View The Latest Issue
Official Media Sponsor
C&M is published by
Going the extra mile- or thousand!
Taking an active approach in supporting Futures Supplies’ commitment to CSR, office manager Andrew Hills will be taking part in the ‘UK End 2 End’ one thousand mile charity bike ride in May, all the way from Lands End to John O’Groats on behalf of his chosen charity Action Medical Research.
Focusing on child health, Action Medical Research is a leading UK charity dedicated to funding for the very best medical research to help babies and children affected by disability, rare diseases and infections. Hills is hoping to raise £5000 to help fund its vital research through sponsorship.
As part of his training, Hills has already taken part in several of the charity’s 100-mile day rides in preparation for the 115 mile average a day he will be cycling. Starting on the most south-westerly tip of England, Hills and a group of other participants will pedal their way through the beautiful British countryside of Devon and Cornwall, the Welsh borders, Lake District into Scotland and to the most northern point of Britain.
Celebrating its 16th year in business, Futures Supplies is an independent distributor of washroom, cleaning and janitorial products. Award winning and highly successful, the company encourages and has actively supported numerous fund raising activities including sponsored walks and skydives, raising valuable funds for charities as well as engaging staff with its community.
“I was encouraged to cycle to work as part of the company’s award winning travel plan and now enjoy it as a leisure pursuit,” said Andy Hills. “Whilst enormously challenging, I am looking forward to admiring the beauty of Great Britain whilst at the same time having a positive effect on my community by raising funds for this worthwhile charity.”
You can find out more about Action Medical Research and sponsor Andy Hills here: http://hub.futures-supplies.co.uk/news-flash/?Tag=Action+Medical+Research
.
Sodexo named Business Superbrand for third year
Sodexo has again been listed as one of the UK's leading business to business brands by the Superbrands organisation.
Sodexo was chosen as a Business Superbrand for the third year following a robust selection process administered independently by The Centre for Brand Analysis. The centre analysed the views of a panel of experts and 2000 individual UK business professionals. Of the thousands of brands initially considered only the top 500 are deemed to be Business Superbrands.
When voting, both the experts and the business professionals consider the following definition of a Business Superbrand: 'A Business Superbrand has established the finest reputation in its field. It offers customers significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over its competitors, which customers want and recognise.' In addition, brands were assessed on the following three counts:
• Quality - does the brand represent quality products and services?
• Reliability - can the brand be trusted to deliver consistently against its promises and maintain product and service standards at all customer touch points?
• Distinction - is the brand not only well known in its sector but suitably differentiated from its competitors? Does it have a personality and values that make it unique within its market place?
Sodexo appears in the Superbrands annual and online at www.superbrands.uk.com/sodexo . Aidan Connolly, chief executive, Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: "Today, brand is value. To be recognised as a Business Superbrand is a fantastic achievement for Sodexo. The strongest worldwide brands are those that succeed in becoming known, then admired, then chosen."
Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the Expert Council & CEO, The Centre for Brand Analysis, said: "Congratulations to Sodexo on achieving Business Superbrands status. This status confirms the strength and potency of the brand in the UK. As we enter another difficult year, the resilience of a business can be boosted by its reputation, helping to stimulate demand and loyalty versus weaker-branded rivals. The company and its employees can be extremely proud to be recognised amongst the UK's leading B2B brands. The achievement reflects the views of experts and professionals who deemed the brand to represent quality, reliability and distinction."
www.sodexo.com
SCA in the world’s most ethical list for fourth year running
SCA has been named as one of the world’s most ethical companies for a fourth consecutive year. And the organisation is once again the only hygiene tissue manufacturer worldwide to appear in the rankings.
Jan Johansson, president and CEO of SCA, said: “SCA places a strong emphasis on corporate responsibility and we are very pleased about being named one of the world’s most ethical companies. It is recognition of all the employees’ work and how the extensive business of the SCA Group can be managed in a responsible manner.”
Only two other organisations in the forestry, paper and packaging sector were listed this year: Stora Enso which produces paper, packaging and wood products, and International Paper which specialises in office paper and consumer packaging.
The World’s Most Ethical Companies list, compiled each year by the Ethisphere Institute in New York, recognises those organisations that go beyond making statements about doing business ‘ethically’ and that actually translate their words into action.
According to the institute: “Investing in ethics is beneficial for any company, even in a recession. WME honorees demonstrate real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institute’s credo of ‘Good. Smart. Business. Profit’.”
Hundreds of companies were assessed before the final list of 110 companies was compiled. Those that qualify need to demonstrate leading ethics and compliance programmes, particularly compared to those of their industry peers. There is no set number of companies that make the list each year.
The 2011 listing includes household names such as eBay, Microsoft and the Ford Motor Company. There are 36 new companies on the list, while 26 firms that appeared last year are excluded in the 2011 rankings.
www.tork.co.uk
Socius Network signs two-year paper deal
Socius Network, a consortium of 15 distributors, has signed a two-year contract with Peter Grant Papers for the provision of away from home paper products.
Based all over the country, including Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey, the Socius members selected Peter Grant Papers after a competitive tender against four other suppliers because of its ability to reliably meet the consortium’s needs.
Mike Revell, managing director of Socius, explained: “Peter Grant Papers’ approach was open and direct, which meant that when our members came to vote for their preferred supplier they knew exactly what was on the table from this company. Peter Grant Papers also took the time to get their offer right. They listened to us and then adapted their proposals to give us the specification we required at the price we needed. This flexibility was impressive - they seem to relish the complexity of our needs and the challenge this presents. The company’s product range is comprehensive and their membership of the CHSA underwrites the quality we need. Add to this that a number of our members have worked successfully with the company for a number of years and Peter Grant Papers’ appointment as preferred supplier became a natural progression.”
Peter Grant Papers will be supplying all Socius Network’s own label products - toilet rolls, centrefeed rolls, mini jumbos, bulk pack toilet paper, centrefold hand towels, 1-ply green towels and 2-ply white towels - all of which must be of a dependably high quality. The company will also provide the network’s members with all Peter Grant Papers generic products, a range that encompasses more than 35 items.
Paul Weddle, sales and marketing director at Peter Grant Papers, said: “We are delighted to have secured the long term relationship with the Socius Network. We know our service has to be exemplary if we are to add to the reputation of members rather than detract from it. This is why customer service and a detailed understanding of the member companies’ customers needs is intrinsic to all we do.”
Deb rewards hand hygiene initiatives
Deb has worked with infection prevention and control teams throughout the UK for many years with the objective to deliver the best possible hand hygiene solution for workers in healthcare.
Acutely aware of the issues that surround inadequate compliance with hand hygiene practices, Deb launched the ‘Take a Moment’ hand hygiene awards 2010 in conjunction with the IPS to reward and promote initiatives undertaken to drive improvement and encourage behavioural change amongst workers in healthcare.
Entries for the inaugural awards were invited from infection prevention and control teams that had implemented an initiative to encourage and improve rates of hand hygiene compliance within their specific healthcare setting.
The winners of the educational grants - North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and charity Medical Support in Romania - all demonstrated original, measurable, cost- effective and sustainable improvements in hand hygiene practice.
Discussing the quality of entries, Alan Nelson, national sales manager for Deb’s Healthcare division, said: “It has been extremely difficult to single out three winners from all of the entries that we received, due to the variety of innovative work in the field of hand hygiene at present.”
Sarah Murdoch from the IPS said: “This critical area of practice is frequently under-valued in favour of new technology. Not so this year. We have some great teams who are improving compliance, developing new approaches to local ownership and delivering first class service in their workplaces. Lots to celebrate and be proud of.”
www.debgroup.com
SCA nominated for global sustainability award
Tork manufacturer SCA has been shortlisted for an award for its sustainability reporting. The hygiene tissue manufacturer is one of only four companies worldwide to be nominated for the Globe Sustainability Reporting Award 2011.
“We are delighted to have been nominated for this award,” said SCA’s European marketing director Brian Parkinson. “At SCA we consider sustainability in everything we do and set ourselves strict targets for sustainability relating to carbon dioxide, water, raw materials sourcing and social considerations. Our company is totally committed to openness regarding our environmental and social activities, challenges and ambitions. In fact we were one of the pioneers of transparent sustainable reporting when we published out first environmental report back in 1998.”
Other companies nominated for the Globe Sustainability Reporting Award 2011 are Spanish-based information technology multinational Indra, Teck Resources, a Canadian mining corporation, and Canada Vancity, a financial services company based in Vancouver.
The Globe Award is in its fifth year and aims to discover and encourage researchers, innovators, cities and companies that are deemed to be outstanding in sustainable development. Besides the Sustainability Reporting Award other event categories are the Sustainability Research Award, Sustainability Innovation Award and Sustainable City Award.
Winners will be judged by an international panel of experts. Chairman of the jury group for Globe Award’s Sustainability Reporting Award is Paul Druckman, executive board chairman of the Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project. “Once again this year we received entries from across the world which reiterates the breadth of the Globe Awards,” he said. “Congratulations to all those that entered and for the work that has been done. It is evident that this reporting area is gaining insight.”
www.tork.co.uk
