Getting the right skills for the Green Deal

A series of events are being held to raise awareness of the skills required under the Green Deal, the government's flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of buildings.

The Green Deal Connections events are free and UK-wide, and will benefit those working in energy assessment, advice and installation. They are being organised by the Green Deal Alliance (GDSA) partnership made up of three Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) - Asset Skills, ConstructionSkills and SummitSkills.

Richard Beamish, chief executive of Asset Skills, the SSC for property and facilities management, said: “The government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. It is crucial that you attend this event if you want to remain at the forefront of the Green Deal and acquire the necessary information on the skills and accreditations needed to advise on and install new green technologies.”

The events are UK-wide and will cover: the Green Deal policy, with a speaker from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC); overview of the Green Deal skills process including qualifications, accreditation, regulatory bodies and the Green Deal Code of Conduct; skills scope - energy assessment /advice and all aspects of installation - both domestic and non-domestic; low carbon groups and other activity according to region; and the creation of network connections and contacts to successfully implement Green Deal.

The events are targeting: potential Green Deal suppliers - energy suppliers, local authorities, housing associations, private suppliers, etc; energy assessors and advisors (current and prospective); installers - insulation installers, heating engineers, plumbers, electricians, renewable technologies installers, etc; property, building and environmental technology trade associations; professional bodies; trade unions; and awarding bodies, learning providers and certification/accreditation bodies.

The GDSA will develop and implement the Green Deal Competency Framework, which aims to develop common standards and qualifications to sit across all aspects of Green Deal assessment, advice and installation. The project is funded by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through Phase 1 of the Employer Investment Fund.

Mark Farrar, chief executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: “The Green Deal Connection events are an important way for SMEs to understand what skills and training they will need to prepare for the forthcoming Green Deal, which rolls out in just one year. The time to prepare for the future is now and it is vital that firms, particularly SMEs, are able to meet demand for the construction of low carbon technology, as well as knowing how not to fall foul of changing regulations. Government has already made it clear that only those qualified will be able to secure work from the Green Deal. These events are supported by CITB-ConstructionSkills’ Cut the Carbon campaign which is helping SMEs understand the impact of new legislative requirements impacting on carbon emissions, developing the right mix of knowledge and skills to respond to this demand and to ensure that government and larger contractors adequately support SMEs in meeting green skills needs.”

Keith Marshall, chief executive of SummitSkills, said: “There has been so much talk recently about Green Deal that unsurprisingly many employers tell us they are unsure of where to start to prepare their people and their organisations to support and take advantage of the initiative. These events will guide visitors through the mass of information towards exactly what potential installers of environmental technologies need to know. Working with our partners Asset Skills and ConstructionSkills has enabled us to make the most of our joint resources and of each Sector Skills Council’s expertise in their industries.”

To register, visit www.assetskills.org/GreenSkills/GreenDealConnections.aspx.

To find out more, email greendeal@assetskills.org or call 0845 678 2 888.

XPS named finalist in ‘business champions’ award

XPS, one of the leading facilities management companies in the east of England, has been selected as a finalist in the ‘marketing innovation’ category for a business award.

Damian Cummins, director of East of England Business Champions, said: “The marketing innovation category attracted a high number of entries and it was particularly difficult for our judges to whittle down the entries from such stiff competition. The finalists have shown themselves to be true innovators in marketing and branding.”

Emma Bowman Smith, managing director of XPS, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as a finalist in the awards, and it is a testament to the innovation of our whole team. They have worked tirelessly to develop and market our brand and the business has grown as a result of their hard work. I am extremely proud of them and of this achievement.”

www.xps.uk.com

BTA conference launches new campaign

The British Toilet Association conference was held at The Stratford Hotel, Stratford on Avon on Wednesday 21 September. This was a once a year opportunity for providers of publicly accessible toilets to network with product and service suppliers, as well as user group representatives, to discuss best practice and learn what can and is being done to improve publicly accessible toilets throughout the UK. It also provided an ideal opportunity to recognise the cutting edge of washroom product development and service provision.

Following the conference opening by BTA chairman, Richard Chisnell, BTA director Mike Bone provided an overview of the preceding 12 months which included details of meetings and activity involving other associations and organisations at home and abroad, events and presentations, promotion and publicity. BTA consultancy, advice and information services were reviewed and membership trends discussed.

Gillian Kemp, BTA management committee member, launched the ‘We need the loo’ campaign, a joint venture between the Women’s Design Group, BTA and the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering. The campaign is promoting an online petition to ask Government to make adequate public toilet provision a legal requirement - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15258. The expectation is that the petition will get at least 100,000 signatures and will be eligible for debate in the House of Commons.

Richard Berry, scrutiny manager from the Greater London Assembly, opened the second session providing delegates with an explanation of the status of public toilet provision in London and the GLA’s ‘Public Toilets in London’ report. Mary Milne, senior campaigns officer for Age UK, then explained how toilet closures impact the ageing population UK wide.

In the fourth presentation Christian Harris, director of Bonasystems, demonstrated how slips in toilets could be prevented by improving the safety of floors. This was followed by Roger Berry, managing director of Healthmatic, explaining how Healthmatic, in association with the South Bank Employers Group, will be  providing a new public toilet block on the South Bank in London, near the London Eye, where 13.8 million visitors a year currently have ‘nowhere to go’.

The final session was a discussion on the 10 things that local authorities need to know to protect public toilets from closure. The conference delegates were very concerned at the effect the current financial situation is having on local authority budgets and the likely impact on the provision of public toilets. The solutions discussed provided delegates with ideas and case studies that overcome many of the issues that are currently leading to increasing numbers of public toilet closures.

The conference closed with an open forum and the BTA annual general meeting followed.

www.loo.co.uk

Racing start to 50th year

BICSc 50th anniversary was celebrated in style by the East Anglia Region which organised a networking event at Britain’s leading sports car manufacturer and Formula 1 team headquarters - Lotus Cars, near Norwich.

50 branch members, friends, and business associates spent a fascinating day at the Lotus factory where they enjoyed a 100-minute tour of production and saw the awesome Lotus Evora being built.

Visitors enjoyed hearing about the history of this 63-year-old world famous marque, its founder - the legendary Colin Chapman - and the endless list of top F1 drivers that have raced for Lotus. These include Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and, more recently, Nigel Mansell. 

Following the factory tour and networking time the guests enjoyed an excellent pub lunch and left with a Lotus goodie bag. The event was sponsored by Diversey Inc, Rose Hygiene, Norse Group, Bio Based Global and Host von Shrader. Geoff Tucker of the Norse Group said: “We are always delighted to support BICSc - this was a great networking event and a fascinating insight into Lotus.”

Rose Hygiene’s Paul Rivett said: “I had some very promising conversations with several potential customers and even signed one up, which was a bonus.”

Richard Barnes of Host von Shrader said: “This is a prime example of where business and pleasure meet. We are always keen to support BICSc East Anglia.”

Bio Based Global’s Brian Tillson said: “Next time BICSc runs an event we will certainly sponsor it as it provides an informal platform to discuss our products and, more importantly, our customer needs.”

The last word is from Des Fulcher, BICSc East Anglia branch chairman: “This was a great sell-out event that illustrated once again the need for activities that combine social and business. Our regional committee play a big role in organising and promoting our events and we now need more BICSc members interested in joining us.”

Enquiries to: Des Fulcher on 07834 520605 or eastanglia@bicsc.org.uk.

Celebrating 21 years

2011 has brought some exciting new developments to Portsmouth based Hooper Services Ltd. Company growth and development has necessitated a move into larger, better equipped premises to accommodate expansion in both product ranges and services.

Founder of the company, managing director Ian Hooper, has developed the business with an unfaltering emphasis on providing a high quality, fair and friendly service, still overseeing this on a daily basis.

Hooper Services Ltd supplies all industries and is proud to be associated with numerous councils, hospitals, cleaning contractors and MoD sites.
Company engineers and staff are comprehensively trained on an ongoing basis. This year has seen new divisions of Hooper Services Ltd being formed to provide electrical testing and installation, facilities for short or long term hire of equipment and a range of low cost, high quality cleaning and sanitising chemicals. Keeping an eye on new innovations, the company is a supplier of water saving cleaning machinery helping to reduce consumer’s water consumption, labour costs and tax liabilities with the Defra approved Enhanced Capital Allowance. Antibacterial systems, safety vacuums and robotic cleaning machines are included in the extensive portfolio of products available.

New waste regulations for businesses

New European waste regulations are set to make businesses greener, however one waste management expert argues the regulations don’t go far enough and is calling for enforcement prosecution.

From 28 September companies have been required to adhere to the new Waste Hierarchy before disposing of rubbish. Businesses are now responsible for monitoring the type of waste they produce, the quantities, the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes and the methods of disposal used.

Karen James, commercial manager at LIME, the total waste division of PHS Datashred, said:“These newly updated rules will have a positive impact on our environment and will help reduce the carbon footprint of businesses across the UK. However I feel they do not go far enough. I’d like to see stronger penalties for businesses that don’t treat their waste responsibly. We have data systems that can track our entire customers waste metrics. This is important to our clients, as we can produce complete schedules of all waste types as well as lists of any relevant regulations. As a part of our ‘zero to landfill’ policy, last year 100% of the waste we handled was diverted from landfill.”

The new regulations state that all recyclable waste must first be segregated and then either recovered or recycled. Companies will also be asked to keep records of all this activity for inspection by the Environment Agency and to sign a declaration on the Waste Transfer Note. If a business’s waste management decisions fail to comply with the Waste Hierarchy they will be asked to justify them and face possible prosecution.

The principle of ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ has been updated to ‘Prevention-Minimisation-Reuse-Recycling-Energy Recovery-Disposal’.

www.limerecycling.com