24 business awards
Call for green champions in all shapes and sizes
From carbon offsetting to solar panels and recycling initiatives – the ways in which companies respond to the green agenda are many and varied
The drive towards a more environmentally- friendly way of doing business is ever more important and those organisations who take action now will reap future rewards through reduced bills and increased cost savings.
Celebrating those who are already achieving success is Grundon Waste Management, which for the third year running, is sponsoring the Green Business Award in the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards 2014.
This year it is opening the award up to companies of all sizes, from smaller owner- managed business through to major corporates, as Grundon’s compliance manager Toni Robinson, explains: “We want to find out who the region’s leaders are in the green agenda and fly the flag for their achievements. It doesn’t matter which industry they are in or how big they are, we want to hear about them and share best practice.”
In preparation for this year’s award, The Business Magazine took a closer look at the successes of the 2013 winner and runners-up.
Winner – GE Healthcare
The GEWAT mantra is “Save Energy, reduce waste – Energy for Life” which reflects the broad-based approach and fits well with GE Healthcare’s and the world focus on environmental issues. Winning the Green Progress Award in 2012 and 2013 is a reflection of the team’s and GE Healthcare efforts and the continuing move forward with passion for all things green in the ever challenging business environment of today.
Runner-up – UK Atomic Energy Authority
Based at Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, and with over 1,000 employees and contractors, the UK Atomic Energy Authority is home to the UK’s national fusion research laboratory.
It has a dedicated waste management group, responsible for handling waste in the best way practicable and identifying new initiatives.
Based at GE Healthcare, The Grove Centre, Amersham, GEWAT (The Grove Energy & Waste Action Team), is a group of volunteers supported by senior management to promote reducing energy, utilities and waste.
Its primary focus is on increasing staff engagement by sharing information face-to- face, through demonstrations, fact finding and maintaining an intranet site where information on resource conservation and “myth busting” ideas are available for both work and home consumption.
In addition, continuously working with customers, vendors, minimising at source by smart processes, and seeking opportunities to reduce the use of planet resources are key features of GE Healthcare’s environmental focus. By establishing waste treatment strategies, recycling and reduction in electricity, gas and water have featured significantly over the past two years at The Grove Centre site.
www.businessmag.co.uk
These have included providing wellington boots instead of disposable overshoes, encouraging catering suppliers to use recyclable packaging and sending food waste for anaerobic digestion.
It promotes an extensive on-site recycling scheme and in 2013, over 80% of all waste produced on-site was consistently recovered and/or recycled.
A project to upgrade the site’s street lighting to high-efficiency LED lamps achieved estimated energy savings of over £17,000 in electricity costs alone, equal to a 74% electricity and 90,000kg CO2 saving per year, and lighting replacements within buildings have saved over 40% on running costs and 15,400kg CO2e per year.
Colin Shimell, head of assurance, said: “It is gratifying to see that our efforts in improving environmental performance are recognised as amongst the best within the Thames Valley Region. However, there is still further to go and the first prize is in our sights for next year.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2014
THAMES VALLEY BUSINESS MAGAZINE AWARDS 2014
Runner-up – Polythene UK
At the smaller end of the scale, Polythene UK from Witney, employs just 19 people and is a supplier of polythene packaging and exclusive greener alternative films.
Already carbon neutral, it plans to become a fully sustainable business and is based in a state-of-the-art fully self-sustaining building.
Among its many initiatives are the harvesting of rainwater, installation of fuel-efficient systems on its delivery vehicles, recycling of office waste and sending of food waste for anaerobic digestion. And, as a licensed dealer of waste polythene, the company provides a free collection service for waste polythene, ensuring it goes for reprocessing rather than landfill.
It has also successfully introduced three exclusive environmentally friendly alternatives to standard polythene and works with companies to help them cut carbon emissions by using less polythene and encourage best practice.
Over the past six years, the team says implementation of its products have saved approximately 3,686 tonnes of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), the equivalent of 534 million checkout bags, and a carbon reduction saving of 9,530 tonnes of CO2.
Managing director James Woollard said: “We won last year’s Oxfordshire business award for Green Business of the Year, but Oxfordshire isn’t known for its manufacturing base, and we sell polythene packaging films and bags to manufacturers.
“When we started to look online for where we could go with our message next, it was clear that the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards would be a far more attractive audience for us with more potential to do some new and exciting business. Looking at previous winners, it was obvious just how big a challenge this would be and when we heard we had made the shortlist we were thrilled. To actually be named runners-up in such a prestigious category against some other amazing (very large) companies has been amongst our greatest achievements.
“We look forward to working hard in the future to coming back another year and taking the winner’s spot.”
Full details of this year’s awards will be announced in the May issue of The Business Magazine and on
www.businessawards.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48