Pledge to Net Zero

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Pledge to Net Zero I have worked in the environmental management field for nearly 25 years. It is my mission & my passion. It’s tough going, but I am hopeful for the future. More & more people are aware of environmental issues & the need to act urgently. Many organisations recognise that we are in a Climate and Environmental Emergency, with time running out to address the many challenges that lie in front of us. In June 2019 the UK Government committed to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050. This is hugely important step but we need to turn policy into action - organisations large & small play a huge role. Indeed, the UK's commitment comes at a time where more than four-fifths of the world’s largest companies are unlikely to meet the targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement to limit rising temperatures to 1.5oC of pre-industrialised levels by 2050. The 'Pledge to Net Zero' has been established to commit...
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Happy Anniversary

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  Happy 8th full time Anniversary to Eshcon! I initially set up Eshcon on a part-time basis back in 2006, continuing to work up to 4 days a week elsewhere. I was about to go full time, when I was head-hunted to a consultancy in London - again working there part-time. Today (21st February) marks the day I gave up the job to focus solely on my business. Eight glorious, challenging, interesting, enjoyable years! Thank you to all my clients, contacts, partners & friends who have supported my mission to make environmental management THE business norm.       _____________________ Liked this post? Sign up for the Eshcon Newsletter.    ...
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Sussex Wildlife Trust

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Sussex Wildlife Trust I'm very pleased to have recently joined the Sussex Wildlife Trust as a corporate member. The conservation charity protects the wonderfully rich natural life in Sussex that is found in towns, countryside and coastal areas. The Trust manages over 30 nature reserves across Sussex that people can explore and enjoy. They also run conservation activities for volunteers & engage with policy makers to encourage positive change. I look forward to working with the Trust to get more businesses & their staff engaged with nature. If you consider that "What you experience, you value. What you value, you work to protect." I would like to encourage businesses to promote & experience nature around them. I particularly enjoy watching the birds from my desk window - even putting up a bird feeder outside offices could help you colleagues appreciate their natural surroundings. Check out the SWT shop for some great items, including bird feeders (via Vine House Farm), bird food & clothing.   Help our Kelp...
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Are you ready for SECR Carbon Reporting?

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Are you ready for SECR Carbon Reporting? Are you prepared for the new SECR carbon reporting regulations? The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Regulations require large companies to include carbon & energy information in their Annual Report.  This applies for financial years starting on or after 1st April 2019.   SECR applies to quoted and large unquoted companies registered in the UK (as defined by the Companies Act 2006), fulfilling at least 2 of the following conditions in the financial year:>250 employeesAnnual turnover >£36mAnnual balance sheet >£18m.   The following information needs to be included in the Annual Report for that year: • Greenhouse gas emissions - Scope 1, 2 & some 3 emissions arising from energy use in buildings & transport – presented in tonnes of CO2e.Large unquoted companies & LLPs should report on UK operations. Quoted companies will continue to be required to report on global activities. • Energy consumption data in kWh used to calculate the emissions – electricity, gas, other fuels, company vehicles, rental cars...
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Delighted to be FIEMA

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Delighted to be FIEMA I was thrilled to receive a letter recently from IEMA, my professional institute, the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment. I’ve been a member for over 20 years, progressing through the membership levels, becoming a full member MIEMA & Chartered Environmentalist CEnv in 2005. The letter was to invite me to become a Fellow of IEMA. I was absolutely thrilled, as this is really the highest professional recognition there is. Rather than applying for FIEMA, I was nominated by other Fellows & approved by the selection committee, which wrote to say: “This is in recognition of your leadership skills as an award-winning consultant with expertise in environmental management and as an advocate for corporate sustainability. In particular, we wish to recognise your dedication, continuously working above and beyond your day job to give back to the profession, be it as a judge for the Sustainability Leaders Awards, as part of Sussex University’s student mentoring program or as Vice Chair of...
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Hear me speak

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Hear me speak (early 2020) I have a number of speaking engagements over the next couple of months, including the following: Sussex Innovation Centre’s Female Founders' Open Morning 27th February, Falmer A networking breakfast & 1:1 mentoring sessions for local business women and budding female entrepreneurs. I’ll be speaking about my business journey. Book here   Open4Business Expo 26th March, South of England Showground, Ardingly I will chair the panel & speak about making environmental management the business norm. Book here   Remote Auditing webinar with IEMA 29th April, 9.30 webinar I’m on the expert panel of the IEMA webinar sharing top tips to get the best from your remote environmental audit. This is one of a series of webinars about adapting to life during the Covid-19 lockdown. Book now       End of each month: Gatwick Diamond Business As Chairman of GDB I make a regular address to the monthly Members’ Meeting, about GDB strategy, direction & key learning points from events.   _____________________ Liked this post? Sign up for the Eshcon Newsletter.  ...
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Making the Most of ESOS webinar

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Making the Most of ESOS webinar I was delighted to be invited again to take part in an IEMA webinar, this time on ESOS - The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme. ESOS requires large companies to conduct energy audits & report compliance to the regulator. The deadline for this phase is 5th December 2019. IEMA – the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment – runs a series of webinars for its members, to keep them up to date with the latest issues & legislation, plus helps them with their own personal & business development opportunities. The webinar on Mon 10th June lunchtime was attended by over 150 delegates & we had a good range of questions at the end. As a registered Lead ESOS Assessor, I shared my experiences of the challenges faced last time – from getting good quality data to scheduling the meeting with the director in good time. A recording of the webinar, plus the slides are available here. See also my blog on The...
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#ialso Top 100

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#ialso Top 100 I am delighted to be listed in the f:Entrepreneur #ialso Top 100 of female business leaders. The goal of the f:Entrepreneur campaign is to celebrate the dynamic and inspirational businesses led by women in the UK.   #Ialso demonstrates how business leaders don't just think about their business, they often support a range of other initiatives too.   The Top 100 met at the House of Lords for a celebration of business successes. Hosted by Lord Young of Graffam, ex Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, we heard from Martha Lane Fox, businesswoman & philanthropist, founder of Last Minute.com. She shared stories of her career & pointers for success, hoping that next year instead of the Top 100, we would have the Top 1000 in the room!   It was fantastic to meet so many other business women, to hear their stories & successes.   The event marked International Women's Day which helps to forge a more gender-balanced world. The theme for 2019 is relationships - this is key in business where 'people...
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SusLeaders19

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Sustainability Leaders Awards It was another fabulous night at the #SusLeaders19. I've been judging awards for over 10 years & I've seen some amazing entries. It just doesn't get easier!   At the glitzy awards ceremony, I was delighted to present the #edieawards Water Management trophy to @Adnams for their innovative approach to water efficiency, which also helps in developing new products. See here for a full report of the Awards & all the winners - it's good to learn from the leaders.   After picking up the Lifetime Achievement Award, former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman issued a rallying cry for businesses to take corporate responsibility onto the next level by collaboratively ramping up climate action and championing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here is his acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Gh8IYdwH8&feature=youtu.be I was lucky to sit with Paul & the awards host Michaela Strachan - a great evening for me. Next day, Paul was awarded a KBE - a busy week for him!   _____________________ Liked this post? Sign up for the Eshcon Newsletter.  ...
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ESOS – Are you on track?

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ESOS – Are you on track? The mandatory Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) requires ‘large enterprises’ to have energy audits done every four years by an approved Lead ESOS Assessor & signed off by a board-level director. It may seem a bit of a pain to do this, but the commercial benefits are clear – save energy, save money, reduce risk and plan for the future. The deadline is just 12 months away - 5th December 2019 - so you should be starting your ESOS projects now, to beat the rush before the Lead Assessors get booked up again.   I work with loads of organisations to do their ESOS Assessment - what’s Involved? Measure Energy Consumption - Review energy uses & data for all relevant companies in the group - covering energy in buildings, processes, fuels & transport - to determine Total and Significant Energy Consumption. Audits - Conduct audits to identify energy savings opportunities. My approach is different from standard assessors as I particularly focus...
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ISO 14001 & the SDGs

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ISO 14001 & the SDGs ... Can your EMS save the world? I was pleased to recently deliver a webinar for BSI & IEMA on Using ISO 14001 to support delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A Trucost report showed SDG alignment generated $233bn in revenue for 13 of the world’s largest companies last year. But wider research by KPMG showed companies are struggling to get boardroom buy-in and PwC found 40% are still not meaningfully engaging with SDGs. There are clearly business opportunities, but do they know how to deliver the Global Goals within the organisation? My webinar examined how using a structured system like ISO 14001, this could be achieved.   UN SDGs - The Global Goals There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, supported by 169 targets (see my blog for more info). 8 of these SDGs can be directly delivered using an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS), and 4 indirectly. I discussed the relevant targets for each goal & how they...
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Get ready for SECR reporting

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Get ready for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) New carbon reporting regulations are coming. The government recently announced its plans for new carbon reporting, starting in April 2019. The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regulations require carbon & energy information to be included in the company’s Annual Report. SECR applies to quoted and large unquoted companies registered in the UK (as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and fulfilling at least 2 of the following conditions in the financial year: >250 employees, annual turnover >£36m, annual balance sheet >£18m). The following information needs to be included in the Annual Report for that year: Greenhouse gas emissions - Scope 1 and 2 emissions arising from energy use in buildings & transport, including electricity, gas, vehicles & refrigerants (scope 3 remain voluntary). Large companies should report on UK activities; quoted companies will continue to be required to report on global energy use and carbon emissions. Details of the methodology for calculating emissions and a...
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Rampion Wind Farm

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Rampion Wind Farm             Over the last few years I’ve been pleased to see the Rampion Wind Farm being built off the coast of Brighton. Sitting on the beach, I find the view pleasant, not intrusive. It is named after the official flower of Sussex (who knew?). The wind farm is extensive - there are 116 turbines rated at 3.45 MW, 140m tall to the blade tip. Once fully up & running, it will generate 1,356 GWh of electricity per year, enough to power 347,000 homes (half the homes in Sussex) and save 600,000 tCO2e. Being an environmentalist & someone who’s interesting in engineering, I was delighted to join a tour of the wind farm organised by the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform. Beforehand, we had a talk from the Project Engineer of Eon, who has overseen the design & construction of the wind farm. This was incredibly interesting, hearing about the challenges of the geology (avoiding the paleochannels, old riverbeds with finer materials...
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Hear me speak

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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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CCL – Energy taxes on the rise

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CCL - Energy taxes on the rise When you pay your energy bills, hopefully you’re aware that your business is paying a tax to the government called the Climate Change Levy. Large, non-energy-intensive organisations currently have to purchase allowances for the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) they are responsible for, under the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (the Carbon Reduction Commitment). The CRC has been seen as complicated & a burden on business, in that they have to forecast their energy use & financial plans accordingly. With the CRC ending next year, the government needs to somehow recoup this lost revenue. The increase in the CCL Climate Change Levy simply transfers the revenue collection to the energy bill, rather than a separate scheme. It is important that you are aware of this increased levy & how it will affect your energy bills. Many businesses just don’t think much about the cost of electricity & gas – they simply pass the bills on to the...
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Getting Boardroom Buy-In

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Getting Boardroom Buy-In - my report back from edieLive Last week I attended the annual conference & exhibition edieLive at the NEC. It was a great mix of exhibitors, speakers, workshops & general networking. I met with clients & contacts - it’s always nice to have a catch up - plus I met plenty of new people - useful for collaborations, referrals, potential clients & simply learning from others. I also had a busy day in the Energy Efficiency Theatre, chairing & presenting two sessions. Here’s a summary of the main points I covered.   Getting Boardroom Buy-In Many environmental professionals have difficulties engaging with senior management, who may be too busy or simply not interested. So I gave some insights for getting boardroom buy-in. I first asked the simplest of questions - who are you trying to reach? This is Marketing 101 - you have to understand your target audience. I floated some ideas of what the Board wants & what’s important to a typical director. Then,...
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Walking Meetings

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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

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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)

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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

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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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