Celebrating Eshcon’s 15th Anniversary

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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Hear me speak

Hear me speak I do quite a lot of public speaking at conferences, seminars, webinars & networking events. I speak mainly about environmental management, but also about business issues. I love sharing my experiences, stories & know how with others - how can I help you with your event?   Hear me speak - coming up I have a number of speaking engagements over the next couple of months, including the following: Seize the Net Zero Opportunity - webinar with GDB 6 November, 11 am In this Ask the Expert session for GDB Gatwick Diamond Business, Zoë Osmond of the Green Growth Platform and I will explore the opportunities and benefits of embracing low carbon innovation. Book here East Sussex Assembly Annual Conference - The main theme is: Climate change: how can we all adapt to meet the challenges of a changing environment 23 November, 9.00 I will be hosting a series of break-out sessions covering Your Net Zero Journey. More info here   Past events I’ve been busy – here are some of my...
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My Story, My Mission, My Vision

My Story, My Mission, My Vision On this World Environment Day, I wanted to share my story. Much environmental messaging comes across as (slightly) negative – we’ve got to stop doing / reduce / prevent XYZ or it’ll devastating for us / the planet / wildlife / oceans. And yes, this is true. It is important to change. But negativity & fear don’t motivate most people. It can be much more inspiring to focus on the positive… to have something wonderful to aim for. So, I thought I’d share how I got involved in environmental management (My Story), what I’m trying to achieve (My Vision) and how I go about this (My Mission).   My Story My Story begins with me, aged 10, sitting on the floor in front of the TV watching the wonderful David Attenborough’s Life on Earth. This series was so inspirational to me, seeing the beautiful world around us, its diversity & fragility. We are so lucky to live here & benefit from...
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Hear me speak

Hear me speak (summer/autumn 2018) I have a number of speaking engagements over the next couple of months, including the following: 7th September: University of Sussex Business School conference Leading Organisations Through Change and Challenge - I will share my experiences of developing the vision for Gatwick Diamond Business & leading it through a significant period of change. Book here   17th October: Sustainable Business conference How to gain commercial benefit by putting the environment into the core of your business. Book here   22nd November: BSI webinar - ISO 14001 & the SDGs This webinar will examine how an ISO 14001 EMS can help your business deliver the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More details soon   I've been busy - here are some of my past events: 10th August: Sustainable Business Partnership breakfast What I learnt about Environmental Management Systems by riding a classic motorcycle over the Himalayas! 10th July: Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers seminar Opportunity Knocks: Growth through Innovation. You don't need to radically change your business to innovate; responding to customer's requirements for Environmental Management Systems can be enough....
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Walking Meetings

Meet & Walk & Talk We’ve all sat through long meetings, feeling hot & stuffy and, no matter how interesting the subject matter, worrying that you might just nod off. How much better can you feel going out into the fresh air & (ever hopeful) sunshine? As we spend a majority of the working day glued to a screen (& even more when we get home too), walking meetings may be more beneficial than ever before. Have a meeting on the go doesn’t have to be a big commitment. It may take a little longer, but there are so many benefits. The plus points Clearly, you get a bit of easy physical activity – helps your general health & immediately lifts your mood Can promote inspiration & even clarity just from being in a new setting It can help you focus (after all it’s difficult to walk & text) A slightly more relaxed setting can put staff at ease, allowing them to open up...
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April 18 Newsletter – Risks & Opportunities

April 18 Newsletter - Risks & Opportunities Eshcon regularly sends out an e-newsletter to contacts – here’s the latest from April 2018.   ISO 14001 Deadline is Looming I’m getting a lot of calls from companies realising they need to act before the September deadline to update their EMS to the new ISO 14001 standard. Here’s how to turn hassle into success. Are you ready for MEES? From April 2018 the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard requires properties to have an EPC rating of E or better. A landlord or a tenant, this can affect you. Making ESOS Work for You To make your next ESOS Assessment run smoothly, it’s worth the effort now to put in the processes to gather good quality energy data. The better the information you supply to your ESOS Assessor, the deeper they can analyse it for energy saving opportunities. Here are 5 Top Tips to help your ESOS Assessor. FSB Awards – Eshcon is Green Business of the Year I was thrilled to be recognised as...
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Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES)

Are you ready for MEES? From April 2018, rented buildings must meet new energy efficiency standards. It will be unlawful to rent or lease a property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating below an E. This applies to new tenancy agreements now and in 2023 will expand to include all privately rented property included in existing longer-term leases. New tenancies already must obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which have A – G energy efficiency ratings. Currently 40% of EPCs are rated D or below & 25% are the worst F or G ratings. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES), coming in to force in April 2018, requires the property to achieve an EPC of E or better. This means that if any of your offices, sites or buildings have an EPC with a rating of F or G, you will not be able to lease that property. You must upgrade to E or above before the lease is completed. There are five Exemptions...
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Making ESOS work for you

Making ESOS work for you We are now in Phase 2 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) - the energy data review & audits must be completed, & then the notification of compliance submitted to the Regulator, by December 2019. Those companies that know they will qualify for the scheme (they meet the financial &/or staff thresholds) should be thinking about beginning the compliance process now - commission your energy audits early to avoid the rush as the deadline approaches. Although you won’t be able to calculate your Total Energy Consumption yet (it needs to include energy use covering 31st December 2018), the energy audits can be started now using data already gathered to inform them. Last time in ESOS, many companies were unprepared & spent a lot of time trying to locate the energy data needed. This wasted time & cost money, as the ESOS Assessor had to focus so much more on gathering & analysing quality data. One client provided me...
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Energy Efficiency Grants

Energy Efficiency Grants Did you know that there are grants & other finance opportunities available for businesses? Grants of up to £10,000 are available for energy efficiency works & other business development, though these will depend on your size (usually for SMEs), location & sector. Here are two examples of grants schemes that I know of in the South East.   LoCASE – business support for low carbon sector LoCASE is a scheme administered by the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform to drive green business growth in East Sussex, Kent & Essex. There are two elements of the grants scheme, firstly to help SMEs in low carbon & environment sectors with business growth & R&D grants. Grants of up to £10,000 covering 40% of the cost, for projects to help grow your business or develop new products & services. Grants can fund: Energy efficiency measures Development finance - to enable expansion of the business (e.g. marketing costs) Plant & machinery - including re-tooling & installation of...
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I am FSB Awards Winner

FSB Awards - Eshcon is Green Business of the Year Today I attended the FSB Awards. The Federation of Small Business is a membership organisation whose mission is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. The FSB runs a national awards scheme, with regional events for the 12 awards categories.   Eshcon was shortlisted in the South East as a finalist for the Ethical - Green Business of the Year Award, which was sponsored by the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform.   There was really strong competition with the other finalists being: SAS Energy – the designer, supplier & installer of renewable energy systems Crumbs Brewing – creating beautiful beer from artisan bread that would otherwise go to waste Nature Shop – an online retailer of premium, natural fibre clothing Genuine Solutions Group – distributor of mobile phone accessories.   I am thrilled to say that I was successful & crowned the Green Business of the Year. My application explained how I manage my own company’s impacts & costs, e.g. Eshcon...
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Feb 18 Newsletter – Great opportunities

Feb 18 Newsletter - Great opportunities in environment & business Eshcon regularly sends out an e-newsletter to contacts – here’s the latest from February 2018.   Combining your EMS & QMS A number of my clients have an ISO 9001 Quality Management System & now need to manage their environmental impacts. Rather than starting from scratch, adapting the existing system for the requirements of ISO 14001 reduces the amount of time & effort needed. See my blog & Factsheet for how to combine your QMS & EMS - I can help you. #PassOnPlastic Since Blue Planet II, there has been a lot of interest in marine plastic pollution. Every minute, a dustcart’s worth of plastic goes into our oceans, it never decomposes & affects marine life & our own food chain. #PassOnPlastic is a pledge to reduce or even eliminate single-use plastic, e.g. takeaway coffee cups, bottles, straws & microbeads in beauty products. Make the pledge yourself & encourage your company, school, council or other organisations to pledge. Deadline September...
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