Discard the "Dustbin of Europe" label

Sharon Cain — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:45:00 +0000

Having bemoaned the horrors of blatant rubbish dumping in Cairo – a city where recycling is a dirty word and where pollution from the city centre dump and offensive smoke belching from factories and traffic fumes permeates every space – I was horrified to read how almost 10,000 tonnes of waste (the equivalent of 851 bin lorries worth) that should have been recycled in Yorkshire last year ended up on tips or being burned. Such headlines make Britain, labelled by Paul Bettison as: “The dustbin of Europe, with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent” a laughing stock.

They also make us seriously question our commitment to attaining our share of EU recycling targets (50 per cent for municipal waste by 2020) which would save emissions equivalent to more than 89 million tonnes of CO2 per year – the equivalent to taking 31 million cars off the road. Campaigners are calling on the UK Government to support and implement these targets to realise our vision of a low-carbon economy. As two thirds of all household rubbish can be recycled, we can maximise facilites provided by retail “champions.”

As businesses, we can also adopt responsible practices outside of recycling initiatives that can deliver both environmental and economic benefits. For those of you looking for a starting point, the Carbon Trust’s SME Footprint Calculator will give you an idea of your firm’s carbon footprint – then you can look at reducing it.

For a comprehensive list, Business Climate Change Champions have produced an excellent guide, but steps we have already taken at Quest include:

· Turning down your heating – costs rise by 8 per cent for every 1^oC incremental increase

· Switch off equipment when not in use – avoiding stand-by modes can cut cots by 30 per cent

· Maximise natural light and reduce use of artificial light

Let’s all do something more this week as householders and businesses to help reach these targets and make us proud of our contribution.

Quit stressing about red tape – reach out to the top talent

Sharon Cain — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:08:00 +0000

Employers seek people who are head and shoulders above the rest.

SMEs need to keep developing and challenging their people.

That was the overriding consensus at a recent Yorkshire Business Insider Economic Forum at Headingley to which over 100 CEOs and MDs flocked on a bitterly cold, dark and bleak winter morning.

Reading about the event now from the warmth of our offices reinforces the importance of the vociferous call to action from a panel of heavyweights including Terry Hodgkinson, chair of Yorkshire Forward, and John Goodfellow of Skipton Building Society, who has risen through the ranks to become CEO.

Hodgkinson was appalled at the decline in investment in people development highlighted in a joint Yorkshire Forward and CBI biannual survey – at a time when it is most needed. Having invested an unprecedented number of days and budget in training for the Quest team (39 days and over £30,000 in budget) in 2007, it appears that we are in the minority.

And in the knowledge that “twentysomethings” will expect at least six career progressions, it’s up to employers to act now to keep them challenged and stimulated. The more savvy, such as Above & Beyond Architecture and Paul Waite Associates, are setting up scholarships and mentoring schemes respectively to attract, develop and retain the best people and maintain a steady flow to ensure smooth succession planning.

And on that very topic, we too are seeking a first-class operator for the role of deputy MD.

Happy talent-spotting, fellow SMEs!

Quest PR Blog » SMEs

Discard the "Dustbin of Europe" label

Quit stressing about red tape – reach out to the top talent