Celebrating Eshcon’s 15th Anniversary

By Anya Ledwith Comment Closed
Celebrating Eshcon’s 15th Anniversary Help me celebrate! 15 years ago, I set up Eshcon to develop and deliver my mission – to make environmental management THE business norm. 2006 seems an age ago now. It’s strange to look back and think about how I, and the business, have developed. Eshcon became full-time in 2012, previously working one day per week. I’ve had a rollercoaster of a ride – learning how to set up and run a business (never done that before), developing new services that clients really value, getting out and about to raise the profile of environmental management to a whole new audience. This is no mean feat seeing as most SMEs don’t last more than five years.   Anniversary party? Of course, I wanted to mark the anniversary. Pre Covid, it would be normal for companies to hold a little soirée - inviting clients, colleagues and partners for drinks and canapés. Parties aren’t really my thing, even if we were allowed to meet in person. I...
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Case Study – ISO 14001 Transition – Roffey Park

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Case Study – ISO 14001 Transition – Roffey Park Institute Eshcon helped Roffey Park transition its EMS to ISO 14001:2015, with a Gap Analysis, updating the system & then supporting the certification audit.   Roffey Park Institute is an internationally renowned leadership institute based in West Sussex, operating across the UK and in Singapore.   Roffey Park has had an Environmental Management System (EMS) in place for a number of years and was certified to ISO 14001:2004. There had been a change of staff, particularly those leading on the EMS so it was important to ensure all elements of the system were properly covered.   Work started with a Gap Analysis to identify where the EMS needed to change. This gave a RAG-rating for each issue and a transition plan, with actions & timescales. Eshcon then worked with the ISOe Group on the transition work, starting with a workshop on context, risks, opportunities, interested parties, lifecycle & the company’s strategic direction. The EMS itself was revised & streamlined;...
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Case Study – ISO 14001:2015 Readiness Assessment – University of Reading

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Case Study - ISO 14001:2015 Readiness Assessment University of Reading The University of Reading, ranked in the top 1% in the world, is situated mainly on two campuses: London Road and the main Whiteknights campus which occupies 130 hectares with approximately 200 buildings. The University has approximately 18,000 students and nearly 4,000 members of staff.   Eshcon conducted a Readiness Assessment of the University’s Environmental Management System to help prepare for the certification audit to achieve ISO 14001:2015.   The University has had an Environmental Management System (EMS) in place for a number of years, certified to ISO 14001:2004, and also holds EcoCampus platinum status. There is strong commitment to the EMS, with involvement across the organisation and at all levels.   A lot of work had been done by the Sustainability Team to transition the EMS to the requirements of the new standard. The team wanted reassurance that everything was on track for the upcoming certification audit.   Eshcon conducted a Readiness Assessment with the requirements of the...
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Case Study – GHG Reporting – Hogg Robinson

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Case Study - Mandatory GHG Reporting Hogg Robinson Group Hogg Robinson Group is a global corporate services provider, specialising in travel, expense, payments and data management underpinned by proprietary technology.   Hogg Robinson Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and comes under the mandatory GHG reporting requirements of the Companies Act 2006.   Eshcon carries out annual calculations of Hogg Robinson Group’s Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions for all its sites, to be included in the company’s Annual Report.   Hogg Robinson Group has offices in 88 cities in 24 countries around the world. Collecting this data can be a significant task. Eshcon and the Hogg Robinson Group finance team work together to collect the data from each site (or ‘entity’), ensuring that it is all returned on time, complete and accurate.   A selection of sites is chosen for deeper analysis and validation of the data.   Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas GHG emissions are calculated arising from energy in the buildings (gas, electricity etc),...
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Case Study – ISO 14001:2015 Transition – Roband Electronics

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Case Study - ISO 14001:2015 Transition Roband Electronics Based in Charlwood near Gatwick Airport, Roband Electronics is an independent British company specialising in the design, development, manufacture and support of electronic power supplies. In 2016, Roband celebrated its 60th anniversary.   Eshcon helped Roband achieve ISO 14001:2015 certification, with a Gap Analysis of its EMS and then updating the system to transition to the new standard.   Roband has a history of good environmental practice and decided to formalise this into an Environmental Management System (EMS). ESHCon has worked with Roband for a number of years, initially to develop & implement the EMS and their first certification to ISO 14001.   As the EMS has progressed, Eshcon has lead internal audits, attended certification audits and provided support to the environment team, where knowledge or experience needed a boost.   In 2016 Roband decided to transition the EMS to ISO 14001:2015 in time for the scheduled recertification audit.   Work started with a Gap Analysis to identify where the EMS needed to...
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Case Study – Training – Mid Sussex Council

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Case Study - Training Mid Sussex District Council Mid Sussex District Council serves a population of around 125,000 over an area of 128 square miles of West Sussex. Council services include Planning, Refuse and Leisure.   Eshcon delivered environmental awareness training to the newly established Environmental Challenge Officers (ECOs).   During the implementation of its EMS, MSDC established the ECO Network to engage and inform staff. One ECO from each department was appointed. ECOs needed a good understanding of environmental issues to give them the confidence to conduct their duties.   Eshcon helped in this by delivering the CIEH Level 2 Environmental Principles & Best Practice training course. Delegates were able to obtain CIEH qualifications on successful completion of assessment.   Running in-house training sessions allowed the course to be tailored to the audience, covering issues and activities specific to the Council, thus making it more relevant to the delegates and the organisation.   The benefits of this included: The ECOs gained a good understanding of environmental issues. It gave...
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Case Study – ESOS – Nellsar

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Case Study - ESOS Nellsar Nellsar is one the South East’s leading providers of specialist Dementia, Nursing and Residential Care services for the elderly. Established in 1988, it owns and manages care facilities around the South Home Counties, offering high quality accommodation for up to 700 residents.   Nellsar comes under the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) Regulations, which require businesses to carry out comprehensive audits of all their energy usage, including transport, and report to the regulator on a four-year cycle.   As a registered Lead ESOS Assessor, Eshcon supported Nellsar through its full ESOS Assessment.   The first stage was to measure energy consumption for the 13 sites - electricity, gas & LPG data was provided by Nellsar’s energy brokers UK Healthcare. This allowed an understanding of how energy was consumed at the sites, which varied in size, age & construction.   ESOS Energy Audits were then conducted at a selection of sites to further identify energy usages, patterns, plant & equipment, operations, trends & anomalies.   These highlighted...
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Case Study – Carbon Trust Standard – Go-Ahead Group

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Case Study - Carbon Trust Standard Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group is one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport services, comprising of 11 bus companies and 5 rail franchises. It employs around 23,000 people across the country, with over one billion passenger journeys taken each year.   Eshcon helped the Go-Ahead Group achieve the Carbon Trust Standard.   Go-Ahead first certified to the Carbon Trust Standard (CTS) in 2010, to help with positioning on the Carbon Reduction Commitment CRC league table and to raise its profile of good carbon management.   Because of the size of the group, number of companies involved and the complexity of the data, Go-Ahead opted for an Assisted Certification of the CTS. ESHCon provided additional support in preparing the submission, as well as conducting the assessment.   Eshcon worked with the Group’s Environment and Energy Manager to take Go-Ahead smoothly through the certification process. This involved: Gathering the required data, reviewing for completeness & accuracy, and ensuring sufficient carbon reductions were...
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Case Study – Carbon Footprinting – JSM

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Case Study - Carbon Footprinting JSM Construction   JSM Construction offers a wide range of services to the power, telecoms and civil engineering sectors.   As JSM’s customers were asking for carbon emissions data and reduction targets to be included in tender applications, Anya Ledwith developed their carbon management system.   Although JSM had an EMS in place, they had not considered calculating their carbon emissions until requested by key customers. Now they find it common that environmental and carbon criteria are included in tender specifications.   Working with the SQE Director and his team, Anya supported JSM throughout the carbon management process. A comprehensive carbon footprint was calculated, covering the company’s organisational activities (e.g. energy, fuel, waste & water) and also those arising from the civil engineering projects (considering the embodied carbon within the materials used, such as sand, tarmac, aggregate and concrete).   Using the footprint data to focus on significant areas, an interactive staff workshop identified improvement opportunities and set reduction targets, so developing the carbon management...
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Case Study: ISO 14001 EMS – University of Kent

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Case Study: ISO 14001 EMS University of Kent The University of Kent, the UK’s European University, is one of the country’s most dynamic universities and is proud of its record of research-led teaching at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge and Brussels.   Eshcon helped implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) and the successful certification to ISO 14001.   The University has a history of good environmental management but wanted to gain ISO 14001 to co-ordinate its numerous functions and initiatives, to drive further improvements and to help progress up the Green League, an environmental performance table of all Universities.   Eshcon worked with the University’s Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) Unit, providing advice and guidance in implementing the EMS: Conducting initial Environmental Review, identifying aspects, impacts & legislation Running workshops to develop the EMS Programme, a series of action plans focussing on energy, waste, transport, biodiversity, materials and emissions Establishing groups (e.g. management team, auditors) and systems, setting targets and processes for collecting & monitoring data Leading audits...
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