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Business News

 

ClimatePrepared Adaptation Web Tool for Tourism

ClimatePrepared is joint project between Climate South East, The South West Change Impacts Partnership, Tourism South East and South West Tourism. 

The interactive web-based adaptation tool for tourism businesses went live on November 24. It provides checklists top tips and case studies of forward-thinking businesses that are already starting to prepare for climate change.

 

Engaging small and medium sized business

Climate South East have commissioned a case study and events toolkit for anyone seeking to engage small businesses on climate change. This builds on a successful Oxfordshire/Federation of Small Businesses road show last year.

The road show, “Make Money from Climate Change”, promoted an entrepreneurial response to climate change and attracted some 300 business owners from across Oxfordshire. Its aim was to inspire businesses to explore the potential opportunities in helping customers reduce their ecological footprint and prepare for a changing climate. Contact us for a copy of the toolkit.

 

Launch of Resilient Organisations II

Thirteen members of Climate South East are testing the new questionnaire version of the PACT organisational capacity-building tool. Earlier work with PACT highlighted problems with the amount of resource and expertise necessary to carry out full reviews. In order to address these, the PACT advisory group has been developing a simple, questionnaire-based approach which we expect will mitigate the resource problem while still helping organisations improve their ability to face the challenges that climate change presents.

The aim of the pilot is to identify partner organisations’ strengths and needs so that we can match them up, facilitate learning, and better prioritize the CSE work plan to meet partners’ needs. This work takes place alongside and in consultation with other PACT work, including a similar questionnaire being used by Alexander Ballard Ltd to measure adaptive capability as part of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment.

 

£5,000 prizes for community based low carbon transport projects –  LowCVP and Energy Saving Trust launch Community Challenge

The LowCVP and Energy Saving Trust today launched the Community Challenge, which offers prizes of up to £5,000 for community based projects promoting low carbon vehicles and fuels or smarter, sustainable travel. Entry forms are available on the LowCVP website. The deadline for entries is 4th June 2010.

The judges are looking for community groups to submit original ideas that reduce carbon emissions from travel and transport. There are three categories: Vehicles and Fuels, Smarter/Eco Driving and Reducing Car Use. Projects can deliver physical improvements, equipment or technological developments, as well as providing information or setting up a scheme to promote sustainable transport.

The Community Challenge is funded by the Low CVP and Energy Saving Trust, and supported by ACT Travelwise, Global Action Plan, liftshare, the RAC Foundation and WhatGreenCar.com.

For further details visit www.lowcvp.org.uk/communitychallenge or call 020 8469 1333

 

Local Firm Trail-blazes to Top Sustainable Awards

 Cowley-based print and design firm Seacourt have been awarded “The Sustainable Business of the Year 2010” at this year’s Sustainability Live, the UK’s premier environmental event.  As part of the Environment and Energy Awards, and sponsored by organisations such as WRAP, BSi and AEA, amongst others, these awards are now well recognised as industry standard awards, celebrating excellence and innovation in sustainability. 

These prestigious awards were well supported, with over 100 entries in Seacourt’s particular category alone.  Judging criteria was based on recognising businesses or organisations which have taken their environmental, social and financial performance to the next level, by mitigating impact whilst using the sustainability agenda to gain competitive edge.  The judges looked at the organisation’s strategy and performance within a number of areas including waste, transport, energy, carbon emissions, buildings, pollution control and stakeholder engagement.  From a shortlist of 5 companies, all were asked to present a case for their company.  The category was one of 11 awards presented that evening.  Seacourt,  quoted as a “Top 3 environmental printer worldwide” by a leading printing association, has won numerous national and European awards to date, and is a recipient of The Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.  This award constitutes their 13th over the last 10 years. 

Jim Dinnage, Chairman, stated “The Sustainability Live event and publication have grown over the years to become outstanding platforms of communication in our industry, and so we are bowled over to have won this prestigious award.  However, the greatest recognition and thanks need to go to our loyal and supportive customers, many who’ve been with us from the start of our sustainable journey."

 

Are you a Green Achiever?

Over 40 businesses a month are registering with Green Achiever – a web-based environmental award framework with a linked online e-business directory.  All businesses are welcome to join from retail, IT, manufacturing and professional services whether sole traders, SMEs and large corporations.Interested organisations may register for free and complete a short questionnaire on environmental impact.  Different levels of achievement may then be applied for from Self-Assessed level through to Silver and Gold Awards.Local Buckinghamshire company tickets.com is one of the companies that has signed up to have its green credentials stamped by the scheme. Daniel Burrows senior software analyst and trainer at Tickets.com and co-founder of the Milton Keynes company's environmental committee says,“We have always demonstrated a basic environmental awareness, so joining the Green Achiever scheme initially enabled us to spread our wings within the green domain. Attaining silver status allows us to positively show businesses and potential customers that we are very serious about our contribution to helping the environment, based on the development of strategic processes and commitments.

Find out more about how to get stamped with Green Achiever credentials that will help win you more business

 

0% business loans fight high energy bills – and climate change

Energy-guzzling heating, air conditioning and plant equipment could be draining your business of vital profits. To help businesses upgrade to more efficient equipment and cut energy bills, the Carbon Trust is offering 0% loans of up to £500,000. No security is required for the interest free business loans – and the loans scheme is designed so that anticipated energy savings cover monthly repayments. What’s more, the new equipment may also qualify for 100% first year tax relief. Thousands of companies have now taken advantage of the interest free loans to reduce their energy bills:

More information on the Carbon Trust’s 0% business loans is available at www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans

 

Oxford Green Travel Award Winners

Oxford City Council presented its annual Green Travel Award to the university this month. The award is given to community groups, schools, workplaces, organisations, and individuals who have consciously opted for greener forms of travel.  To mark the achievements a reception with the Lord Mayor of Oxford Councillor Mary Clarkson was held at the Town Hall on Wednesday 27 January.

Since the launch of the Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Travel Plan in 2006, considerable effort has been made to reduce the dependency of members of staff on using private cars. As a result, there are now 2,500 cycle racks at Brookes in addition to 43 bike bins for secure weather-proof parking. The provision of on-site shower facilities and a ‘Bike Doctor’ have also given staff further incentives to make the switch from four wheels to two. Other popular initiatives have included a car-sharing scheme in conjunction with 234car.com, as well as the recent launch of the fleet of 11 brand new low emission BrookesBuses. Amey, located on Oxford Science Park continually encourages employees to adopt more sustainable methods of transport to get to and from work. As an organisation, Amey is taking significant steps to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

Amey initiatives include a ‘Cycle2Work’ scheme, a bicycle servicing scheme, car sharing, electric vehicles, video conferencing and travel surveys to ensure schemes can be tailored to employees needs.

The ‘cycle2work scheme’, offers a tax efficient way of obtaining a bike to cycle to work, in line with the Government’s green transport policy. This not only reduces the number of cars on Oxfordshire roads but helps to promote employees’ wellbeing. A complimentary bicycle servicing day was also organised with local Oxford company ‘Back on Trax’ to service employee bicycles ensuring they are continually fit for purpose. Each service takes less than an hour to complete and was carried out on the Science Park while employees were at work. 

Emily Davies sustainability consultant at Amey commented; “I recently moved to Oxford and was keen to live somewhere within walking or cycling distance of work.  The ‘cycle2work’ scheme ensures I am cutting back on my fuel usage and reducing the environmental impact of driving to and from work every day. It is great to see a large organisation such as Amey incorporating green initiatives into the benefits that offered to all employees.”

Amey’s Smart cars have zero carbon emissions and cause no noise pollution. They are used by the public services provider to travel to and from the offices around the city. The cars incur no petrol or diesel costs and there is no road tax to pay either, leading to significant savings and reductions in environmental impacts

 

UK Food Industry Emissions Far Higher Than Believed

New report finds technology and behavioural changes required to cut emissions from food. The food we eat accounts for 30% of the UK’s carbon footprint, according to a new report published today by WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network. Previous estimates put the figure closer to
20%, but this study is the first to incorporate land use change overseas, increasing the estimate of emissions attributed to food consumption in this country. Land use change, mainly deforestation, is a major source of climate changing emissions. Each year world-wide, an area of forest equivalent to half of England is lost. The expansion of the food system is the biggest driver behind this as land is cleared to grow crops and rear animals.

Given the extent of food consumption on the UK’s overall emissions, WWF-UK and the FCRN are calling for a radical change to the country’s food system to help stop deforestation and reduce the scale of emissions from the food chain. The new report – How Low Can We Go: an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK food system and the scope for reduction by 2050 – assessed various scenarios that explored what these changes might look like. Both technological and behavioural initiatives were tested, including decarbonisation of the energy used in the food chain, improved efficiencies and changes in consumption of meat and dairy
products.

 

Oxford Firm beats M&S to Zero Waste Goal!

In the leafy avenues of Oxford with its university buildings and bustling academic activity, a small but mighty firm have achieved something which maybe a first. Something that other commercial organisations only aspire to achieve some way off in 2020 or further.


Seacourt is already renowned for its radical approach to the environment, and was one of the very first printing firms to achieve EMAS certification, a hard-core accreditation with stringent demands. Having been quoted as being one of the top three leading environmental printers in the world by a worldwide printing association, two years ago they went on to win the coveted Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.
So how could they possibly improve on an already illustrious pedigree? Well, they have, and not in any small way. Seacourt are now virtually Zero Waste. What does this mean exactly? This means that virtually all waste streams are re-used or recycled in some way. One way to envisage this is to imagine running a business with no waste bins whatsovever and Seacourt have achieved this! The word “virtual” encompasses the small amount of final remnants from specialist recycler streams and not recyclable any further. But when considering that they’ve moved from an initial start-point (in 1995) of 6 x large 5 cubic meter Grundon bins a week to a small carrier-bag a year, they’re not doing too badly! This word “virtually” also takes into account replacement of kettles and other items which break down inevitably and are not recyclable (currently)! One hundred percent of everything which can be recycled or reused is recycled or reused. Funding is now available for other Oxfordshire firms to go Zero Waste visit the BREW website.
Jim Dinnage, Chairman of the company stated “We’ve been working towards zero-waste for years now, not believing that it was actually achievable, but moving as close to it as possible. Each year, we were able to make some kind of progress until about 6 months ago when we seemed to hit a brick wall.” This brick wall consisted of silver foil-backed paper, polystyrene and staff canteen waste.
But standing still is never good enough for these guys. There had to be a way. And so there was. A company was found who would take on the silver foil-backed paper to burn (partly fuelled by the burning of the paper) to produce aluminium powder which is used in the metal castings industry. Polystyrene is now used to produce a number of insulation products. And as for the matter of canteen waste, this has been solved by the purchase of 4 wormeries, and tea, coffee and sugar now sourced with recyclable packaging. Deal done.
A family-owned company, Seacourt has always embraced environmental challenges and is passionate about what they do. It first started 12 years ago when Jim heard about a new waterless printing technology, together with the facts and figures about the print industry, how it was the fifth largest and the 6th worst polluting worldwide. This led to a complete turn-around in strategy and a new waterless lithographic printing press was ordered.
Since then the company has come a long way. Run on 100% renewable energy and completely carbon neutral to boot. Jim offers advice for other companies wanting to follow a similar route, “It’s about being passionate and believing in what you do than simply ticking boxes. It is estimated that only 3.5% of companies worldwide have embraced sustainability as a way of doing business. We have a long way to go”.
For more details contact: Kalpana Peigne, Seacourt, 01865 770140

Funding is now available for other Oxfordshire firms to go Zero Waste visit the BREW website.


Oxon Climate Change Innovation Award - £1,500 to be won

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Oxfordshire has announced their Climate Change Innovation Award, as part of their ‘Make Money From Climate Change’ programme. The award will offer a cash prize of £1,500, as well as extensive publicity for the winning organisation. To be considered for the award, entrants should produce a simple business plan (max 10 pages) which clearly describes:

To qualify the business must :

Criteria for judging are :

The Award The award will consist of

Entries to be sent to : Sue Priest – sue.priest@ems2.com in PDF or Word format. Please check for a confirmation reply from Sue after you have submitted your entry. Closing Date : 5pm on Tuesday 3rd November 2009

For inspiration pllaces are still available on the Make Money from Climate Change Roadshow: dates, venues and booking information are available from the FSB Oxfordshire website.

 

Funding To Help Sustain Local Businesses

Plato GB, a subsidiary of Southern Enterprise Alliance (SEA), has won public funding to deliver a free programme, PLATO: Sustain, to businesses in Oxford centring on helping business to promote resource efficient business practices. PLATO:Sustain is a programme which brings together ambitious small to medium sized companies in groups over a two year period. The groups are facilitated by two senior managers from large companies that already practice environmental principles. The programme promotes shared knowledge, best practice and has a proven track record. The benefits to the participating company include: cutting costs, streamlining processes and boosting profits. PLATO’S Programme Director, Alexandra Massey, said: “In these lean times, the green issue is having more of an impact than ever. If the consumer has the choice, locally sourced products with a neutral carbon footprint are winning over something that’s been flown in or has a heavy carbon footprint. This programme is about helping local companies implement a sustainable agenda, add a positive contribution to their marketing and make a difference to their bottom line.”The programme is worth over £3,500 to each participant but is offered for free because it has received full funding from the South East England Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. Nevertheless, participants will be asked to invest in their own company to ensure the implementation of any sustainable policy is carried out. Any company wishing to apply must correspond with eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria:

The introductory events are being held at the following:

To sign up for the events customers can register at http://www.platogb.co.uk/PLATOSustain.aspx For more information, see the website www.platogb.co.uk or call 08457 35 45 55.

 

Green Business Case Study

Green Accountancy was founded by David Wilsdon in 2007 with the aim of helping and encouraging small businesses to reduce their environmental impacts. David was previously a partner at a medium-sized Oxford firm, which he left to become technical director at a national company. Having spoken to many clients he found that many small businesses wanted help with reducing their impacts and presenting their green credentials. To do this from a genuine position of knowledge and experience David undertook two years of study at Oxford University in Environmental Conservation and with this knowledge under his belt he set about creating Green Accountancy, an accountancy firm providing all normal accountancy and tax services, but with a minimum environmental impact and with the intention of helping other small businesses “go green”.Since then Green Accountancy have been providing best practice accountancy and taxation advice alongside advice on the environmental impacts of business decisions. This advice includes a simple five step plan enabling small businesses to take up environmental actions and benefit from doing so, leading businesses to consider the l taxation savings available through environmental action; assessing current position; targeting and reducing impacts and preparing environmental policy statements.David has said that “Accountants should help clients grow their business, reduce costs, increase efficiency and save tax. Considering the environment does all of these things and presents a business as well managed, modern and forward thinking. An added bonus is often a significant improvement in staff moral and retention.”Green Accountancy also practices what it preaches: all electricity including the servers providing the website is 100% renewable. Transport impacts are minimised by using public transport and waste vegetable oil fuels their cars. All suppliers are vetted for environmental credentials and recycled products are used where available. Carbon emissions are recorded using the firms own Carbon Accounting system developed specifically for small businesses. In fact they form a template for what every small business can do to reduce their carbon emissions.For more information visit www.greenaccountancy.com/

 

Register for Free Business Breakfast Event, Oxford Business Park

Oxford City Council are hosting a free Business Breakfast at Oxford Business Park on May 19th covering issues such as regeneration and sustainability.To register your interest and receive further details about the event please e-mail llawrence@oxford.gov.uk or call 01865 (25)2166.

 

Free Green Marketing Event – 3rd March, The Oxford Centre

Are you looking for new opportunities and customers through green marketing? Come to this free Business Link Green Marketing workshop.This full day session has been designed and is delivered by marketing expert, Maureen Wilson, former Managing Director of a Saatchi and Saatchi Division. She will provide practical advice for any business who wants to effectively market 'green' ideas, designs or services and products in order to attract new customers, partners or investors.To book your free place call: 01732 878 555 or visit www.eventskent.co.uk/environment

 

Should I leave my door open… and other business questions?

Visit our Low Carbon Q&A page to find out the answer to all those tricky carbon dilemmas and bust some energy myths.

 

Oxford is My World ‘Lite’ delivered to 45,000 business and household addresses!

Following the success of the award winning ‘Oxford is My World: Your Guide to Saving the Planet’ Oxford households and businesses are being given the opportunity to find out about sustainable living through a lightweight version of the guide.The guide was paid for by local firms who took out adverts in the publication, many of which such as Orinoco, It Must Be Green and Aqueco have a green message of their own to promote.In keeping with the sustainable principles of the Oxford is My World Partnership the booklet was printed on recycled paper (75% post consumer waste).Download Oxford is My World Lite (3.2 MB)

 

Free Energy Audits for SME's in Oxford

JUST ANNOUNCED: Free environmental audits for SME's in Oxfordshire, limited availabilityOxfordshire County Council has secured funding from SEEDA for around 20 free environmental audits, covering energy, waste & water, for small and medium sized businesses in Oxfordshire. Businesses selected to undergo audits will receive a professional assessment of their resource use and a report giving the headline actions that they can take to save energy and money, including installation costs and payback periods.Audits and follow-up support are provided by the Environmental Information Exchange (EiE), based at Oxford Brookes University. For more information on Energy Audits download this presentation by EiE.To register your interest in getting a free energy audit for your business please contact Alan Frost at BusinessLink: Alan.Frost@businesslinksolutions.co.uk

 

Green Growth Seminar Presentations

Oxford is My World attended a seminar on Green Growth at the Houses of Commons on 7th June. The event was organised by Oxford-based environmental printers Seacourt. You can read a report and access the presentations below, courtesy of Seacourt. Report: 'Green Growth' at the Houses of Commons, 12th June 2008
Unfortunately the Shadow Environment Minister, Greg Barker, was unable to attend but it was a good event nonetheless, with plenty of opportunity for networking before and after. See summaries of the presentations below, full presentations can be downloaded in pdf format.

Sharon Jackson, a lecturer on Corporate Social Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management & Cambridge, spoke about Growth Through Sustainability (download presentation, 3MB pdf, from this link).

Dr. Andrea Siodmok, Chief Design Officer, Design Council spoke about Commercial Advantage
through Sustainability (download presentation, 3MB pdf, from this link).

Toby Sawday, Alistair Sawday's Special Places to Stay & Fragile Earth Publishers: Sustainable Business, Case Study 1 (download presentation, 4MB pdf, from this link).

Gareth Dinnage, Seacourt: Sustainable Business, Case Study 2 (download presentation, 5MB Flash Application, from this link).

Mary Warren, Robert Horne (manufacture Revive): Sustainability Through Paper Choice (download presentation, 1MB pdf, from this link).

 

10th Venturefest a Success!

Oxford is My World was represented at the succesful 10th Venturefest event at Unipart on 1st and 2nd of July. Over the past ten years over 12,000 organisations have used the annual Oxfordshire event to meet new people and gather information on funding and innovation. The event is designed to bring together those organisations, which have funding and assistance for new ventures with the innovators and entrepreneurs themselves.This year’s event was a great success with a few innovative ideas of it’s own, including a “Venturefest Apprentice”, contested by local Year 12 students, and a inspiring closing address from Dr Mike Grocott of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Team.Oxford is My World Business was in attendance at the Oxford City Council stand to encourage new and existing businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and to see climate change as an opportunity rather than a threat. >They were also on the lookout for organisations to act as case studies in order to help other organisations follow their lead. One such example is Oxford City Council which recently published its Carbon Management Plan "Getting Our House in Order" which sets out how it aims to reduce emissions 25% by March 2011 (based on a 2005/6 baseline). Fittingly there was also a well-attended Climate Change Update, featuring Patrick Sheehan from the Environmental Technologies Fund, Rachel Nutter from the Carbon Trust, Martin Chilcott of Meltwater Ventures and Ted Mott of Oxford Capital Partners.

 

A Successful Low Carbon Breakfast

Low Carbon Breakfast flier

Representatives from over 50 local businesses met in the Town Hall on 4 March to find out about ways to reduce their carbon footprint, save money and enhance their reputation as responsible traders caring for the environment.

Electronic version of the presentations can be found below. The Low Carbon Breakfast event was organised by Oxford City Council in partnership with the Carbon Trust and Business Link. Businesses heard from the Midcounties Co-operative and environmental printers Seacourt on the realities and benefits of reducing carbon emissions. They also heard from Oxford Brookes University's Environmental Information Exchange on energy auditing.Councillor John Goddard, Leader of Oxford City Council, says: “This event was a landmark occasion for creating climate change awareness amongst businesses in the city.Cllr Goddard welcomes businesses to the Low Carbon Breakfast event“The City Council has taken a leading role in tackling this issue and by working with the business community in Oxford, we can make a positive impact on our environment.”Tom Cumberlege, Public Sector Manager from the Carbon Trust, says: “The Carbon Trust is delighted that Oxford City Council is leading by example by first reducing its own carbon emissions and then taking the experience learned to engage with local businesses and share knowledge. “This creates a real feeling of collaboration on a local level and encourages other organisations to take advantage of the support and guidance available to take action on carbon.”Tracy Walker, Business Development Director at the Big Oxford Computer Co. Ltd., said of the event: "The overall presentations were extremely interesting and informative. The event will certainly encourage us to take another look at our energy efficiency and internal company policies." Hannah Unia, Office Manager from Turpin Miller Solicitors says that as a result of the event she will: “Conduct an energy audit, make an action plan and make staff aware.“You can access the presentations given on the day by clicking on the links below.

 

Low Carbon Breakfast Presentations

For more information about lowering your carbon footprint please register by filling in the form on the left of this page, contact business@oxfordismyworld.org or call 01865 252 564.

 

Why should I care about my organisation’s carbon footprint?

Visit The Carbon Trust website: www.carbontrust.co.uk, or register with Oxford is My World, for information on reducing your Carbon Footprint.

 

Oxford Retailers Offered Cost Price Cotton Bags

Oxford City Council is helping Oxford retailers save money and the environment by offering them cost price cotton bags. The aim is to reduce waste, help to conserve the world’s resources and promote “Oxford is My World: Your Guide to Saving the Planet!”The bags (cost price 88p including VAT, with a mandatory retail price of £1) are made from ethically traded organic cotton and are printed with the cover of the Guide.Businesses stocking the bags will be listed in the local press and on council websites and will be given some copies of ‘Oxford is My World’ to give away for free to Oxford residents.Any business wishing to buy bags should contact the Oxford Tourist Information Centre Manager, Brenda Eden (10 bag minimum). Bags will be available for sale from 3rd December.Contact: Brenda Eden, Oxford Tourist Information Centre, 15-16 Broad Street, OX1 3AS, Tel: 01865 252300,
beden@oxford.gov.uk

 

Local Biodiesel Producer Offers Free Waste Vegetable Oil Collection Service

Golden Fuels are one of Oxford's longest established company making high quality biodiesel and they are offering to collect caterers' waste vegetable oil for free to make their biodisel. Biodiesel works just like normal diesel fuel but is much greener when made from cooking oil which would otherwise be disposed of.There is no charge per collection and once they have set up an agreement with a caterer there is no per-can fee. They cover the cost of issuing you with an annual waste transfer ticket, to show you have disposed of the oil correctly, and collect up to five times per week in Oxford alone. At the time of writing they are already collecting from more than 80 caterers in Oxford.For more information please contact Goldenfuels on 01865 423 636 or take a look at their website www.goldenfuels.com.

 

CBI welcomes amendments to Climate Change Bill

The CBI has praised the Government's amendments to its draft Climate Change Bill, saying it provides a credible framework for businesses to work towards. "Business urgently needs a credible framework to work towards a low carbon economy, and we believe the Climate Change Bill can provide that, comments Michael Roberts, CBI Director of Business Environment. "A stronger Climate Change Committee, and asking the Committee to review the case for increasing the 2050 target and including international aviation emissions within the targets, are all sensible steps. "The use of an interim target and rolling 'carbon budgets' should help to provide the right balance of certainty and flexibility, although the 2020 target continues to look extremely challenging." Read more on The Climate Change Bill on DEFRA's website.Back to top

Supported by:

Oxford City CouncilThe Midcounties Co-operative