independently, while also investing in tools that allow them to communicate and collaborate effectively.

When the pandemic hit, we already relied almost entirely on cloud based systems (like our very own CRM system), but did find that some of our other systems just weren’t up to the job. So we found ones that were and got everyone trained up on them.

By not being afraid to change out tools and systems, we were able to find the right ones for what we needed.

We always set out to build an agile team, and have always thought of ourselves as being adaptable. But these past several months have really highlighted to me the importance of this approach and areas where theoretical planning fell down.

I won’t pretend that we never ran into any hurdles, of course we did. But we discussed them as a team and found the best ways to overcome them. These ranged from new processes to new software to some general education for some (or all) of us.

I wanted to write this article, not to crow about how great my team is (although, they do deserve it), but rather to share with you what we learned over the last year.

As I write this, many of us are still happily working from home. Some have returned to the office full time. And we’ve even got a few who split their time between being in the office and working remotely.

We’ve learned to be more flexible in our approach to where people work and it has only made us stronger.

Graham Anderson, is the CEO and founder of OpenCRM, one of the UK’s leading customer relationship management systems.

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business support

October/November 2021 business edge

Using words to bring your business to life The art of persuasion begins with good quality copy. Which tells your story and sells your business.

But in today’s media-rich society, we’re bombarded with competing messages.

This means writing content that helps you stand out from the crowd. That tells the world who you are, what you do and what you represent.

Many business owners or managers find writing about their company difficult.

They struggle to find the right words. Get lost in jargon. And spend days wondering what to write for their website, blog or other marketing materials when they should be running their business.

Help is at hand. I can help you discover your voice and communicate effectively with your customers.

Take a look at what I can do for you.

Web Copy. Your website is your virtual shop window. You need clear and compelling copy that makes the reader want to find out more.

I can write fluent, eye-catching content that will win you more clients and

generate more sales. From one page to an entire site. This includes basic SEO to move your website up search engine rankings.

Blog Posts. Blogs are a key part of web marketing. They help you add depth to your online presence. Build trust. Allow you to cover topics in greater detail than possible elsewhere on your site. And demonstrate that you are an organisation worth taking seriously.

Case Studies. Everyone loves a good yarn. Case studies are an under-used way of providing a powerful narrative about how your company has helped clients in real-life situations. Offering a structured ‘problem and solution’ format that the reader can readily understand.

They are a really good way of using your success stories to tell potential customers about the quality products or services you provide. And offer a form of social proof even stronger than testimonials.

Words matter. The right words matter most of all. Drop me a line if you need creative, engaging content to get more eyes on your business. www.wealdenwordsmith.co.uk chris@wealdenwordsmith.co.uk Tel: 07854 129732

You’ve Done the Management Training – now what?

How about One-2-One Mentoring?

What is it?

Mentoring is a combination of bespoke teaching and coaching, where the learner explores specific areas that they are interested in. Working with a trained specialist, they get the learning that they need in order to perform at their best.

concerns, when they want that help and at a level and pace that suits them. The “curriculum” is driven by the learner.

What areas can it address?

The list includes: Management and leadership

How can it help?

Communication problems

Mentoring can give individuals input and help on their current issues. The mentor will then help them to apply this learning to their situation, challenge them to improve and support them over hurdles. It’s a flexible and targeted approach.

Assertiveness

Why not just do another course?

One-2-One mentoring has the advantage of providing help with the learner’s own

Creativity Problem solving Janet Webb has been working with clients this way for over 20 years, and particularly so during the last 9 years.

She has a rather unconventional style. It’s never boring. Don’t expect formal.

For more information, contact Janet for an exploratory chat. email: janet@janetwebbconsulting.co.uk or visit her website: www.janetwebbconsulting.co.uk Follow and connect with her at: Twitter: @JWebbConsulting | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/janetwebblandod

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tel: 01444 259 259

business support

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

How much does IT downtime cost your business?

Your IT system crashes, and while it’s being repaired you put on the kettle to make a cup of tea. But you now realize you’re making lots of cups of tea every week and begin to wonder how much is all this downtime costing?

Is it because you’re using sticking plaster solutions to resolve much deeper IT problems? A bit like the proverbial watched kettle that never boils, you never get to the bottom of your technical hitches.

In some businesses, IT downtime becomes so commonplace that people begin to accept it as the norm. Staff also start devising their own workarounds just to get the job done. They feel they’re being more productive than waiting for the IT issue to be resolved when, in fact, taking short-cuts or creating new unapproved methods can be time-consuming, create new problems, and in some cases be incredibly dangerous.

The true cost of downtime to any business depends on its turnover, staff costs and the nature of the business. But the bottom line is that, if IT issues slow you down or even stop you from completing transactions with customers, the damage can be even higher both in terms of lost revenues and tarnished reputation.

Recent reports suggest that lost productivity caused by IT downtime could be costing British businesses, on average, £3.6 million a year including 545 hours of wasted staff productivity. With an estimated average hourly wage of £13.75, IT problems cost companies £7,235 per employee each year.

Low morale Constant IT problems can instigate low morale, creating a negative culture, that results in lower productivity, higher staff turnover and missed opportunities as people begin just doing the basics to get through the day rather than thinking proactively about new ideas and opportunities for the business.

As it takes people longer to get through their workload, stress can build. Staff can feel severely undervalued when issues are not resolved, as it sends a message that the company doesn’t care enough to help them do their job properly. Stress and low morale can cause employees to resign or take time off, creating increased recruitment and training costs.

Often companies find themselves paying someone to fix daily niggles addressing problems only as these occur.

But the cost of such quick fixes can certainly mount up. So how can you reduce downtime, and reduce the costs that come with that? It’s often far more cost-effective to take a proactive approach and update systems or hardware before issues arise.

The first step to reducing IT downtime is through proactive monitoring and maintenance. Don’t wait for problems to arise before putting this in place. The

best way forward is to carry out a full IT health check. The daily downtime being suffered could be fixed simply by upgrading software, getting licences up to date, aligning systems, or replacing outdated hardware, aligning your IT systems with the business direction.

A good IT support partner will take a proactive approach to ensure your systems are running efficiently and prevent problems from developing in the first place. It will also provide regular reports to show the ongoing work it’s carrying out behind the scenes to protect your business. It will mean fewer cups of tea for you and your team, but your business will run smoother, and ultimately cost you less in downtime.

ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 Certified

IMAGINE HAVING ACCESS TO ALL THE BEST IT SERVICES.

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CNC provide the most comprehensive range of IT services in the South East including: – IT Support & Outsourcing

– Hosted Phones & Mobiles

– Internet Connectivity

– Security Services

– Installation & Infrastructure

– Cloud & Hosting

– IT Hardware & Software

– Disaster Recovery

– Cloud e-Mail Archiving

– Apple Support

– Mobile & Remote Access

– Virtualisation

– Off-Site Data Backup

– Office 365 & Azure

We would love to talk to you and offer a Complimentary systems & security check-up with no obligations to use our services.

— 01273 386 333 — sales@cnc-ltd.co.uk — www.cnc-ltd.co.uk

Celebrating 25 Years in business

1996—2021

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13

business matters

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

How do you solve a problem like customer data protection?

You are here. Your data is there. Threats are everywhere. Cybercrime is on the rise. In our digital-first world, distributed workplaces and remote work routines are creating new security vulnerabilities. But how are enterprises responding to the increased threat landscape?

John Grimm Vice President Strategy, Entrust

The Entrust annual Global Encryption Trends Study aims to answer this question and more by examining how and why enterprises deploy encryption. Conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the 2021 study features insights that help reveal the future of encryption use and the solutions organizations are leveraging to solve the difficulties of working across multiple cloud environments.

Customer data remains vulnerable While IT professionals ranked protection of customer information as the most important reason for encryption, the study found customer information ranks fifth on the list of information that enterprises actually encrypt. Instead, several other data types ranked higher including; financial records, payment-related data, employee/HR data and intellectual property. Which means enterprises are leaving customer data vulnerable even though they believe it’s the top reason to deploy encryption.

Clearly, there is a disconnect between perceived threats and the realities of deploying encryption when it comes to prioritizing customer data. There are likely several reasons for this disconnect, but a key component that is revealed by the study is that encryption use tends to follow the most mature and easy-to-use applications like databases and backups/archives, as opposed to truly following specific data to all the different locations and platforms it moves to.

Additionally, the pandemic revealed weaknesses in some enterprises’ data protection strategies. Financial services, for example, became an even bigger target for fraud and other malicious activities like phishing. And according to the study, respondents in the financial services industry rated the threat of malicious insiders higher than any other industry.

To regain consumer trust, vulnerable industries need to align their intention to protect customer data with their actions.

Brands that fail to protect their customers’ personal information inevitably place their reputations at risk.

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The use of encryption grows, but difficulties managing it abound The study also revealed more promising trends for enterprises. Encryption use continues to rise, with 50% of organizations reporting they have an overall encryption strategy applied consistently, while 37% report a limited encryption strategy.

Although the use of encryption is growing, it comes with challenges. In fact, managing encryption is a pain point for many enterprises today. When assessing encryption solutions, enterprises look for performance, management of keys, policy enforcement and support for both cloud and on-premise deployment. And 45% of organizations rated unified key management across multiple clouds and the enterprise as very important or important. This makes sense because the data also showed that encryption keys for cloud services, including Bring-Your-Own-Key (BYOK), are the most painful key type to manage.

The study also found that knowing where organizational data lives across on-premise, virtual, cloud and hybrid environments is a continuing issue for enterprises. In fact, 65% of organizations report that discovering

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where sensitive data resides is the top challenge when building out and deploying an encryption strategy.

The pandemic has put even more pressure on organizations to apply increased attention to their encryption solutions in order to protect against both internal and external threats. Whether it’s painful or not, enterprises will only benefit from prioritizing their encryption and key management solutions — especially if it means helping their customers feel more secure, and decreasing risk to their business.

Overall, it’s encouraging that customer data protection is such a high priority for organizations, but there is clearly some work to be done in turning that priority into a reality in terms of what data is actually encrypted and at what points in the data lifecycle. It’s also apparent that organizations of all shapes and sizes are looking to adopt encryption for a range of new and cutting-edge use cases, which will no doubt continue to drive innovation in the industry.

Read the full 2021 Global Trends Study to learn more.

Website: www.entrust.com

tel: 01444 259 259

business matters

October/November 2021 business edge

Crawley Town Football Club’s Successful Youth Football Initiative On the 26th of August, Crawley Town FC invited 300 young football players to be personally given a Youth Development Player Card by a First Team player which allows exclusive access to all Crawley Town FC home league matches.

There will be inclusive activity-based challenges set for the youth players by the First Team squad throughout the season.

The club and Community Foundation hope this will increase attendance and engagement within our younger fanbase by building a clear and connected pathway with Crawley Town FC’s First Team. Here is what Crawley Town FC and Crawley Town Community Foundation had to say about the initiative: ‘This season marks Crawley Town FC’s 125th anniversary. As a club and a community, we are grateful to everyone who has supported us on our journey to becoming an established professional football club with our own pedigree and history. During the pandemic, the club and Community Foundation have been proactive in our response to change which has allowed us to move forward into a new and exciting

era. This is why we are in a position today to launch this incredible Youth Development initiative. We have already seen success in our pathway with multiple Community Foundation players currently on trial with the first team and we hope to continue this trend.’ Alex Watts on behalf of Crawley Town FC. ‘Firstly, we would like to thank all of our players and their families for continuing to support the Crawley Town Community Foundation throughout the pandemic. We are proud that our continued relationship with the club has continued to go from strength to strength and we want to keep creating memories and experiences that will live with our players forever. This project will allow us to make watching professional football in Crawley even more accessible, helping us to engage and inspire local young people who aspire to play for the

“This project will allow us to make watching professional football in Crawley even more accessible, helping us to engage and inspire local young people who aspire to play for the Crawley Town first team one day.”

Alex Watts, Marketing and Sales Assistant, Crawley Town Football Club

Crawley Town first team one day. Hopefully, we will see everyone in the terraces soon!”

Kayleigh Bowers on behalf of Crawley Town Community Foundation.

“The launch of today’s ticketing scheme is another positive step taken by both the club and Community Foundation in trying to attract the next generation of fans to Crawley Town. The players in our youth development team already have a passion for the club so the fact that we’re able to make matches more accessible for them is superb and testament to the great work that the Community Foundation and their coaches put in on a daily basis - I look forward to welcoming them to The People’s Pension Stadium over the course of the next season, starting on Saturday against Northampton Town.” - Tom Allman (General Manager)

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15

hospitality & events

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Let’s raise a glass for hospitality Local hospitality is well and truly back in business.

Conference centres and hotels are heading into the winter season with newfound confidence and a real spirit of optimism.

Thanks to the success of the vaccine programme and the continued easing of restrictions, this Christmas already looks set to be far more festive than last year, and celebration plans are firmly back on the menu.

The fact that the region’s hospitality has emerged from pandemic pessimism into a bright new-look future is due, in no small part, to the local community. Their unwavering levels of loyalty and support have helped even the smallest business survive the darkest days, and played a massive part in the sustained recovery.

In fact, right from the word go, businesses and customers have embraced the

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government’s three R’s – Reopening, Recovery and Resilience – with gusto.

Coming through Covid has made us all appreciate the importance of our local pubs and restaurants so much more. And simple things that we took for granted – like going out and socialising – are more valued than ever. We all now recognise that the hospitality sector is the real hub of the community… a place to meet, chat, make friends and network.

Business innovation and willingness to adapt to change have also been a major key on the roadmap to recovery. New trends in technology and innovation were bubbling under the surface pre-Covid, but now ordering a pint by app or booking a restaurant takeaway are mainstream.

And we’ve all taken to new ways of enjoying our leisure like ducks to water: staycations,

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outdoor eating, pop-up dining, enhanced safety and hygiene, and sleek online service are part of the new norm and here to stay.

These are just some of the positives to come out of all the turmoil and prove that while the speed of change has been immense and unprecedented, hospitality is well up to the challenge.

That’s not to say there haven’t been hiccups.

Trade has surged steadily since the early days of Eat Out to Help Out, but supply has sometimes struggled to keep up with demand, and staff shortages are a big headache. One thing’s for sure though, lessons continue to be learned, and the sector will be as resourceful as ever in finding ways to adapt.

Regional hospitality is well on the road to recovery. So here’s to a prosperous, sustained future!

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hospitality & events

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Brighton & Hove Albion’s new 1901 Club lounges Brighton & Hove Albion’s 1901 Club members had a warm welcome back to the football club’s home on the south coast at the American Express Community Stadium, for their fifth consecutive season in the Premier League.

Having not been able to welcome 1901 Club members during the various lockdowns, Albion took advantage by upgrading their lounges for their premium, Premier League matchday experience.

Chairman Tony Bloom said, “The 1901 Club team has worked closely with the board, and we think you’ll love the new-look lounges that opened in August. It’s a place where everyone’s welcome, old and new members, business or casual users.

“I hope you like what you see, and what we have planned, and will join us for the next five years. Thanks as ever for your amazing support.”

While supporters can enjoy the fine dining experience, nothing quite beats watching 90 minutes of football in the best seats in the house. Sat directly behind head coach Graham Potter and his staff, platinum 1901 Club members can enjoy the dugout experience, going through every emotion with the players.

There’s no risk of losing that prime position anytime soon either as 1901 Club members

lock into a five-year commitment, ensuring they can count on being able to entertain family, friends or clients for the long term.

Supporters have been treated to some of the most entertaining football seen in the world’s best domestic league. Under Potter, Albion play a high tempo, attacking style that has seen them make a very impressive

start to the 2021/22 season, earning plenty of plaudits from pundits and the media.

The 1901 Club is more than just the football, it’s a members’ club with a wide range of benefits.

Contact the 1901 Club at 1901@brightonandhovealbion.com or call 01273 668855 (option 2) to secure the last remaining 1901 Club seats.

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17

hospitality & events

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

EAST IS EAST PRIVATE LIVES THE GOOD LIFE CHRISTMAS CONCERTS STICK MAN PINOCCHIO THE NUTCRACKER FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD DOUBT THE PLAY WHAT I WROTE TWO CIGARETTES IN THE DARK PRIVATE PEACEFUL COMEDY, DANCE, MUSIC AND MUCH MORE

November – March cft.org.uk 01243 781312

Celebrate and support Chichester Festival Theatre Situated in the cathedral city of West Sussex between the South Downs and the sea, Chichester Festival Theatre is internationally renowned for the exceptionally high standard of its productions.

Whether you need a concert venue, meeting room, exhibition space or party venue find out more at southofenglandeventcentre.co.uk or contact us on 01444 892048 or eventcentre@seas.org.uk

The Festival Theatre’s bold thrust stage design makes it one of England’s most striking playhouses – equally suited to epic drama and musicals. Its studio theatre, the Minerva, is particularly noted for premieres of new work alongside intimate revivals.

With its light and spacious foyers and welcoming café, bars and restaurants, all with lovely views over Oaklands Park, Chichester is one of the country’s most loved and lively theatres.

In 2022 it celebrates its 60th Anniversary and their Festival Season is set to be an incredibly special one. If you’d like more information on how your business can support and be a part of this very memorable year, contact development.team@cft.org.uk.

Until then, a feast of visiting drama, dance, comedy, family shows and music for all tastes and ages is heading to CFT for their Winter 2021/22 season.

Why not bring a group to CFT? There’s great discounts on tickets available, free reservations and special offers on dining. For full details visit cft.org.uk/groups.

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www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

20% discount on venue hire for Sussex Chamber of Commerce Members* The South of England Event Centre is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South of England Agricultural Society, a Registered Charity Number 227033. *Offer applies to new bookings up to 31.12.21

tel: 01444 259 259

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

hospitality & conference

M EET L E ARN P L AN CREAT E S T AY

Reconnect teams at Roffey Park Institute Whether working in a virtual, hybrid or office-based team, connecting people and organisations is crucial to thriving and grasping the opportunities the future holds.

At Roffey Park Institute we have the perfect venue to bring people back together to build for the future, rebuild team bonds or learn new skills. Located near Horsham, we offer plenty of space, great hospitality and a welcoming place to stay. Our 20 purpose built meeting rooms, restaurant and 60 ensuite bedrooms provide the ideal environment to collaborate together.

www.rof feyparkvenue.c o m AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

19

ask the expert

October/November 2021 business edge

Accounting for carbon Carbon accounting is the process of measuring the climate-changing emissions that an organisation is responsible for. Efforts to go climate neutral or net-zero requires carbon accounting so that emissions can be monitored and progress tracked.

Dr Nick Jagger Business Researcher, Green Growth Platform, University of Brighton

Currently, only large publicly traded companies are obliged to provide energy use and emissions information, alongside their company accounts. There are no immediate plans to extend these requirements to the remaining 99% of enterprises, which accounts for businesses with less than 250 employees. However, there is a good case that these businesses would benefit from producing carbon accounts.

There is pressure on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to undertake carbon accounting from three areas - these are pressure from: the Government and Local Authorities larger companies wanting to understand their supply chains the public who look more favourably on companies who are addressing climate change.

Government and Local Authorities The UK Government has established increasingly tight targets for reducing UK carbon emissions compared to the situation in 1990. The current targets are for a 68% reduction in emissions by 2030 and a 78%

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reduction by 2035. This is followed by an ambition for the country to have net-zero emissions by 2050. The UK has already achieved a reduction of 47% by 2020.

However, these new targets will not be reached simply by decarbonising the UK’s electricity supply or even with the addition of ending the use of fossil fuels for transport and heating.

To achieve these targets SMEs (currently 99.87% of UK enterprises) are responsible for 60.71% of employment and 52.23% of UK turnover and will undoubtedly be asked to make at least parallel reductions in emissions.

This means that there will be policy pressure to ensure that SMEs are measuring and reducing their emissions. One method the Government is adopting is making a clear and credible carbon reduction plan a prerequisite for business with Government.

Currently this only applies to tenders of over £5 million but this is likely to change. Many Local Authorities have declared climate emergencies and set even more ambitious local targets than the Government. For instance, Brighton and Hove City Council have set a target of being climate neutral by 2030 and although they have fewer levers to encourage compliance, they will be seeking more ambitious action from local companies than national Government.

Large companies Larger companies are examining the emissions contribution their suppliers are placing on them via products and services.

This means that they are increasingly asking

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their suppliers to show the carbon content of their products and show that they have undertaken a review of their emissions.

This usually requires a carbon accounting process.

Public opinion The public is increasingly concerned with extreme weather events as well as reports of rising global temperatures, sea levels and melting ice-caps. This is translating into behaviour changes and changes in the patterns of purchases of products and services. In turn, this means that people are looking more favourably at companies that can demonstrate that they are addressing climate change by measuring and planning to reduce their emissions in line with targets.

These three sets of pressures are likely to converge on demands for carbon accounting and climate action across the board. The basic principles of carbon accounting are relatively simple and most of the information required is likely to already be in a company’s account and expenses systems as well as contained in utility bills.

There is a growing body of people and organisations capable and willing to assist companies, sometimes for free. Keep your eyes open for forthcoming announcements.

The University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform is the South East Hub of Clean Growth UK. Our mission is to connect climate-conscious businesses with the resources they need to innovate and grow.

Find out more at clean-growth.uk/southeast-hub/

tel: 01444 259 259

business matters

October/November 2021 business edge

Unlock more of your brands potential for less with our exclusive 10% discount Does your business need clarity? Do you need to attract more customers or employees? Are you looking to elevate your brand above the competition?

If you answer yes to any of these, unlock your brand from anywhere with 10% off the price on any of our remote brand workshops.

To find out more, download our free guide at firebrand.co.uk/brand-workshops Email: hello@firebrand.co.uk Telephone: 01323 430700 Website: firebrand.co.uk

50% off MHFA courses!

What Lies Beneath Southern Testing are currently involved in an interesting job which required a great deal of technical expertise.

Andrew Holley MSc FGS Senior Geological Engineer, Southern Testing Laboratories

A significant ground collapse occurred in October 2020 beneath two potable water reservoirs in Maidstone, Kent. The collapsed ground caused significant damage to the reservoir structures, which resulted in the loss of a valuable water supply asset. Works are ongoing to improve both the ground beneath the reservoir and repair the structures.

The ground collapse is believed to be associated with a natural geological hazard, and such collapses are not uncommon in the Barming Heath region of Maidstone. However, the collapse that occurred was unprecedented in its magnitude.

The specific cause of the collapsed ground was very likely due to broad vertical fractures or ‘Gulls’ in the underlying bedrock, which are often filled with wind-blown Aeolian deposits

(usually silt/fine sands), or which may contain soil that originates from the overlying geology. The infill soils are liable to collapse if they become inundated with water. These Gull features were formed by a geological process called cambering that probably occurred during ice age periods, at which time the South of England was experiencing a periglacial climate. Cambering may have developed when valley erosion occurred in clay strata which is capped by a brittle Limestone rock in this part of Kent. This erosion caused this overlying rock to fracture, due to stress relief, and then migrate towards the valley centre causing the fractures and Gulls.

As the site is of great strategic importance to the local population, it was necessary for the team of consultants and contractors to work closely in order to provide the right solution to enable one of the reservoir structures to be repaired and put back into service quickly. This included thorough investigations of the underlying geology to help develop a ground model, which was undertaken by Southern Testing, and involved Dynamic probing within the reservoir structures themselves.

To help companies look after the wellbeing of their employees as we return to the workplace, we are offering 50% off all Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses booked before the end of November 2021.

Please contact anna@stratuscoaching. co.uk for dates of open programmes or in-house training.

Telephone: 077 99 33 45 94 Website: www.stratuscoaching.co.uk

Free 1 hour CRM Consultation We’ll review your existing business systems, along with any pain points, limitations or areas where you might like to see improvements. Areas covered include Contact Management, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and Accounts. We’ll provide a written summary with advice and suggestions. This is a consultancy exercise and not a sales process. We would only propose one of our CRM solutions if it was truly necessary and offered a potential benefit.

Email: info@loriacrm.com Phone: 01444 810519 Website: www.loriacrm.com

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21

business matters

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Hospitality Rocks It has been widely reported in the press that the hospitality sector is facing significant challenges.

Stephen Burkes Director of Sussex Skills Solutions, East Sussex College Group

As we cautiously emerge from pandemic status and transition into a society that has to learn to live with COVID, the hospitality sector has been at the forefront of another potentially contagious issue. Skills shortages.

Although skills shortages in hospitality will thankfully not impact our health, they will impact our well-being and our return to enjoying the activities we have for so long taken for granted.

On the surface it is easy to look at the headline data and say that although unemployment remains higher than prepandemic levels, there has never been such a healthy supply of job vacancies advertised for potential applicants.

This would be a fantastic scenario were the simple sum true that all of those who are unemployed actually wanted to attach to all of those available vacancies. Unfortunately, this will likely not be the case, leaving employers fighting over talent, driving up salaries in the short term and fueling rapid inflation. Not ideal conditions for a nation in record levels of debt. So how do we reverse the trend?

Taking hospitality in isolation but creating a model that has a transferable concept and which could be used in other sectors facing skills shortages, East Sussex College Group working closely in tandem with Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce and the Dept of Work & Pensions set about developing a campaign to promote working in hospitality.

With the early support and backing of Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell, the “Hospitality Rocks” campaign was launched in August 2021 and will run through until January 2022.

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We need more people to understand how the industry has taken enormous strides to protect its staff from infection.

We need greater flexibility and understanding from employers about bringing new talent into a sector who may not have the previous experience often asked for in job adverts.

With these core themes underpinning our actions, the campaign began to take shape with a wide range of collaborative activities planned under the “Hospitality Rocks” umbrella.

Piers Harrison Customer Service Leader DWP, “The first thing we looked at was how to create a consistent brand for the scheme which could be shared across all of our job centres and partners. A media pack was created with unique posters and video content which is displayed in all of our job centre sites across Sussex and beyond until January 2022. We are committed to ensuring our customers take the time to consider hospitality as one of their options. We know the sector needs new personalities to help it thrive and get back to pre-pandemic levels of business” Christina Ewbank Chief Executive Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce, “At the Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce we recognise what a tough time the hospitality and retail sectors have had during the pandemic which is compounded by a shortage of staff as we come out of furlough. This is impacting the service these businesses can deliver and the profit they can generate, which is vital after such a tough 18 months. In terms of attracting talent, experience is not important as skills can be trained, but personality and a positive attitude are vital”.

Collectively, we built the campaign around the following 3 objectives:

Dan Shelley Executive Director East Sussex College Group, “This is such a big issue, it will take a range of support to help the sector get the workforce it needs. The DWP’s expertly executed “Hospitality Rocks” campaign has allowed our collective organisations to tap into a range of different approaches and promote the sector while maintaining a consistent theme and brand for the individuals we are aiming to attract.”

We need more people to recognise the sector as an ambitious career option.

To date, under Hospitality Rocks, Eastbourne Chambers have already

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established a comprehensive job matching service linking local employers to East Sussex College’s summer student leavers and also those students seeking part-time work to support their studies.

In addition, Eastbourne Chambers have also arranged a careers assessment day, giving both employers and potential employees the opportunity to demonstrate what they have to offer without overly relying on a single face-to-face interview to make decisions on appointments.

Another core component of Hospitality Rocks is a bespoke sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) designed by East Sussex College in partnership with the Employer Advisor teams of DWP. Steve Benwell Senior Partnership Manager DWP, “SWAPs are short, sharp, intensive training programmes, designed to provide the core skills, knowledge and behaviours required of a sector and linking those attributes to actual live job vacancies. To be classed as a SWAP we have to guarantee a job interview for all of the participants.

This means the programme has a clear goal and we can measure almost in real-time the impacts and successes of the project.”

Stephen Burkes Director East Sussex College, “The Hospitality Rocks SWAP was built to attract new entrants into the sector.

We’ve run other SWAPs for the hospitality sector in the past which focused on linking

tel: 01444 259 259

October/November 2021 business edge

staff with prior knowledge or skills to new job roles by providing key qualifications that employers wanted such as personal alcohol licences or food hygiene certificates, but for this project we changed our tactics. For this SWAP we wanted to encourage people who had never considered hospitality before to try their hand at learning some new skills in a fun and engaging way while building in employer talks to do some myth-busting about working in the sector.”

Fun may be at the core of this SWAP but its goals and ambition couldn’t be more serious. Learners are led through a 5 day programme of hands-on activities including cocktail making using the latest mixology skills, coffee making using industry standard barista equipment, silver service setting and napkin art. These practical skills supported with group activities to promote working with a positive mindset, team working

leadership and business entrepreneurs matters

and interview preparation. The course is guided by knowledgeable tutors to support, encourage and enable the learners, going the extra mile to make sure that they enjoy the experience and see the benefits and excitement that the sector provides.

Pilots of this SWAP model were delivered in Hastings, Eastbourne and Lewes during August, attracting over 30 unemployed individuals to participate, the vast majority of which had no prior experience of working in the sector. As expected, many took to the course to learn these new skills for personal reasons or out of intrigue rather than anticipating a move into the industry.

But following 5 days of intensive but highly enjoyable training, 24 interviews were held with Rustico, The Grand Hotel Eastbourne and the De La Warr Pavilion on 3rd September with Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell in attendance to oversee the hive of

“For this SWAP we wanted to encourage people who had never considered hospitality before to try their hand at learning some new skills in a fun and engaging way while building in employer talks to do some myth-busting about working in the sector.”

activity. From this impressive start, 18 job trials were offered and to date, four jobs have been accepted with more anticipated.

Caroline Ansell MP for Eastbourne, “I am a big supporter of Hospitality Rocks and I am delighted the concept is now going regional after such a successful start in Eastbourne. Any initiative that promotes skills, confidence and directly connects local people with local employers is to be commended. It is also a brilliant collaboration for East Sussex Coll ege with the Government's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and I am also pleased it is supported by Eastbourne Unltd Chamber of Commerce.”

Following this highly successful pilot, the training programme is now being pushed out across West Sussex and Surrey, with another 10 programmes being timetabled before Christmas to allow participation across the county and beyond. The model is also being shared nationally across DWP as a case study of good practice, highlighting how effective the work of partnerships can be to tackle complex challenges. A great result for Sussex!

If you are an employer from the hospitality sector and you would like support from the “Hospitality Rocks” campaign to help you recruit new talent, contact your local job centre for more information.

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business big interview matters

October/November august/september december/january june/july 2019 2018 2021 business edge

Sheet metal specialists shows their true mettle Sheet metal engineering and fabrication specialist Stevens Rowsell (Precision) Ltd provides high tech manufacturing services at its cutting edge 20,000sqft factory in Hastings.

Kelly Sweetman Owner - Director

Its three owner-directors – Kelly Sweetman, Barry Douch and Michael Gough - and 17 members of staff offer the best in laser cutting, punching, folding, welding, assembly and powder coating.

All they are waiting for now is a little bit of normality to return. “I don’t think we’ll return to pre-Covid levels until next year at the earliest,” said Kelly. “That will be two whole years of living very much hand to mouth.

“We’re taking each day and month as it comes – protecting the business is first and foremost.”

The business was started in the 1967 by one Ian Rowsell, quite literally in a shed in his back garden. At the turn of the Millennium, he sold it to an investment businessman – a Geordie shipbuilder by trade – who subsequently sold it on to the current owners in what was a management buy-out, in 2017.

While Michael looks after the engineering and manufacturing on the shop floor, Barry is responsible for quality control, health & safety and sales development, and Kelly, who has been with the company since 2002, takes care of the admin side of things, including finance, human resources and customer service.

Together the trio have turned Stevens Rowsell into a well-equipped factory capable of taking the most basic of scribbled ideas to the most detailed of product design through to the point of sale.

Kelly said: “If the product has electrics, we can arrange that too. We were determined to be a one-stop shop, so our customers don’t have to go to two or three different places to get their product made.

“We predominantly focus on the batch production of general and fine limit sheet metal components, but we can also work on everything from initial prototype through to contract production.

“The factory and plant layout we have here has been designed according to lean manufacturing ideology, giving us an efficient and effective operation.”

That includes equipment which enables Stevens Rowsell to do its own powder coating, something the team had previously spent £160,000 a year outsourcing.

She said: “When you sub processes out, you lose full control over time and quality and when you are selling your services based on quality, that’s no good, so we installed the powder coating plant.

“We started off with an electro-static spray booth and an oven. Now, we have two spray booths, two ovens, a conveyor belt and an automatic washing machine.

“The investment would have paid for itself by now if it wasn’t for Covid.”

The installation of a new Trumpf 4kw laser cutting cell – one of the largest sub-contract manufacturing facility of its kind in the UK – represents another major investment. A 1000sq.ft extension was built to accommodate it.

The cell incorporates two eight-metre high material storage towers and a handling system that automatically feeds the flat bed laser, allowing sheet metal to be cut without any loading/unloading interruption or the downtime associated with the operator fetching sheets from the traditional racking store.

“The Trumpf laser cell provides us with a high speed and cost effective form of profiling sheet metal which ensures that the work we produce has a high-quality, oxidefree finish,” said Kelly.

“We also operate latest generation software which automatically nests part profiles from different jobs on the same sheet, maximising sheet usage and reducing wastage.

“This software coupled with the laser technology we employ helps us offer highly

“When you sub processes out, you lose full control over time and quality and when you are selling your services based on quality, that’s no good, so we installed the powder coating plant.”

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www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

competitive pricing and a genuine value for money option.”

While most of their customers tend to opt for the whole package in terms of service, some do just want to make use of individual elements, perhaps the powder coating or machining of components.

“Quality benchmarking – a lot of our customers, in sectors ranging from automotive to green energy and everything in between, want that,” she said.

This past year has tested Stevens Rowsell itself to the hilt, of course. On the one hand, they are lucky in that the factory is big enough to allow for generous social distancing, a godsend when staff cannot work from home. But on the other, the work hasn’t been there for them to do in the first place.

“Our customers closed their doors and our order books became depleted,” she said.

“We had no sales at all two months running.”

They used the furlough scheme and made a number of staff redundant to keep the wolf from the door.

Although they are now back up and running, Kelly is very aware of the uncertainty surrounding them in the manufacturing sector. “People question whether this freedom is going to last or if there is going to be another lockdown … It’s affecting everybody.

“You feel things are starting to move again and then there’s another announcement, about the Delta variation or some such, and confidence falls off a cliff again.”

The effects of Brexit have been lost in the pandemic, she adds. It’s hard to tell which one is responsible for some of the results she’s seeing.

Stevens Rowsell is looking to the future and on a recruitment drive, but Kelly has received no responses to the five job adverts she had published the previous week.

Recruitment is just one of the areas of business that has suddenly become a whole lot harder.

tel: 01444 259 259

protecting our planet

October/November 2021 business edge

Sustainability doesn’t have to cost the Earth Adelphi Manufacturing – Haywards Heath, West Sussex – are delighted to have been named ‘Most Sustainable Process & Packaging Machinery Manufacturer (UK)’ at this year’s Global Business Insight Awards.

Rachel Morgan Marketing Executive, Adelphi Manufacturing Co Ltd

Their team was recognised for their work promoting sustainable manufacturing solutions, which recently included Marketing Executive Rachel Morgan speaking at the Sussex Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Road to Net Zero’ event.

Rachel’s presentation focussed on solutions which deliver a positive environmental change, in a commercially viable way.

The topics which were covered included:

Rainwater Harvesting Financial Benefits: Rainwater harvesting saves Adelphi an average of 12,000 litres

per month, from two tanks which have a combined volume of 15,000 litres.

Environmental Benefits: Greater selfsufficiency and reduced demand on local water supply.

Lessens the load placed upon drainage systems, and reducing the effects of flooding by channelling the run-off water into tanks for recycling.

Solar Panels Financial Benefits: Adelphi’s 256 solar panels generate excess electricity at a rate of 3% per month, and are a fixed asset, requiring minimal maintenance.

Environmental Benefits: Solar energy has the least negative impact on the environment compared to any other energy source, and does not produce greenhouse gases.

Every initiative will count to help the UK meet its target of climate neutrality by

“Every initiative will count to help the UK meet its target of climate neutrality by 2050 – all businesses are called upon to reduce pollution and waste, recycle and reuse materials, and moderate emissions in their processes.”

2050 – all businesses are called upon to reduce pollution and waste, recycle and reuse materials, and moderate emissions in their processes. To this end, Adelphi warmly extends an invitation to visit their site, to see solutions such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting in person – they hope that this will enable others to also improve their environmental impact, in way which also safeguards commercial success for green-minded businesses in the future.

A Sustainable Vision of the Manufacturing Industry Adelphi have proudly partnered with Sussex photographer James Morris – a respected architectural photographer – who is creating a docu-series demonstrating the subtlety with which sustainable elements can be integrated into facilities such as Adelphi’s.

James selected Adelphi’s rainwater harvesting tanks, air source heat pump, solar panels and evaporative cooling system (pictured below) to feature. His images impart a poignancy and grace to the presence of environmentally conscious industrial solutions, and contradict the frequently held belief that manufacturing is inherently and irrevocably bad for our planet.

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construction

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Recovery is well underway Build Back Better was the government’s post-Covid pledge ... and there’s no better poster boy for that than construction.

The industry – always a key foundation of the UK economy – has seen a huge surge in demand, just as predicted. In fact, orders have increased every month throughout the last year, with construction on new homes growing at its fastest pace in 18 years.

Recovery has been helped by the government’s ambitious investment programme, which is pushing growth – most significantly in ConstructZero developments – to help level up every part of the UK. And nowhere fits the bill better than our region.

Business is booming in every sector, from housing developments and refurbishments, to large infrastructure projects and sustainable builds.

We can’t hide from the challenges. There’s no doubt that construction faces challenges with materials and skills shortages, and price rises. But, according to the Construction

Products Association, output is forecast to rise by nearly 14 per cent this year, and over six per cent next year.

Infrastructure and private housebuilding look set to be the key drivers of growth, and the outlook for housing outside big cities remains buoyant, thanks to changes in working habits.

Base Quantum to launch training centre in 2022

S

pring 2022 will be an exciting time for Base Quantum, a chartered quantity surveying and expert witness consultancy.

The opening of our training centre at our Kent regional office in Tunbridge Wells will offer a modern, engaging, and interactive learning environment. This facility will provide a conferencing space for presentations and collective learning for over 30 people, supported by the latest technology to capture and record insight, experience and

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technical knowledge.

We have already established popular training courses, covering topics such as the JCT and NEC suites of contract, commercial administration, and the role of the contract administrator. Our training addresses both the technical and practical applications that give individuals and companies greater confidence and understanding when performing their role in a construction environment.

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

The new space will also allow us to further grow our thought leadership programme. The construction industry has been pivotal in providing economic stability and bounce back during the pandemic and yet its success is tarnished by disputes and contentious matters. We hope to be able to share our narratives and experience to provoke discussion and collective thought on some of the key barriers and issues often stunting our beloved industry.

With uncompromised access to technology, our professionals can demonstrate their expertise and support collaborative teaching and learning across the construction commercial sector.

We see our new facility and our ambition as the catalyst for a number of other platforms that we will be announcing later in 2022. Over the next few months we will be developing our topics and programmes, so watch this space for sneak peaks and further announcements.

By Laura Hannan, Associate Director For further information please contact us at: training@base-quantum.co.uk +44 (0)1892 337800 www.base-quantum.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Protecting Our Planet This is a subject close to Phil Cottrell, Managing Director of GCL’s heart…

If we follow the path that science is showing us, we still have the capacity to save nearly all habitat types across the world’s lands.

That’s a huge win for wildlife, birds, plants, insects, and the diversity of life that makes our natural world such a treasure.

Urgent action is essential, and we must seize the unprecedented opportunities to change the course of history. The international community is preparing to make pathdefining choices for the future, with once-ina-lifetime agreements that have the power to stop catastrophic climate change and preserve biodiversity on Earth.

This could be the decade we save the planet. But we must follow through on the promises, policies, and collaborative effort needed to protect nature from collapse.

Regenerative Farming and Targeted agricultural expansion, need to be considered when identifying areas where crops grow best to avoid destroying nature.

Produce food where it's most likely to thrive, which will use less water and less land.

Targeted fishing, use technology to catch only the right species. Refine our fishing methods to only take what the fish populations can tolerate now, so our oceans can be more abundant and healthier in the future.

Use already degraded land for energy development, shift 85% of the world’s energy supply to non-fossil fuel sources and invest in strategies like reforestation that capture carbon dioxide.

A more sustainable path is possible GCL continually expand its portfolio of energy efficient and low carbon products and installations https://gcl.uk.com/ services/energy-saving to assist you to contribute to protecting our planet. We are expanding our team of electricians and data engineers to continue to influence and implement critical change. If you are as passionate as we are about protecting the planet from an electrotechnical perspective, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Phil Cottrell | Tel: 020 3906 6070 Email: philcottrell@gcl.uk.com Website: https://gcl.uk.com/

B-9 Training & Consultancy Emergency First Aid Training (Level 3) Health & Safety at Work (Level 2) Health & Safety at Work (Level 3) Health & Safety at Work (Level 4) Fire Warden (Including Practical Extinguisher Use) Health & Safety e-learning (30+ Subjects) from only £15+vat Health & Social Care e-learning (20+ Subjects) from only £20+vat Teaching, Assessing & Quality Assurance Qualifications (Coming Soon) Face to Face training sessions held in Burgess Hill & Haywards Heath Course can be run in house at clients premises for up to 12 people 01444 846346 | info@b9training.co.uk | www.b9training.co.uk

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27

protecting our planet

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Saving Energy, Watt’s stopping you?

We all know the impact the pandemic has had on businesses, this has given some businesses the opportunity to look at how they can improve the office or working environment when we are allowed to re-open.

Switching to LED lighting is a quick and relativity inexpensive way to do this, with large energy gains and saving to be achieved, as switching to low energy LED light can typically save between 60 and 70% when compared to traditional fluorescent tubes and given the long working life of between 15 and 20 years, a huge reduction in maintenance costs. Some of the latest industrial lighting has a working life of 100,000 hours or more than 30 years and are supplied with a 7-10 warranty.

These are numerous other benefits and options to consider as well when looking to upgrade your lighting, I have listed the below the main things to include when installing LED lights.

1, Colour temperature, correct levels of lighting for the office.

2, No Flicker driver, can help improve the overall wellbeing by reducing stress and anxiety, increasing productivity and profitability.

3, Daylight dimming, this reduces the output of the luminaires when natural light levels

increase, further enhancing the energy savings.

4, Sensor controls, PIR or microwave installed in toilets, kitchens and corridors, if the lights are off, they are saving you energy and money.

5, Greener and recyclable, produce less carbon and contain no harmful metals.

6, Generate less heat, lowering the temperature of the office and reducing the dependency on the air conditioning.

I have heard that there are some grants available, can I qualify?

You will be advised and guided throughout

by LED-UK, who can even submit the application on your behalf (you will need to sign the application form!). The grants available in the local area is LoCase, the amount of the grant can be up to 40% of the project cost, (minimum project cost is £2,000 and the maximum is £20,000). The LoCase grants currently cover East and West Sussex, Kent, parts of South Essex, parts of Hampshire, and parts of Surrey.

Stephen Marshall Director, LED-UK Lighting Ltd If we are to reach Carbon Neutral, it is businesses that need to make the greatest changes in how they operate and invest in energy saving measures and products. Visit The East Sussex Commercial LED Lighting specialists - LED UK (led-uk.co.uk) for further information.

Demand drivers for community wastewater treatment systems Severn Trent Connect, an Ofwat regulated wastewater company, can provide purpose-built community-scale wastewater systems. subject to statutory objections to planning consents on the basis that developments will result in additional pollution to the water environment. Avoiding a statutory objection requires developers to engineer “nutrient neutral” developments; a major barrier to achieving neutrality is effectively managing wastewater discharges.

The demand for new decentralised, community-scale wastewater systems is likely to rise over the coming years; a trend already seen in parts of Sussex and the Southeast. This trend is being driven as incumbent water companies aren’t able to keep up with demand for providing new sewerage connections. As a result, statutory sewerage and sewage disposal services are causing significant delays in the delivery of the nation’s new housing and commercial space.

Locally available wastewater treatment capacity is often insufficient to meet the demand from large developments. Where the shortfall in capacity is large enough that a strategic capital scheme is required (sewerage networks and/or sewage treatment assets), the timeline for an incumbent-delivered solution can be five or more years due to the sector’s funding cycle.

Developers are buying land in increasingly remote locations, where the distance to

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William Mackveley, General Manager of Wastewater Solutions & Onsite Treatment Works, Severn Trent Connect connecting into existing networks can be prohibitively expensive as laying mains sewers can cost more than £1million/km.

Statutory objections from developmentcaused nutrient pollution are increasing the need for local high-performance treatment systems. Some catchments in England are

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Purpose-built community-scale wastewater systems offer a viable means for reducing the delays associated with wastewater utilities. Building these systems from scratch presents an opportunity to holistically manage a development’s nutrient footprint; helping developers and planning authorities select the optimum solution by balancing nature-based solutions and more conventional treatment systems. While we at ST Connect hope that nature-based solutions will in general be favoured, we’re here to support developers, planners, and local authorities when technical treatment systems are also needed.

tel: 01444 259 259

protecting our planet

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

20% off Vehicle Signwriting Van signwriting is the best way of promoting your brand to potential clients while you travel… Eye catching van signs and signwriting inform in a subtle way letting potential local customers know you are there and ready to help.

Your vehicle says who you are, what you do and how to get in contact. sales@pvluk.com 01444 258 980 www.pvluk.com

Working towards Sustainability CoirProducts launched its online shop in early 2020, although the founders of our company have been in the coir industry for over 15 years.

Ella Batcheler Coir Products, Sales and Marketing Assistant

It was during this time that they spotted an urgent gap in the market. Most coir-based products were being sold in bulk, therefore, those who wanted to buy coir-based products in smaller quantities, such as the everyday gardener, struggled to obtain the products. That’s when CoirProducts stepped in, offering the UK’s most diverse range of biodegradable products to the horticultural and erosion control sectors.

A sustainable waste product of the coconut industry, coir is made from the natural fibres and dust extracted from the husk of the coconut. We are encouraging the use of coir over the use of peat, as the growth and extraction of peat is very harmful to the UK’s environment. Only 13% of the UK’s

peatlands are in a near-natural state, and these peatlands are emitting 10 tonnes of CO2 a year. Coir is an ideal alternative, the sourcing and production of our products is far more environmentally friendly, and we are always taking steps to adopting more sustainable practices.

At CoirProducts, we aim to empower communities around us. We support local charities such as Chestnut Tree House, a children’s hospice that supports over 300 children and young adults, by contributing a portion of every purchase towards them.

We are also working towards building partnerships and communities online, as a way of raising awareness of the wider benefits of coir. Recently, we have gotten in touch with independent gardeners, and have asked them to share their gardening journey with us and readers of our blog.

Working within a competitive industry, as a company we are not merely profit-driven but take pride in helping communities and sharing knowledge. www.coirproducts.co.uk

“A sustainable waste product of the coconut industry, coir is made from the natural fibres and dust extracted from the husk of the coconut. We are encouraging the use of coir over the use of peat, as the growth and extraction of peat is very harmful to the UK’s environment.”

5% off a fixed-fee Marketing Consultation For a fixed, one-off fee, you’ll get: 1hr face to face consultation to talk through your business and your goals, a core competitor review, a current marketing review, an annual plan based on seasonality and specific business objectives and a 2hr face to face review of your plan with practical advice on how to run it to achieve success.

Reduced from £699 to £524.

Call Charlotte today on 07789933194 to book.

Email: charlotte@smallmademighty.com www.smallmademighty.com

Fixed Fee Money Claims The Jonathan Lea Network would like to offer the members of the Sussex Chambers of Commerce a fixed free price of £500 plus vat for a consultation in a zoom or in person meeting, to include an initial letter of claim (aka letter before action) to be prepared (if so advised) for any recovery of debt claim, subject to an initial review of the merits.

We also offer a free no obligation consultation over the telephone or zoom (or in person if you wish to drop into our offices) before you commit so that we can sound out your matter. Many cases settle after an initial letter of claim is sent and the first step can often be the last step.”

Email: wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net Tel: 01444 708 640 www.jonathanlea.net

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protecting our planet

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

UK technology for a global problem Climate change is the single biggest challenge of our time and governments around the world have been publishing their economic plans for a post-Covid world, which have at their heart stimulus packages for green initiatives to tackle its impact.

Mark Garrett Chief Operating Officer, Ceres Power Limited

August saw the long-awaited publication of the UK Hydrogen Strategy, an important signal of intent from the Government about its commitment to the energy transition and to maximise the UK’s hydrogen opportunity. Without it the UK risks being overtaken by countries with much more ambitious plans for decarbonisation and deployment of hydrogen technologies.

For example, Korea's goal is to power 10% of the country's cities with hydrogen by 2030. It has already installed over 300MW of fuel cells for power, including the world’s largest hydrogen fuel cell power plant, installed by Doosan. The country’s £46 billion green stimulus package features 15GW of fuel cell power by 2040. That is the equivalent of nearly five Hinckley Points.

Ceres aims to play a central role in the global energy transition to affordable clean power. Our purpose is to deliver clean energy for a clean world through embedding our unique fuel cell and electrochemical technology in the systems and products of some of the largest companies in the world. Bosch and Doosan are among our global partners.

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It is technology that spun out of research conducted at Imperial College London and it remains at the leading edge of clean power generation and the revolution in green hydrogen. We like to think of it as UK technology for a global problem.

At Ceres, we have created over 400 highly-skilled jobs in the UK, through exporting our technology to partners in Germany, Korea, China and Japan. We are proud to be a UK high-growth technology success story, to be attracting inward investment and to be employing the very best global talent to work with us from our headquarters in Horsham, West Sussex.

Today, we have a diverse and multinational workforce of 33 different nationalities, contributing to research, development, innovation, test, and manufacture. Many people have migrated from the automotive world or more traditional industries, attracted by the opportunity to make a difference, and ensuring we have the best minds and a global cross-section of experiences and cultures.

Building a pipeline of talent that can support the future growth and deployment of clean technology and keep us at the leading edge of research and development, is a constant focus for us. It starts at an early stage and Ceres is engaged with STEM Learning UK – an organisation working in 100% of UK secondary schools with a vision to achieve world-leading STEM education for all. It is a unique collaboration between Government, charities, and employers.

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We also continue to expand our graduate and intern programmes as well as recruiting across all levels of our business.

In the first six months of 2021, we recruited another 120 employees including numerous scientists and engineers. We also strengthened our industry–academia research collaboration, announcing Professor Stephen Skinner as the Ceres Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Electrochemical Devices for a Zero Carbon Economy. The five-year position will focus on developing solid oxide cells that convert fuel to electricity and in reverse operation can produce clean hydrogen. It is intended that Professor Skinner, from Imperial College London, will establish a world-leading research group in the field of materials engineering.

With the UK’s strengths in electrochemistry, advanced manufacturing and early development, its fuel cell and electrolysis ecosystem holds a distinct advantage, but it needs the right support now to build the entire value chain, from skills, R&D, innovation, commercialisation through to investment if it is to capture a substantial share of the global market for the technology.

We are confident in the opportunity for hydrogen, and will watch with interest to see how the UK Hydrogen Strategy translates into actions that support UK low carbon innovators to capitalise on the opportunity to tackle climate change, both at home and abroad.

To find out more about Ceres or to view current job vacancies visit https://www. ceres.tech/.

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advertorial

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Successful IT change is about mindset, says Roger Bateman Roger Bateman of Horsham based Vazon Technology, says that delivering IT change need not be the challenge that everyone thinks it is.

Having worked with many organisations in delivering change projects, he says that there are common needs in projects of all sizes and complexity, but in Roger’s experience, the two most important elements are a company’s readiness to change and the need for high-quality communications.

Readiness for change: By this I mean that the ‘As-Is’ state which requires the change is understood by the Management Team and that they have a vision of how to change it for the better, says Roger. This team should also have a sense of the risks and impacts that any change project will have on day-to-day operations, during implementation. Here, the support of a project sponsor can assist in contextualising the change benefits, something that top management will welcome.

This understanding or state needs to be underpinned by a company’s willingness to bear the associated risk of the change too. Risks and risk appetite can vary within the organisation’s functions – something to consider, says Roger. These risks should inform project planning and project controls.

It is also important to define what success looks and feels like to the organisation too – but be pragmatic; don’t over-promise, says Roger.

High Quality Communications: Communication is often cited as the most important facet of any change, and Roger would agree. A practical communications framework can really help, even for the smaller projects or those impacting specific groups. Using established communications channels can help as staff will be familiar with them. In bigger projects, separate methods and channels can be used to complement existing ones. However, even the best project communications need to be bound to a common view of the ‘need’

Roger Bateman Founder Vazon Technology

which system users can identify with, otherwise communications might not land.

Change perception plays an important role too, so getting this element right is key: Your communications plan will need to fit your organisation’s needs on several levels. This will help engagement with the project and with your new operating state, at Go-Live.

IT Road Maps, Strategy and Planning Project & Programme Management If you would like to discuss a business change project, please contact Roger on 03300 580282 roger.bateman@vazontech.co.uk

With the foregoing elements duly considered, the change project will have a greater chance of delivering a successful outcome.

www.vazontech.co.uk

Roger specialises in Business & IT Change implementations and is independent. He offers a range of services that will turn your objectives in to reality. This includes…

Business Systems Reviews and Strategic IT Reviews

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protecting our planet

October/November 2021 business edge

Climate Challenge Climate change presents the largest single challenge for businesses and societies across the planet. Failure to act, and to act swiftly, effectively and decisively, is simply not an option.

Ana Christie CEO, Sussex Chamber

The science is clear, the next decade is critical for action on climate change. It's more important than ever for governments and businesses to lock-in carbon reduction targets. The planet can’t wait.

For the British Chambers of Commerce, we are using our Chamber network of 53 Accredited Chambers in the UK and more than 70 affiliated bodies across the globe to advocate for the kinds of structures and incentives our members need, and to support our members to both play their part and thrive as they do so.

As a global Chamber network, we are united in the importance we give to

working to meet the Climate Challenge.

We and our members are entirely committed to playing our part in helping the UK meet its targets, both through delivery and policymaking.

As we work towards meeting the climate challenge as a society, we have three core policy principles.

First, this is a revolution that will be delivered through deep and substantial change in which we must all play our part. But it must be a change done in partnership, not forced upon businesses and consumers.

Second, successful change of any type needs to take account of the specific conditions in each sector and every place.

Whilst the scale of the challenge is global, the right answers will only be found in local detail. As we look towards the changes we must make, we must be aware of the extremely difficult conditions our businesses face in every part of the UK as

they come to terms with the results of the pandemic and the UK’s exit from the EU. Third, the Climate Challenge will, if handled properly, give UK businesses a strong competitive advantage for the rest of the 21st Century. The journey will be a difficult one, but if we think about this in the right way, then in future, UK businesses will be in the best possible place to compete in an increasingly carbon neutral world.

Drawing on these principles, our policy thinking in this space is evolving all the time, and we will keep our website updated as we actively develop policies.

The hub is one part of how we are both working to help make that change a reality in a way which helps business to thrive. It provides a mix of information, guides, resources, and tools to help all types of businesses in meeting their net zero targets.

Our work essentially falls into 3 areas: Government Interventions

“As a global Chamber network, we are united in the importance we give to working to meet the Climate Challenge. We and our members are entirely committed to playing our part in helping the UK meet its targets, both through delivery and policymaking.”

32

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Infrastructure Business Support Together we can help the UK to become not just the first major economy to set a net zero target, but also the first major economy to achieve it, and sow the seeds of a more prosperous and modern economy for generations to come. https://www.sussexchamberofcommerce. co.uk/GreenSustainability

tel: 01444 259 259

protecting our planet

October/November 2021 business edge

To net zero and beyond Ricardo is a world-class environmental, engineering, and strategic consulting company.

Teri Hawksworth Managing Director, Ricardo Automotive and Industrial EMEA Division

With over 100 years of engineering excellence, the company provides its customers in global sectors of: automotive, rail and mass transit, aerospace, marine and defence; energy and environment with technical expertise to deliver innovative cross-sector sustainable solutions to help create a cleaner and safer tomorrow.

Ricardo’s vision is to create a world fit for the future, and this is made possible by supporting clients with technologically advanced solutions that ensure access to clean air and water; cross-sector engineering solutions to accelerate decarbonised transportation; innovation to support global net zero and industry agendas; and comprehensive expertise in safety, assurance, and certification.

Being a sustainable company in practice isn’t about just one or two things - it is at the heart of everything that Ricardo does and the solutions the company delivers. As an international company, Ricardo is part of a larger effort that is guided by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and so is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2030.

Ricardo uses a whole lifecycle carbon neutral approach to minimise environmental impact and deliver transformative, environmentally sustainable technology innovation. The company’s solutions are helping to decarbonise global transport and

energy, while moving goods and people safely, sustainably, and efficiently.

Offering sustainable solutions which address environmental challenges including climate change, scare natural resources, air quality and the circular economy from policy to product development and manufacturing.

Ricardo is at the forefront of developing the low-carbon solutions of tomorrow.

From working on innovative energynetwork solutions, through helping to develop electrification policy, to the design of engineering solutions for a range of applications. Ricardo also offers an extensive range of skills across the hydrogen value chain. Ricardo is involved in policy development and infrastructure feasibility assessments right through to implementation and integration of hydrogen-based technologies for global transport applications. Ricardo is supporting the world’s first hydrogen train, is providing hydrogen fuel cell retrofitting expertise to bus fleets, as part of the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub and is also part of the consortium which is working to deliver the world’s first truly green passenger carrying airline services using hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Crucially, Ricardo also leverages digital technologies to improve customer experience, operational excellence and deliver new digital offerings that support transformation not only for customers but also for how Ricardo works.

One way which brings electrification, hydrogen and digitalisation together is in Ricardo’s global centre of excellence for electrified transport engineering at its global headquarters in Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex. Designed to support the Ricardo’s

existing work in powertrain optimisation and electrification, the new state-ofthe-art Electrified Propulsion Research Centre, opened in February 2021, and cost £5.5m - including a grant of £1.5m from Coast2Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

Enabling the research and development of the next generation of electrified vehicles from component level subsystems to fully integrated powertrains, it has significantly increased the range of services and solutions in electric vehicle development available to Ricardo’s global customers.

The Electrified Propulsion Research Centre is underpinned by digital engineering and simulation technology, including digital twins to accelerate product development times. The facility is integrated seamlessly with the Ricardo’s digital analysis, simulation, and calibration accelerators so that vehicles can be developed holistically using fully optimised technology solutions.

This will further enhance the company’s established digital engineering expertise, allowing the provision of ‘greener’ customer solutions which are less energy- and resource-intensive; and reduce cost and time to market to provide competitive advantage.

Ricardo’s Electrified Propulsion Research Centre in conjunction with its investment in the building of a hydrogen test and development centre will create a clean energy transport centre of excellence which will be unique in the UK. It will provide customers with access to a powerful flexible package of decarbonised and electrified transport engineering test and development services and will accelerate Ricardo’s position as a leader in this field. www.ricardo.com

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

33

business matters advertorial

October/November august/september december/january june/july 2019 2018 2021 business edge

Why some CEOs go further and higher As a business leader, you know that the hardest climb isn’t Kilimanjaro, Denali or Everest. It’s the CEO’s leadership journey, and it’s fraught with all kinds of challenges and opportunities, setbacks and advances. The good news is you don’t have to go it alone. You can travel with an experienced guide who knows the lay of the land and an elite team of peers who’ve got your back.

You can equip yourself with world-class resources to navigate changing environments and uncertain conditions. You can take an approach forged over 60 years and traveled by 100,000+ CEOs of small to medium sized businesses around the world.

With that kind of support, how high could you ascend?

If you’re ready for the climb of a lifetime, the path starts here.

Learn more at vistage.co.uk Or contact Paul Hetherington on 07881 627072

Executive coaching illuminates the way ahead Hailing from a wide and varied background in professional development, executive coach Ian Mercer has been running his own consultancy for a decade now.

During that time, Merceric Ltd has nurtured the prospects and ambitions of business leaders at all stages of their career paths, whether that be at the start of their management journey or when faced with new challenges.

Ian’s clients have included managers keen to strengthen the decision-making skills of their own senior teams, supervisors assuming new responsibilities and high-ranking executives taking the lead through major restructuring.

There is a difference between business and executive coaching. “Both have their role,” he said. “The latter, my particular discipline, reflects the structures and dynamics of an organisation - it is very much grounded in an awareness and knowledge of how organisations work.

“I don’t tell people how to run their business or do their job”

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“I have a Masters in organisational development, majoring in the sociology and psychology of people in the work environment, and that is my starting point.

“I don’t tell people how to run their business or do their job, rather I help them to help themselves. I walk alongside them, challenging them and supporting them, on the path to gaining new, fresh perspectives.”

Based in Sussex, Ian has wide-ranging experience working with SMEs in the engineering, education, healthcare, financial services and charity sectors.

Accredited by the Association for Coaching, he said: “Executive coaching is a powerful, personalised development tool that complements so many of the activities that SMEs undertake.

“That includes organisational restructuring, programmes of team building and change, senior management and board development - in fact, just about any challenge that involves people and process.”

Ian Mercer Executive coach, Merceric Ltd Website: www.merceric.co.uk Phone: +44 7505 19 33 11 E-mail: info@merceric.co.uk

Merceric Ltd is currently offering potential new clients a free 45-minute executive coaching taster session.

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

protecting our planet

Southern Water and the Environment There is no denying that Southern Water has gone through a tough time as we faced up to our legacy issues in court this summer and apologised for our past failings.

Dr Toby Willison Director of Environment & Corporate Affairs- Southern Water

We’re now working harder than ever to move on and rebuild the trust placed in us by our water and wastewater customers and the wider communities we serve. Simply put, the way we operate has fundamentally changed and we’re committed to action that preserves and improves the environment.

The first thing to note when discussing the water industry is the sheer scale of the sector. We treat 750 million litres of wastewater a day in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent and Sussex, at over 367 treatment works, with 2,375 pumping stations and a network of almost 40,000km of sewer pipes.

Ensuring we meet customers’ expectations on environmental preservation is a huge and important challenge.

Protecting the environment is at the heart of everything we do – we need resilient habitats retaining high quality water we can use to make drinking water. This makes our commitment to reduce pollution incidents by 75% by 2025, an essential endeavor.

Our Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP) is helping us achieve this commitment and we will shortly be publishing our first annual review. We are proud to be one of the first water companies to publish a PIRP and are

committed to continuing work to improve our environmental performance.

We plan to invest around £800m in our environmental programme by 2025 as part of our over £2b investment to improve the capacity and efficiency of our wastewater and water network and reduce pollutions.

It’s important for people to understand the difference between pollution incidents such as broken sewer pipes and storm releases, which are part of how the system is designed to operate.

Storm releases, which go miles out to sea are more than 99 per cent rainwater, and happen because our Victorian-designed system combines surface water drains and sewers. In prolonged or intense rainfall this is first stored in tanks but when these fill, the content is screened and released to prevent flooding to homes, schools, and businesses – an activity heavily regulated by the Environment Agency.

The issue of these storm overflows, (CSOs) is now subject of a wider public debate, which we welcome. It’s a priority focus, and we want to go as far and as fast as we can to reduce their use, because we know that’s what our customers expect. However, we must face up to the scale of the challenge and be realistic.

In all our environmental work and future planning, we must face the dual threat of a growing population and the challenge of climate change, in a region that is already one of the most water-stressed in Europe.

This has been at the front of our thinking and planning which is why we have a

Net Zero Plan, accelerating investment in projects that will increase carbon storage and improve biodiversity in partnership with bodies like the Wildlife Trusts and Rivers Trusts. I’ve already noted the scale of the water industry and its impact on the UK’s climate ambitions is no less important, with the industry accounting for 1% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions – we are under no illusion of the importance of our actions in ensuring the UK meets its climate commitments.

Nature-based solutions and carbon reduction efforts are only part of the story, we must also work to ensure that every drop of water is being used efficiently. I am proud that we are a leader in the sector for our Target 100 water demand reduction programme. Supporting and incentivising customers to reduce their personal daily water use to 100 litres by 2040 will build on our own work to reduce leaks – a collective effort will contribute towards the resilient water future we must build for our region.

To succeed – whether it is climate change mitigation or protecting the health of our rivers and seas – a collective approach is crucial. We must work together across the sector and other industries to tackle the issue of pollution and ensure we are all protecting the environment. We must also work with Government and our regulators to ensure we are properly held to account for our actions and recognised for our progress to tackle these challenges.

The environment and our role in protecting and enhancing it, is central to every decision we make.

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

35

finance focus

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

Can you make innovation in sustainability financially viable in the short term?

COP26 is just around the corner and innovation in sustainability is very much on the agenda.

You only have to see some of the recent announcements such as: Phasing out new Diesel and Petrol Cars by 2030 Shell installing a network of 50,000 of accessible on-street and on forecourt EV charging points across the UK, through its recently acquired Ubitricity business.

The Highways agency using Graphene in asphalt to enhance the durability of road surfaces and extending the periods of time between maintenance.

It’s the little things We’ve been trying to work out how to make our tax consultancy more “Sustainable” in the longer term. The pandemic advanced some of those plans with MS Teams and Zoom replacing face to face client meetings and to keep interacting with our customers, so perhaps in a way, we have stumbled into being slightly more sustainable. However, we will be getting back to some “in person” meetings and try to get the right “mix”.

It’s difficult not being on a client’s premises, certainly when it comes to the engineering and manufacturing sectors that we support with Research and Development Tax Credit claims, being on site gives you a feel for what’s going on and we can ask questions based on what we see, hear and feel, generally speaking the potential to claim and also the value of the claim increases.

Sustainability doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be huge grand gestures, it will be the sum of all of the little changes that we make in both our personal lives and

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in business that will be greater than the whole.

The bigger projects can get support There are a number of competitive grant schemes that have sustainable elements at their core, you only have to check out UK Research and Innovation (www.ukri.org) where there are over 100 opportunities for business funding, granted not all of them are focused on sustainability but there will be a significant number.

Then there’s research and development tax relief. If you are lucky enough to have successfully received a grant, you may be somewhat surprised to hear that you could also benefit from tax relief for spending the grant money. You can claim under the RDEC scheme as an SME for the grant funded projects or as a large company for funded or your own innovation projects. The tax benefit for money spent since 1 April 2020 will generate either a tax rebate or a cash injection of up to 10.53% of the eligible costs.

If you are a small company and you either didn’t apply for a grant or weren’t successful in your application, but have decided to go it alone regardless then you could in fact be in line for an even greater cash injection for a loss making company of up to 33.35% of your eligible spend, if you are profitable, it will reduce your tax liability by up to 24.7% of the eligible spend.

to Patent it and are successful in being granted a patent, you could reduce your tax bill further, as a result of the profits being generated on the sale of the items being taxed at a reduced rate of 10%.

As we move towards the end of 2021 and in to 2022, we are able to help you with all of these aspects of funding for innovation, as we have grown our business relationships to include an innovation grants funding expert to our existing family of services, which already focus on R&D and Patent Box. In the meantime, one of the things that we have already been doing is offering a reduction in our fees for companies that are developing green technology, sustainable agriculture and renewables. We’ve worked with a few companies this year and are looking to find and support more businesses that are working in these high value areas that will help all of us to be a little more sustainable in our lives. If you would like to have a chat to determine whether you have an eligible project, sustainable or not then you can book a 15 minute call with our director, Simon Bulteel at www.calendly.com/simon-bulteel.

The last way the government can help is through Patent Box. If your new product is so ground-breaking that you are looking

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

finance focus

October/November 2021 business edge

Entrepreneurship and Leadership The journey of an entrepreneur business owner can be a daunting one. It’s vital from the outset that you set the business up correctly and have an idea of where you want to take it, along with considering the organisational structure to maximise profitability and reduce risk.

Getting started

‘business strategy’. As part of this process

Now, you have done the hard part of coming up with an idea that is going to make you millions, the next question is how you are going to structure the business.

Firstly, you need to consider what business vehicle you will use, should it be a:

we would recommend preparing forecasts

a) Sole trader

will be able to drill down into positive and

for at least two years ahead, and reviewing the businesses Management Accounts on a monthly basis to allow you to compare actual results against your projected targets.

With the correct reporting to hand you negative trends and make the appropriate

b) Partnership

business decisions to maximise profitability.

c) Limited company d) Limited liability partnership Each option will have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on your circumstances and how the business is expected to evolve. Be sure to take professional advice on which is best for you.

Organisational structure

Avtar Bansel, ACA BSc

It is important that you have the right

Director, Honey Barrett Chartered Accountants

people in place to manage and lead the business, whether that be you, or a team of dependable staff that can report back

There are a lot more considerations to take

to you on a timely basis. The organisational

into account, and if you require any further

structure that you decide upon will be key

advice or would like to discuss an idea that

Strategy and forecasting

to allowing you to achieve your targets and

you have please feel free to call

You should have a plan for where you want to take the business, commonly known as a

goals, and with the correct team, business

01892 784321 or visit

and financial risk will be minimised.

www.honeybarrett.co.uk.

Need support developing a new business idea?

Honey

Barrett offers assistance for start-ups and strategic tools for entrepreneurs maximising the profitability of your business.

Call today, for a free initial consultation.

Eastbourne 01323 412277 Bexhill 01424 730345 Wadhurst 01892 784321

www.honeybarrett.co.uk

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

37

business new members matters

October/November august/september december/january june/july 2019 2018 2021 business edge

Welcome to Sussex Chamber of Commerce Membership of Sussex Chamber of Commerce can help you increase profits, get the best from your people and find new clients. Also, it saves you money, gets your voice heard and puts you in contact with even more businesses.

New Affiliated Chambers & Associations

AP Security (APS)

Bird & Blend Tea Co

A.P. Security Manned Guarding Division offers well trained manned security officers to manage and maintain both security and customer service requirements in high profile environments.

We provide manned guarding services for the corporate and public sectors to manage and maintain security and customer service requirements. We design a custom security solution to suit your bespoke needs.

Bird & Blend Tea Co. is an eco conscious, independent, peoplefocused, award winning Tea Mixology Company on a mission to spread happiness & reimagine tea! Leading the way in British tea innovation, the brand offers the UK’s largest range of creative tea blends, online and via 12 UK-wide stores.

Website: www.apsecurity.co.uk

Address: 41 Gardner St. BN1 1UN

Address: Top Floor Peregrine House, Ford Lane, Ford, West Sussex BN18 0DF

Telephone: 01273 325523

Website: www.birdandblendtea.com

Telephone: 01243 558500

Coltene Whaledent Ltd

Fowler Swimming Pools

Coltene is an internationally leading developer, manufacturer and seller of consumables and small equipment for dental practitioners with production facilities in Switzerland, the USA and Germany.

“Fowler Swimming Pools specialise in luxury pool construction for over 50 years. From design to build and every little detail in between and thereafter, we are happy to work directly with clients, designers, developers and architects. We are the trusted swimming pool contractor for Sussex, and surrounding counties”

Based in Burgess Hill since 1985, we sell through a network of dental wholesalers and have a sales team covering the UK and Ireland.

Website: www.fowlerswimmingpools.co.uk

Website: www.coltene.com

Address: Henfield Road, Cowfold, West Sussex RH13 8BS Telephone: 01403 864373

Address: Kendal House, The President Suite - A, Victoria Way, Burgess Hill RH15 9NF Telephone: 0800 254 5115

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www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

june/july august/september October/November december/january 2019 business 2018 2018 2021 edge business business businessedge edge edge

new members / protecting business ourmatters planet

SI Protech UK Ltd

The Protein Ball Co.

The Summer Berry Company

SI Protech (UK) Ltd has 20 years history of designing, developing and producing innovative, high-spec injection mouldings and assemblies, primarily for the global beverage sector. Typically these are valves, regulators and dispensing solutions.

Matt and Hayley Hunt started The Protein Ball Co. in 2015 with the simple idea to make all-round healthy protein snacking easier.

We are a leading soft fruit grower with farms in both the UK and Portugal. We remain true to the ethos of our forebears: To nurture every plant, person and environment so that they reach their full potential; to deliver sweet fruit, picked from fields that buzz with life by people who aspire to be the best they can be.

The company produces 85 million parts/ assemblies PA and occupies 28,000 sq. ft of factory. 75% of our products are exported.

Website: www.siprotech.co.uk

These delicious six bite-sized balls are packed with natural ingredients, vitamins, fruits and nuts, with no added sugars and are available in three different protein options.

Website: www.theproteinballco.com

Address: Units 20-23, Lineside industrial Estate, Eldon way, Littlehampton, BN17 7HE

Address: Unit 8 Downsbrook Industrial Estate, Southdown View Way, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 8NQ

Telephone: 01903 733144

Telephone: 0207 117 2631

Website: www.summerberry.co.uk Address: The address of our business: Leythorne Nursery, Vinnetrow Road, Chichester PO20 1QB Telephone: 01243 958600

If you’re a member – why not refer someone, we have a generous referral scheme – that saves both you and your referral on membership costs.

For more information call us on 01444 259259

How Hawes Construction Group is going Greener Did you know that according to the Government Statistical Service, it is estimated that commercial and industrial waste generation was around 37.2 million tonnes in 2019 in England? It is imperative that we start increasing our decisions to implement sustainable practices that protect the environment.

Sarra Hawes Director, Hawes Construction Group

Here at Hawes Construction Group, we are making conscientious decisions to become more sustainable as a construction company. Our project at Shepham Wind Farm in Pevensey allowed us to contribute towards protecting our planet and work upon building a sustainable energy source.

The purpose of this project was to build an operations building to house the electrical panels and to receive the incoming cables from the turbines.

The resultant wind farm has the capacity to provide the community with 7460.00(kW) of wind power, and we are proud to have contributed to the future of sustainable energy in the UK. We also hope to become more involved in construction work that

contributes towards creating sustainable energy in the future.

To maintain our sustainability pledge, we also take care to ensure that no offcuts or excess materials go to waste. Over the past 5 years, we have donated our leftover paint and timber to The Wood Store and the Langney Shed. These community projects have allowed us to relieve the burden of waste on landfill sites and support the community in finding a sustainable use for

the resources. The leftover resources from our work have contributed towards the building of sheds, playhouses, benches, and other products. By donating our leftover resources, we ensure that every piece of material is accounted for and recycled in a new project. As a construction company, we hope to raise awareness to others in the industry and beyond that it is easy to be sustainable in the daily life of your business, while continuing to support local charities.

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

39

training

October/November 2021 business edge

Training and Events Diary

Members enjoy discounted rates for training Tailored Training

course offers one credit towards the BCC Foundation Award in

Sussex Chamber can provide company bespoke training courses which is a fantastic way of designing one of our training courses to suit your business needs. This is a cost effective way of training a group of your employees at the same time, on a date that suits you and at the premises of your choice.

International Trade and candidates attending six or more courses

Foundation Award in International Trade

£1026.00 + VAT per person (members = 10% discount)

These courses are delivered online and are structured to match the ten British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) courses. Each

£1425.00 + VAT per person (non-members = 5% discount)

and obtaining six or more credits received the Award.

Note: receive a discount when booking any six of the courses at the same time. The following prices will apply:

Training Courses Gold & Premier members - You can now use your credit pots to pay for training International Trade - Virtual Training 18th Oct

9.30 - 12.30

Inward Processing

1st Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Incoterms 2020

1st Nov

13.30 - 16.30

Classification of Goods - Using Commodity and Tariff Codes

15th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Rules of Origin and Preference

29th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

13th Dec

9.30 - 12.30

8th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Unshakeable Confidence

12th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Confident & Effective Communication (F2F)

13th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Time Management & Personal Effectiveness (F2F)

Methods of Payment/Documentary Letters of Credit

18th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Time Management

20th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Presenting & Speaking to Engage (F2F)

Export Documentation

22nd Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Confident & Effective Communication

25th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Resilience (F2F)

27th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Essentials of Negotiation (F2F)

5th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Performance Coaching

Foundation Award in International Trade - Online 19th Oct

9.30 - 12.30

Customs Procedures & Documentation

20th Oct

9.30 - 12.30

Export Documentation

8th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Feedback & Difficult Conversations

21st Oct

9.30 - 12.30

Understanding Exporting

11th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Confident & Effective Communication (F2F)

2nd Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Methods of Payment

12th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Unshakeable Confidence

3rd Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Import Procedures

15th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Resilience

4th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Documentary Letters of Credit

16th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Time Management & Personal Effectiveness (F2F)

16th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Agents & Distributors

17th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Presenting & Speaking to Engage (F2F)

17th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Preference Rules of Origin

23rd Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Resilience (F2F)

18th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Inward & Outward Processing

25th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Essentials of Negotiation (F2F)

30th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Incoterms

26th Nov

9.30 - 12.30

Time Management

29th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Confident & Effective Communication

Management & Leadership Skills Virtual & Face to Face (F2F)

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Personal Development & Communication Skills Virtual & Face to Face (F2F)

19th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Train the Trainer (F2F)

25th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Supervisor's Role

29th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Motivation

Sales & Customer Service - Virtual & Face to Face (F2F) 6th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Great Customer Service (F2F)

7th Oct

9.30 - 16.30

Selling Skills for Results (F2F)

11th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Great Customer Service

15th Oct

9.30 - 11.30

Selling Skills for Results

3rd Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Great Customer Service (F2F)

9th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Selling Skills for Results (F2F)

1st Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Delegation

2nd Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Introduction to Supervision (F2F)

4th & 5th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Essentials of Management & Team Leadership - 2 Days (F2F)

18th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Train the Trainer (F2F)

19th Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Great Customer Service

30th Nov

9.30 - 16.30

Introduction to Supervision (F2F)

22nd Nov

9.30 - 11.30

Selling Skills for Results

www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk

tel: 01444 259 259

events

june/july October/November 2019 business 2021 edge business edge

Events (Virtual) Events - Virtual & Face to Face (F2F) 5th Oct

10.00 - 11.30

Mental Health & Wellbeing

For all to attend - FREE

7th Oct

10.00 - 16.00

Sussex Business Expo - Brighton Racecourse (F2F)

A live event for all to attend - FREE

15th Oct

9.00 - 11.30

Maximise Your Membership - Kings Church, Burgess Hill (F2F)

Members only - FREE

21st Oct

09.00 - 15.30

South East Construction Expo 2021 - South of England Event Centre (F2F)

A live event for all to attend - FREE

21st Oct

12.00 - 14.00

South East Construction Expo - Chamber Networking Lunch - South of England Event Centre (F2F)

Members: £20, Non-members: £30

2nd Nov

10.30 - 14.30

Green Sutainability & Climate Challenge Conference Crowne Plaza Felbridge (F2F)

Members: £55, Non-members: £75

3rd Nov

12.00 - 14.30

Speed Networking - Hilton Avisford Park Hotel (F2F)

Members: £25, Non-members: £32

24th Nov

10.30 - 12.00

Networking South East

Members: FREE, Non-members: £15

Green Sustainability & Climate Challenge Conference The climate challenge is a key policy priority for the Chamber of Commerce Network worldwide.

It is imperative that businesses take steps to manage their carbon emissions now, and the global network will play a crucial role in supporting members to achieve this.

This year COP26 is being held in Glasgow in November and in the run up to the event, the global Chamber network has plans on how to amplify the climate challenge message to help their local business communities take the steps they need to create a greener future for all.

Join us at our Green Sustainability & Climate Challenge Conference on 2 November at the Crowne Plaza Felbridge hotel.

To book a place or sponsor the conference call 01444 259259.

AS A CHAMBER MEMBER YOU’RE WELL CONNECTED

41

diary of an entrepreneur

October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge

The South’s First PVCu Window and Door Factory In A Generation Opens In Worthing It’s been a busy year at Newview – one of the South’s longest established glazing installers – we’ve taken the bold step of opening the South’s first PVCu window and door factory in a generation, right in the centre of Worthing.

Duncan Wietscher Sales & Operation Director, Newview Homes

Called Newframe, it will not only supply Newview’s own needs of several hundred windows and doors a week but will also be supplying Tradesmen and Builders throughout the region.

Newview works with some of the prestigious companies in the UKHeathrow Airport, Thakeham Homes, Network Rail to name a few and working with these companies for years means that we have a great understanding of our customers’ business needs and drivers.

The Construction Industry as a whole has been massively impacted by product shortages, price rises and global situations out of all of our control. Newview felt that the best course of action was to take back control of our PVCu supply chain by opening a window and door factory, but we were told not to open a factory down South, no-one would buy from us and we wouldn’t find any staff! But the naysayers were wrong!

Fast forward 6 months and the brandnew machinery has arrived from Germany; the enthusiastic and plentiful local staff have been trained and we are already supplying 10 local Trade Accounts with windows that they would have waited 10 weeks for!

“Opening Newframe has been a lifelong dream for me ever since I first started

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fitting windows in Worthing when I was 16” says Duncan Wietscher, Newview Sales Director. “With the backing of Building plastics leader Eurocell, Yale and Siegenia, plus the machinery, locking and glass companies we work with and our own Coastal Composites door range, we believe we can offer something not seen in our Industry before – a commercial ethical window factory in the heart of the south with family at its core and products Made in Britain. What better legacy could Michele and I hope for?”

The new venture also means new jobs, with the factory employing additional staff through the Kickstart scheme for young people, as well as Returners to Work, or anyone wanting a different career path working for a locally owned family company. They are extremely lucky to have recruited Mark White as Production Director for Newframe. Mark has more than 30 years’ experience in factory management and brings a wealth of industry expertise with him.

The new 15,000 sq ft Newframe factory has been fitted with nearly £1million worth of brand-new machinery, with the ability to make more than 500 eco-friendly Eurocell products every week, plus their new own brand range of Composite doors called ‘Coastal Composites’. Newview are offering lots to benefits and offers to new trade customers, plus now have a Consumer Credit Introducers License, allowing residents the chance to spread the cost with their Installer of choice.

The Newframe factory will primarily be serving local Trade customers, offering unbeatable prices with faster lead times,

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with a key aim of reducing the distance products travel from factory to fitting.

This fusion of community engagement, the environment and people is a key value for Newview and is one of the reasons for opening Newframe.

Newview Homes over the last few years have become ISO9001 accredited for Quality Management systems in the business and now also have ISO14001 for Environmental Management. These are audited systems that give reassurance to all of our customers that we are continually improving and learning.

We hope to be up to 500 products per week within weeks and next year will see further developments with aluminium – so watch this space.

Website: https://newviewhomes.co.uk/

tel: 01444 259 259

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