Network Update – May 2013

In May’s Network Update: Meet-the-Buyer event, Green Deal and ECO seminars, £1,000 grants for Green Deal Installer certification, hand dryers vs. paper towels, crowd funding explained, Southern Railway speaking at Horsham breakfast.

Southern Railway Speaking at Horsham Breakfast – 21st May
With attendees from construction firms, manufacturers, training providers, insurance brokers, technology installers, local authorities and transport companies our next Sustainable Business Breakfast is not to be missed!

Southern Railway and Wiles Greenworld will present case studies on how embedding sustainability into their organisations has achieved cost savings, staff satisfaction and new business. Brighton and Hove City Council will share their experiences of implementing ISO 14001 – showing how an Environmental Management System can bring real benefits and not just be a box-ticking exercise. Event programme and bookings.

£1,000 Grants towards Green Deal Installer Certification
Keen for local businesses to be able to access opportunities presented by the Green Deal, such as working as a subcontractor for a Green Deal Provider, West Sussex County Council is offering grants of up to £1,000 towards the cost of Green Deal Installer certification (typically £1,250 to £2,500). Eligibility and full details.

Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels
Which is more cost effective and which more environmentally friendly? By our calculations they rank…

1. Air-blade style dryer – 4.5 Wh / use = 2.5 g CO2
2. Traditional hand dryer – 10 Wh / use = 5.3 g CO2
3. Paper towel – 10.0 g CO2 from manufacture* – and most people use two

And with the cost of paper towels around £2 for a pack of 200, installing an air blade dryer at around £700 would pay back in two years if it is used 50 times per day (replacing 100 paper towels). Plus waste disposal savings and reduced cleaning time. Do your own maths first though! (*From How Bad Are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee)

Industry Opportunity Seminars
We are running a series of free seminars in Crawley, Brighton and Hastings for businesses in the renewable energy, construction, heating and energy efficiency sectors. We’ll explore tendering technique and requirements, as well as examine the Green Deal (including PAS 2030) and ECO and the opportunities they present for business.
Programme details.

Raise Funds or Invest In Local Business
Crowd funding – it’s all the rage, but what does it involve? Take Funding Circle for example. Businesses can apply to the website for a loan; to launch a new product, for general expansion or for a specific project such as installing solar panels. Individuals and organisations then state how much they can loan the business and at what interest rate. Those offering the most favourable rates will be accepted and the loan and repayment schedule arranged. All investments and repayments are made through the website. Loan applicants are vetted, with the website providing a risk rating. Crowd funding is proving a popular way to invest in small business, but also with the hope of returns more favourable than those offered by the bank!

Any finally…

20’s plenty for Chichester – www.westsussex.gov.uk/20mph
West Sussex County Council’s plans for a 20 mph speed limit in the city.

Exhibit in the Sustainable Business Network Area at the Eco Tech Show – last three places!
We’ve sponsored an area at the Eco Technology Show in Brighton show on the 14th and 15th June to provide Network Members an opportunity to exhibit. Exhibition package details.

Horizons sustainability tool – http://horizons.innovateuk.org
Free on-line tool to help businesses identify sustainability issues, risks and opportunities.

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