Update on Events |
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Future Events ‘Quick Wins’ Workshop, 27th January As well as this being an excellent opportunity for networking, delegates will also hear from local companies who have already benefitted from working alongside NISP. Invites have already been sent, but there are still a few places available and so don’t delay! Invites for future events will be sent approximately 4 weeks before each event and places can be reserved via our website, under the “Events” section www.sben.co.uk Past Events SBEN AGM, 6th September The SBEN team would like to thank everyone involved in the Management and Organisers Groups for their invaluable and ongoing support. This year’s keynote speaker was Andrew Jago, from Toyota (GB) PLC, who gave an excellent presentation on Sustainable Motoring in the UK.
Each year a SOC Award is presented by Janet Bailey (SBEN Chair), to one of our members who have made an outstanding contribution to the network - hence the name, SOC - SBEN’s Outstanding Contribution. This year’s winner was James Dennison (pictured with Janet) from East Staffordshire Borough Council, previously from Groundwork West Midlands. James has given unstinting support to SBEN over a considerable number of years, introducing funding opportunities, new members and collaborations with Groundwork on many previous occasions. Enviro Visit: Keele Hub, 4th OctoberAn excellent visit! It was clear from the presentations how passionate and dedicated the speakers are about the work being undertaken - particularly Dr Sharon George, whose enthusiasm was infectious! Sharon is the Hub Manager and can be contacted on 01782 733986. With its 600 acre campus, Keele University is uniquely situated to take advantage of its onsite resources to provide sustainable energy for use by staff, students, residents and visitors alike. In particular, clean coal and geothermal technologies are being actively investigated. The new Keele Hub for Sustainability will act as a gateway to Keele's R&D, innovation and educational activities for companies, local communities and others wishing to learn about sustainability. The new hub is a living example of sustainability in action, and aims to be an inspiring place for people of all ages to learn, with resources and outreach activities to help children, homeowners and businesses. Our thanks to the 3 speakers:
Enviro Visit: Pilot Light Demo day at Beechenhill Farm, 1st November "This is a demonstration project to show how a small organic farm has started to adapt for resource efficiency and climate change within the protected landscape. We haven’t done it all and are certainly not perfect; we are still discovering and learning! Still to come: mini bio-digester and solar PVs. You may be interested in doing similar things - you can learn from our mistakes! We have adopted the principles of the carbon management hierarchy and implemented a number of energy elimination, reduction and replacement measures on the farm." Comments from the very enthusiastic delegates included:
Environmental Legislation Update, 30th November
John Barraclough from Sustainability West Midlands (SWM) also gave a presentation - entitled: Business Resilience: Adapting to the impacts of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events, which covered:
More information can be found in the separate article - Climate Change Adaptation and Business Resilience 23rd November: Climate Change debate - Can technology alone combat climate change or will a change in behaviour be required?
This event was held in partnership with RE:think Energy (supported by the European Regional Development Fund) We tried something new for this year’s annual networking event and were delighted with how successful it was! We had two inspirational speakers, Tony Marmont (Beacon Energy) and Sue Prince (Beechenhill Farm), who debated technology vs. behavioural change as ways to tackle climate change. Both speakers practice what they preach and provided a first hand insight into how businesses can help tackle climate change. As delegates arrived, they were invited to put a mark on a chart to show where their views lay on climate change. They were then asked to do the same on a second chart, following the debate, which showed a definite swing towards technology. Mark Shayler from Tickety Boo, did an excellent job of 'Chairing' the evening!
Pictured, from left to right, are: Sue Prince, Mark Shayler, Tony Marmont and Diane Roberts (SBEN). Enviro Visit: Bentley Motors, Crewe, 9th December This was followed by a 2 hour tour, by guides Michael and Nigel, who kept us enthralled and entertained throughout! As one of the delegates commented, "The guided tour of the factory was indeed a privilege to behold. The standards of excellence were awe inspiring and inspirational". Other comments included:
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