10 minute read
business matters
Benefits of investing in green technology
We have all heard it in the news, social media and all over the internet, the race towards net zero emissions is just a reality. Businesses around the world are becoming much more aware of the importance of implementing low energy manufacturing processes. However, the challenge remains how to adapt processes whilst remaining competitive. In this article, Sarim Shehzad, Amplicon Product Specialist, explains how you can take your business towards net zero and the benefits it will deliver.
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Sarim Shehzad,
Product Specialist, Amplicon
What is the Greenhouse effect and carbon footprint?
To begin with, we need to understand what the greenhouse effect is and how impactful it is for our planet.
The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat. These heat-trapping gases are called Greenhouse gases and help keep the Earth at a habitable temperature — until there is too much of them.
Sadly, carbon dioxide levels are at a record high negatively affecting the planet’s weather and climate systems. The rise of the amount of carbon emissions trapped in our atmosphere is causing global warming, an increase in the average temperature which leads to climate change.
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, event, organisation, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
The greenhouse effect directly impacts the environment and human health through extreme weather events, pollution, glacial retreat and flooding, desertification, migration of species, food supply disruptions and shortages, spread of diseases and pandemics and many more negative side effects that are dangerous to the planet, to human and animal life, and therefore our future.
The benefits of reducing your business carbon footprint
A smaller Carbon Footprint is good for the Planet and your wallet. Each of us can play a part in the race towards net zero. We can make a difference through changes in our daily habits, some will be easy, some may take planning, and others will even help you save money. But how?
Use of energy-efficient appliances:
A good way to save money and contribute to the environment in by replacing old appliances with modern energy-efficient ones. Say for instance, if you have high wattage light bulbs and big old boilers in your company, which consume twice or three times more energy than the modern bulbs or boilers, you could replace the old appliances, which will help you reduce your energy usage and save money.
You can also look at how you handle the heating in your business, if you insulate your building and install double or triple glazed windows, you will be looking at less costs associated with your energy usage overall.
Another interesting way you can go full green and save money is by installing solar panels, which is more of a long-term investment. Initially, it may cost you a great deal but overtime these solar panels tend to pay for themselves and maybe make you some extra profit as you can sell the electricity you create back to the grid.
How can companies reduce their carbon emissions?
Businesses can consider taking small steps to begin their journey to net zero. Below you can find the list of actions that helped Amplicon reduce their carbon footprint by 35% through taking small steps that made a big impact.
Monitor and measure our energy usage with smart power meters
Run a car-sharing scheme where employees who car-share to work every day get free parking and those who do not, have to pay a parking fee Donate parking fees to the Woodland trust UK Green initiatives around the office: use of low power LED lights, energy-efficient heating, motion sensors, low power thin client pcs, Dyson hand driers, a filter water tap and loads of green plants that keep the air fresh. Strong recycling policy – including plastic, bottle tops, crisp packets, cardboard, clothing and paper, for instance a fully paperless accounts process (E-invoicing) WEEE collection for disposal Triple A rated appliances – fridges, copiers, fans, windows
Imagine you are at a point where you have done everything you could to go green, how will you monitor your contributions and efforts?
The answer lies in technology, and more specifically, in the internet of things. With latest technologies and the “internet of things” you can monitor your Company usage and see historical data to see if there are any patterns.
With all the data available to you, you can then analyse it and implement changes to become even more power efficient. In turn, you won’t be just saving money, but playing your role in saving the planet.
Connecting Local Businesses
With over 100 businesses of all sizes, operating across many different sectors from retail to engineering, members of recent Affiliated Chamber Member, the East Grinstead Business Association (EGBA), are looking forward to making even more connections across Sussex.
Kate Bennett
Business Manager, East Grinstead Business Association
Leadership and entrepreneurial skills have never been more relevant as we tentatively move from lockdown and other restrictions, to living with COVID-19. Our experience at EGBA over the last 18 months has shown us there are two additional and very necessary attributes for a successful business – creativity and resilience. As a networking association, regular communication with and between members has proved invaluable by, for instance, letting members know what support is available to them. It has also allowed them to pool creative ideas for not only remaining solvent, but as a way of stimulating innovative ways of working to benefit the business whatever the external climate. Communication is key and at EGBA we like to think we are pretty good at it! The Association’s relations with local government at all levels are excellent and productive. Through our good contacts we’ve been able host virtual Q&A sessions for members with our constituency MP, District Council leader and their experts on eligibility and access for support packages and grant funding. We know from speaking to members that this kind of access has been, and continues to be, invaluable to them and for the resilience of their business.
But it’s not all about financial viability, being part of a friendly association brings positive benefits and a feeling of connection which is equally important in these still uncertain times. We’re looking forward to getting to know Chamber members in the months and years ahead, particularly as we move towards a greener economy and the challenges of net zero.
www.egba.co.uk
Images provided by East Grinstead Town Council
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
Business Problem Solving Experience
What is really holding your business back? I’m offering Chamber members a free 1-hour exploration session to understand why you don’t always get the results you desire. Through identifying the real core challenges, you can begin to solve the real problems that frustrate you.
andy@catandra.co.uk 01273 483 438 www.catandra.co.uk 10% off safety and security products for your business
SafeSite Facilities has been providing safety and security solutions for commercial premises, vacant properties, construction sites and public events, across the UK, for over 10 years. Sussex Chamber members can receive a 10% discount on the hire of SafeSite Facilities’ products and services by quoting SAFEHIRE10 when making an enquiry.
info@safesitefacilities.co.uk 0800 987 0021 www.safesitefacilities.co.uk 10% off Health & Safety audit
Our Risk Management team will provide an objective assessment of your current level of Health & Safety compliance, benchmarking your organisation against legal requirements. We’ll spend a full day at your premises completing a factfinding Q&A, site tour and a desktop review of documentation. The output will be a formal report, including a set of prioritised recommendations for improvement. Usual price is £1,200 + VAT.
riskmanagement@swib.co.uk 01444 251 162 www.suttonwinson.com
The Summer Berry Company is a leading soft fruit supplier in the UK with farms in Sussex and Portugal to ensure optimum growing conditions for year-round supply.
Joe Stapleton
Communication & Social Media Manager, The Summer Berry Company
We are constantly developing initiatives to reduce our impact on the environment. Over the last 12 months, we have achieved:
3% more field productivity
8% less power requirement
32% less fruit waste
36% less general waste
58% more rainwater capture and storage
We incorporate wildflowers into the fruit fields themselves, so that they sit alongside the crops we’re picking. This encourages the beneficial insects to work with us in keeping the crops clean.
Thanks to the natural hedges and beetle banks, our farms are divided into a series of nature friendly rooms that are quickly populated with everything from ladybirds to barn owls.
For this year’s International Coastal Clean Up Day, a team of our staff volunteered to pick litter on West Wittering Beach. We cleared a total of 60kg of waste which included a large amount of harmful microplastics that are highly damaging to the environment.
At the end of July, we applied for a Government Funding – “Countryside Stewardship” scheme.’ This scheme provides financial incentives for us to create wildlife habitats, provide food resources for birds / insects, create flower rich margins and more.
The aim of the scheme is to look after and improve the environment by:
Conserving, restoring, and creating wildlife habitats, including wildlife corridors by connecting habitats
Flora and fauna improvement
Providing food resources and homes for farmland birds and insects
Driving biodiversity that engages with the local community
Keeping the character of the countryside
This scheme has a 5-year agreement where we are intending to plant 22ha of flower rich margin & winter bird food areas; 15,000l/m of hedgerows and 25.26ha of permanent grassland with low input.
We are proud of our sustainability achievements and strive to improve on them in 2022 and beyond.
Entrepreneurship
The last time this publication considered the huge subject of Entrepreneurship was in May 2019 which is now a world away.
Regardless of the challenging environment, Companies House records show that over 340,000 new businesses were registered in the first 6 months of this year (and that of course only includes limited companies and LLPs). Over a full year that is nearly 2,000 per day. Not all of those will be a genuine new business but it goes to show that the UK’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.
Whilst some business owners fell between the cracks of covid support there seems to be no dampening of the desire for people to be the architects of their own destiny, with the freedom that self-determination brings.
At a macro level, the OBR’s latest forecasts provide a significantly more positive assessment of the UK’s near-term growth prospects than just 6 months ago. On the flip side, acute staff shortages, supply chain issues, inflationary pressures and a supressed level of business investment suggest the recovery could splutter.
Whatever the economic circumstances of the day, founding and running a business, large or small, is tough. The demands can be enormous, the risks palpable. In most cases, starting-up a business is not something to do without the help and support of others. We like to say, “as a Chamber member you are well connected” and please use those connections to draw on the experience of others, whether that’s through our regular networking events or tailored sector and International Trade events.
Rob Clare
Chairman Sussex Chamber of Commerce
