BSEE


AIR CONDITIONING, COOLING & VENTILATION Sustainability and employee


wellbeing are the top priorities


Manchesterbased air condioning experts Coolair Equipment Limited, has pledged to make sustainability a key focus for 2021 and beyond as the business enters its fih decade. It comes as the company renews its Carbon Footprint accreditaon – which means they have commied to oset any


emissions made as a business while proacvely acng to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.


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longside its pledge to the environment, Coolair is also investing


significantly in new tools and training


to aid employee wellbeing, including a new training portal and the introduction of mental health first aiders.


Neil Gibbard, Coolair’s managing director, said: “Coolair is currently in the process of looking at our business and establishing where it is our greenhouse gas emissions are coming from and how we can improve these processes to reduce these emissions in the future. “While we try to establish new ways of working which will cut our emissions, we will be offsetting any emissions by investing in projects which help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”


Last year, Coolair planted more than 270 trees across the UK as part of their commitment to the environment.


Helen Sharratt, Coolair’s Finance Director, said: “We have undertaken an audit to see where we generate greenhouse gases as business. The main culprits being our fleet of vans and all the business travel we undertake in our own cars, as well as commuting to and from the office. “Our next step is to make plans on how we can cut these types of emissions across the whole of the business. And in the meantime, we will continue our commitment to offset any emissions by planting trees across the UK.


“We are working with a fantastic team who not only plant trees in the UK, but actively reduce deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.”


As well as their own practices, Gibbard, Sharratt and the rest of the Coolair board are also actively looking at the industry as a whole and how the Government’s ‘Ten- Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ could potentially impact on operations.


Gibbard said: “Point 7 of the Government’s plan addresses how buildings in both the residential and commercial sectors are heated and cooled, making them more energy efficient.


“I am fully expecting that this may have an impact on the type of systems we install in the future.” Sharratt added: “The climate emergency was headline news before Covid-19 took priority across the globe, and it remains high on the list of issues world leaders are working to resolve.


“The pandemic has given us an opportunity to look at how we work to see if we can make any changes which will not only reap rewards for the business and our staff, but the environment too.


“Change will only happen if companies and individuals all play their own part in cutting harmful emissions and offset any they do emit. That is exactly what we hope to do at Coolair and we hope to see other businesses joining us.”


Helen Sharra,Coolair’s Finance Director Cosy Coolair


While Coolair might be focusing on the wide world and its impact on the environment, another key area for the business in 2021 is a lot closer to home: the mental wellbeing of its employees.


Coolair has long had a reputation in the industry for its culture, known in-house as ‘Cosy Coolair’. Coolair offers a wealth of staff benefits, from flexible working, extensive training schemes and generous maternity packages, as well as offering employees the chance to work their way up the business to shareholder and director levels.


But with the outbreak of Coronavirus, Coolair is putting the spotlight on its employees’ mental health.


Gibbard said: “Coolair has long been renowned in the HVAC sector for looking after its staff. However, with the impact of the global pandemic still being felt, we believe protecting our employees’ mental health has to be a top priority for 2021.”


The company has invested in a new training portal, which will be available to all members of staff and


12 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2021 Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


Neil Gibbard, Coolair MD


will have a firm focus on well-being, as well as industry specific courses. Employees will be able to sign up to training programmes specifically focused on mental health, including techniques to reduce stress and improve mental health.


Sharratt said: “The training portal is a huge investment for Coolair, but a very necessary one. It is packed with courses covering many different aspects of working life, including health and safety and personal development.


“However, we feel our employees’ mental health is just as important as their physical health and we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to take some time to work on their well-being.” In addition to the training portal, Coolair is also in the process of selecting members of staff to become Mental Health First Aiders, to assist colleagues with any wellbeing concerns.


She added: “We believe we have some of the best employees in the industry and we want to do what we can to support them.”


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