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SINC Female Founders

18th March 2020 By admin Comment Closed

My Business Journey - Talk for SINC Female Founders I was recently asked to speak at the Sussex Innovation Centre’s Female Founders Open Morning. This was a networking breakfast organised by SINC which brought together numerous women who had recently or were planning to set up their business. Included in the morning were 1-2-1 mentoring sessions with the SINC innovation advisers on how to establish and grow the business. SINC asked me to speak to share my story, with details of my business journey, challenges and achievements. It was lovely to be back at the University of Sussex, where I did my 1st degree. However, I was not able to share many of the stories of living on campus at the time! 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....

Sussex Community Foundation

29th February 2020 By admin Comment Closed

My support for the Sussex Community Foundation Many companies, as part of their CSR programme, choose a ‘charity of the year’ to support & involve their staff in fund-raising. Being a single person business, Eshcon prefers to focus on one organisation & build a long-term relationship. Therefore, for over 10 years I have been volunteering the Sussex Community Foundation. I am very pleased to support the SCF, both in giving my time & also through financial donations. The SCF raises funds for and make grants to local charities and community groups across East and West Sussex. Since 2006, they have raised over £30 million to support Sussex communities. The SCF manages funds on behalf of Sussex donors, connecting them to the groups and communities they want to support. Over 4,000 grants have been given in partnership with those donors, totalling £14 million to around 2,000 charities and community groups. £18 million is in endowment – a collective fund of money that will benefit Sussex...

SECR – Are you In?

22nd February 20202nd July 2020 By admin Comment Closed

SECR – Are you In? 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. Does this apply to you? Are you large? SECR applies to quoted and large unquoted companies & LLPs registered in the UK (as defined by the Companies Act 2006), fulfilling at least 2 of the following conditions in the financial year: >250 employees Annual turnover >£36m Annual balance sheet >£18m. Quoted? All quoted companies must comply with SECR and will need to include data for both the UK & global activities. What’s your Financial Year? April-March Your first SECR report will cover April19-March20. Start working on this now! Jan-Dec Your first SECR report will cover Jan20-Dec20. You have a little breathing space until early 2021, but make sure your data collection processes are up to scratch. Oct-Sept Your first SECR report will cover Oct19-Sept20. Make sure your data collection processes are good – you’ll...

Pledge to Net Zero

22nd February 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Happy Anniversary

21st February 202021st February 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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. ...

Sussex Wildlife Trust

18th February 202020th February 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Are you ready for SECR Carbon Reporting?

10th February 202020th April 2022 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Delighted to be FIEMA

10th February 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Hear me speak

3rd February 20205th November 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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. ...

Making the Most of ESOS webinar

13th June 201913th June 2019 By admin Comment Closed

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...

#ialso Top 100

13th February 20195th March 2019 By admin Comment Closed

#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...

SusLeaders19

13th February 201913th February 2019 By admin Comment Closed

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. ...

ESOS – Are you on track?

6th December 20186th December 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...

ISO 14001 & the SDGs

25th November 201826th November 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Get ready for SECR reporting

14th October 201814th October 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Rampion Wind Farm

4th August 20184th August 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Hear me speak

1st August 20185th November 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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....

CCL – Energy taxes on the rise

21st July 201823rd July 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...

Getting Boardroom Buy-In

1st June 20185th November 2020 By admin Comment Closed

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,...

Walking Meetings

21st April 20181st June 2018 By admin Comment Closed

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...