What are The Global Goals?

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The SDGs: what are they & why should we care? Hopefully you should be becoming aware of The Global Goals - the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals - but what are they & why should we care? Myles Wickstead CBE is an expert on international development, a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, was British Ambassador to Ethiopia and was Head of Secretariat to the Commission for Africa. Myles wrote a great article a year ago on the SDGs. Here it is in full and I'll summarise a few of his key points below to give you an introduction. At a UN Summit in late September 2015, Governments signed up to a document called: ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. It contains a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supported by 169 targets and many more indicators. The 17 SDGs are shown in this diagram. If all these goals and targets are too much to remember, think 'P'. The key elements...
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ESOS – The Challenges Last Time

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ESOS – The Challenges Last Time I am Lead ESOS Assessor and was very busy during the first round of ESOS (the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme legislation). Some of my clients started nice & early, but many came to me very late so I had to work extra hard to get everything done for them in time. Indeed, many companies only started to look at ESOS a couple of months before the deadline, so there was a huge rush and a lot of frayed nerves. Apart from the lack of assessors & short timescales, I noticed trends from ESOS Phase 1. I’m sharing these now, so that hopefully Phase 2 can run more smoothly for you. These are the sorts of challenges I saw: Company structure – this could be a problem, particularly for large groups with complicated ownership structures. Find all the companies in a group, the company registration numbers, all the sites, who is the Board member to sign off. Missed companies – although...
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Student Mentoring

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Student-Business Mentoring Scheme It's been a while since I left university & went into the world of business. I have over 20 years of experience in the environmental management sector. I enjoy what I do & get satisfaction from helping my clients improve. And it occurred to me that I had experience that I could share with others, perhaps younger people starting out on their career. So when the Head of the School of Business, Management and Economics at the University of Sussex asked me to become a Student Mentor, I thought that would be a great opportunity.   Sussex runs a program linking local business people with their students. The idea is to share experience, the things we've learned along the way. This is particularly good for me, returning to my old Uni.   I was linked with a young woman studying economics. At our first meeting we completed the Mentoring Wheel diagram. On each spoke of the wheel, an issue or area that was important...
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What does my logo mean?

What does my logo mean?

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What does my logo mean? This last month I've been working on my business not just in my business. I've redesigned my website (it's looking nice and fresh now). I've been thinking about marketing strategy. And I've even revisited my logo. As you know I am an environmental management consultant. I work with businesses to manage their impacts, reduce risk, save money and find commercial benefits.   Indeed, my mission is to make environmental management the business norm. I often talk about putting the environment into the heart of the business. I don't want it to be an add-on. It should be part of core business operations. That's how you get the true benefits.   I have redesigned my logo recently. It hasn't changed much, except the colouring & accents.   You'll notice the green 'o' - this represents the green world, within the core of the business.   That's what Eshcon is all about. Making environmental management straight forward for you to put it into your business so you...
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ESOS Phase 2

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Getting Started on ESOS Phase 2 Are you getting on with ESOS? We are now in the Phase 2 compliance period and, although the deadline of 5th December 2019 may seem a long way off, you should now be thinking about the compliance process.   ESOS (the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme for large organisations in the UK. ESOS requires you to Measure your total energy consumption Conduct audits to identify cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities Report compliance to the Environment Agency.   The Agency is urging organisations to act early to help avoid disruption & enforcement action, also to unlock the financial savings brought by greater energy efficiency.   You may choose to conduct energy audits of your sites or choose an alternative route, such as an ISO 50001 Energy Management System.   Start gathering your data now - you’ll need to show energy consumption for a 12 month period covering 31st December 2018.   I am a Lead ESOS assessor, which need to be involved...
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ISO 14001 Countdown

ISO 14001 Countdown

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Countdown to ISO 14001 Many businesses have put in an Environmental Management System (EMS) to manage impacts, reduce costs & increase efficiency. It can help win business too, as many customers expect their suppliers to have one in place.   If your EMS is certified to the international standard, you need to update it to the new ISO 14001:2015 standard by September 2018. See here for more details of the main requirements of the new standard.   Here are my top tips for the countdown to the ISO 14001 deadline:   5 - Mind the Gap Start with a Gap Analysis of your current EMS to find out where you need to focus your attention.   4 - Don’t Do it Alone You may be isolated, so engage with colleagues from across the organisation & senior management to get a leadership boost.   3 - Know your Risks & Opportunities Use a PESTLE Analysis to help plan your strategy; it’s important to know the risks & opportunities facing your business in the future.   2 -...
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Awards winning tips

Awards winning tips

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Tips on How to Win Awards - A View from the Judges' Table What's the best way to promote your company's achievements on the local, regional or national stage? There are many, many business awards around now; do you take advantage of them?   Just entering an award scheme has many benefits. It’s an excellent learning experience & satisfying too putting the application together - show the best parts of your business & share your achievements. Also it’s a good opportunity to look outwards, at the competition, what customers are looking for, what best practice is. Position yourself as a leader.   At the awards ceremony, finalists get their name up on screen in front of the numerous guests. Why not bring your staff along to say thank you for their hard work? For the winners - not just a glittering trophy, it’s the prestige, the recognition for all of the company & it’s great to be able to use the strapline ‘award winning company’.   I've...
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Global Goals

Global Goals

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Making Global Goals Local Business I attended a seminar recently with the United Nations on The Global Goals - the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. The Goals are going to transform our world, so creating opportunities for businesses to use new models, deliver new products & services into new markets.   The 17 SDGs have been adopted by the UK & the other 192 Member States of the UN. They call for economic growth, innovation, affordable energy & upgraded infrastructure, as well as providing a path to end extreme poverty, fighting inequality & protecting the environment. The Goals are to be adopted and delivered by governments, partnerships, businesses & individuals - relevant at the national, regional and local level.   Environmental management compliments well many of the Goals. This is clear in areas like Goal 13 Climate Action & Goal 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities. But it is also integral to Goal 8 Good Jobs & Economic Growth, Goal 3 Good Health and Goal 12...
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June 17 Newsletter – Countdown to ISO 14001 & Support

June 17 Newsletter – Countdown to ISO 14001 & Support

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ESHCon regularly sends out an e-newsletter to contacts – here’s the latest from June 2017. Countdown to ISO 14001 & Support Stepping out of your comfort zone Last month I attended edieLive, the UK’s leading two day energy, sustainability and resource efficiency event for businesses. I chaired two sessions, on water management and energy, and I also spoke about how ISO 14001 could help energy managers step out of their comfort zone.   There are many things make a manager uncomfortable & I considered three: Communicating; Risk management; & Other (non energy) activities. Using ISO 14001 helps address each of these issues.   See here for a summary & findings of my sessions.   Because most organisations are still early on in their environmental journey, they need a bit of hand-holding. Hence I use ISO 14001 to give them a formal structure to achieve their objectives.   World Environment Day 5th June was World Environment Day. I saw a lot of tweets & stories, mostly about connecting with nature, so I put...
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Green Growth 2017

Green Growth 2017

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Green Growth 2017 - Report from the Chair I was very pleased to chair the recent Green Growth 17 Conference in Brighton. Green Growth 17 was organised by the Green Growth Platform, an initiative run by the University of Brighton to promote the environmental & low carbon sector. Zoe Osmond, Director, told us that since starting in June 2014, the GGP has attracted 740 members – a mixture of supplier of environmental products & services, & other businesses who wish to improve their environmental management. 130 new green sector jobs have been created, plus 70 students & graduates are working with members, on projects, research & marketing. The objective of Green Growth 17 was to inspire & enable members to connect, innovate & grow. Slides from the conference speakers are available, but I thought I’d share some of the key points I noted during the day. Tara Dean, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Brighton gave the welcome, sharing some of the UoB’s...
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Eshcon Factsheets (no download needed)

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Eshcon Factsheets (no download needed)   Net Zero Factsheet Your 5 step journey to Net Zero. Click here - Eshcon Factsheet - Net Zero     ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems EMS Factsheet An introduction to Environmental Management Systems, the benefits and requirements for the standard ISO 14001. Click here - Eshcon Factsheet - ISO 14001 EMS     SECR - Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting Factsheet Large companies must include energy and carbon data in their Annual Reports – find out more here. Click here - Eshcon Factsheet - SECR     ESOS - Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Large companies must conduct energy audits and report to the regulator every four years – see here for what you need to do now. Click here - Eshcon Factsheet - ESOS  ...
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Download Eshcon Factsheets

By Anya Ledwith Comment Closed
Download Eshcon Factsheets Net Zero Factsheet Your 5 step journey to Net Zero.     ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems EMS Factsheet An introduction to Environmental Management Systems, the benefits and requirements for the standard ISO 14001.     SECR - Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting Factsheet Large companies must include energy and carbon data in their Annual Reports – find out more here.     ESOS - Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Large companies must conduct energy audits and report to the regulator every four years – see here for what you need to do now.         _____________________ Liked this post? Sign up for the Eshcon Newsletter Blue Skies....
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Net Zero Factsheet

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Net Zero Factsheet Everyone’s talking about Net Zero – perhaps your customers are asking about your Net Zero target, or even your staff? Net Zero can be a complicated process – but I’ve streamlined it down to a simple five-step process. Check out my factsheet to help your business go Net Zero.        ...
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