blog

Our visit to Eco Build 2012

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:52:18 +0000

Eco Build - 20th - 22nd March 2012, Excel, London

Following on from our time at Eco Build in 2011, we decided to reutnr in 2012 - bigger and better! I can't give you the details of our stand yet....it's a secret...but I can tell you that it will be different, interesting and a little bit fun.

As well as designing an eye catching stand we have been talking about how to give our clients added value during the exhibition and we have designed a timetable of one to one sessions that our clients, past, present and future, can all benefit from. These will be FREE 30 minute sessions based around the two topics of Environmental Management Systems and Responsible Sourcing.

Details of our sessions can be found on our Events and Webinars page or you can contact Charlotte via email at charlotte@responsible-solutions.co.uk for futher details.

We're very much looking forward to catching up with clients, colleagues and visitors to Eco Build for what promises to be a busy and eventful three days!

BSi - Associate Consultant Programme

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:05:23 +0100

BSi- Associate Consultant Programme - New membership!

Responsible Solutions are pleased to confirm their acceptance as part of the BSi Associate Consultant Programme. Please visit www.bsigroup.co.uk/improve for futher details. We look forward to working with BSi and the companies that it supports - with ISO14001, ISO18001, BES6001 and other certifications.

UKGBC World Green Building Week 19 - 23 September 2011

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:19:16 +0100

Responsible Solutions to take part in UKGBC World Green Building Week!

We're very pleased to have been able to register three events with the UKGBC in connection with their World Green Building week being held during the 19 - 23rd September 2011.

What is World Green Building Week all about?

World Green Building Week is held annually to highlight the importance of sustainable buildings for businesses, communities and individuals across the world.

Every year, in the third week of September, international Green Building Councils and their members co-ordinate activities and hold events that reflect what sustainability means to them in relation to their specific built environments. From South Africa to Singapore and from Brazil to Australia, green buildings are put under the spotlight, green policy is debated and best practice is recognised.

Responsible Solutions is happy to be taking part in three events that week, details of which can be found on the UKGBC calendar of events, on our facebook page (Responsible Solutions Ltd) or by emailing Charlotte@responsible-solutions.co.uk.

The events are:

Wednesday 21st September - 18:00 - ICE AGM - Ian Nicholson to talk at the AGM in Kegworth

Thursday 22nd September - 16:00 - Responsible Sourcing Introduction - Webinar (FREE)

Friday 23rd September - 09:00 - 13:00 - BeRight Seminar, Leicester - FREE Business help with Legal, Health and Safety and Environmental issues.

For any queries or registrations please contact Charlotte Taylor at Responsible Solutions on 01509 320100 or by emailing charlotte@responsible-solutions.co.uk

Our new Facebook page!

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:54:14 +0100

We can now be found on Facebook! 'Like' our page to be kept updated of our events, services and news as well as special offers and incentives.

We'll also use it as a platform to keep you updated with any useful information, interesting websites and blog posts and any details of changes in regulations.

Responsible Solutions Ltd - Facebook

Virtual Environment Manager

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:52:31 +0100

Working with you for a cleaner corporate conscience

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGER

So, you have managed to obtain your ISO14001 approval, and you are hopefully enjoying some of the extra business that you can now quote for. With a bit of luck you have also achieved some cost savings along the way.

So, time to rest on your laurels? Of course you do have to maintain your approval, and you should really use that as a means of saving even more costs as you continue to improve your environmental performance.

The problem is allocating the time to keeping all your systems up to date and auditing them. Just in case you have forgotten the size of the task, there is a reminder on the back page.

If you find all that just a bit intimidating, don’t worry. You can join the growing list of companies taking advantage of our Virtual Environment Manager service.

Our Virtual Environment Manager service gives you

All the reviews and updates that your system needs

Expert knowledge

Constantly fully up to date

Peace of mind that your processes are compliant

On-site support during ISO assessments

Guaranteed approval at ISO assessments

Saving you time on maintaining your system

Further cost saving opportunities

For a fixed monthly fee

This is what maintaining your Environmental Management System involves:

Demonstrate continual improvement in your environmental management
Ensure that the Environmental Policy continues to be communicated to all staff
Review all activities where you can be expected to influence your environmental performance
Take account of the environmental impact of any changes to processes or products
Incorporate any new legislation (including any case law rulings) into your Environmental Management System
Document improvements and updates to your manuals
Document improvements and updates to your processes
Review performance against your Environmental goals and targets
Demonstrate you have reviewed and assessed the behaviour of any contractors used
Review training provision and training needs
Review your emergency procedures
Regularly test your emergency procedures
Record and report on all non-conformance
Regularly audit your procedures in line with their environmental importance
Ensure that top management regularly conducts an environmental review

Full Virtual Environment Manager service

Available from £200 per month + VAT

(Other support packages available from as little as £50 per month + VAT)

Does your business benefit from a well-run ISO14001?

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:42:24 +0100

Are you confident your ISO14001 is up to audit standards?

An Environmental Management System is becoming essential to winning work and we know how hard it is to achieve and maintain an ISO14001 certification. You know that you need to keep on top of your environmental responsibilities, be aware of changes to legislation and ensure that your employees are appropriately trained – but it’s a harder task than it sounds isn’t it?

Did you know….? A well maintained system could;

help differentiate you from other companies – giving you that competitive edge and possibly helping you to win more work
ensure you are always compliant with new legislation – keeping you on the right side of the Law
identify resource efficiencies – saving you money in the long term

Following the success of our webinars on Responsible Sourcing (www.responsible-sourcing.co.uk) we are running further seminars on ISO14001 and its upkeep. We are hoping that this will give businesses an insight into how and why they need to keep up to date with all elements of the standard, to ensure that their business is reaping the rewards of this excellent achievement.

Please email charlotte@responsible-solutions.co.uk to register for one of the following FREE webinars, stating your name, company and job title.

Tuesday 19^th July 08:30 - 09:30

Tuesday 19^th July 12:30 – 13:30

Thursday 21^st July 16:00 – 17:00

****Register before Monday 4^th July and receive a free gap analysis for your ISO14001 certification****

How confident are you that your systems are being maintained correctly and accurately? Confident enough to turn down a FREE 1 hour webinar giving you vital information on ways to ensure you’re on target?

If you think that maybe finding out a little more could be of benefit to you, register by emailing Charlotte@responsible-solutions.co.uk detailing your name, business and email address.

Many thanks – we look forward to talking with you in July.

Be Right Event

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:24:51 +0100

BeRight Events - Because in business, there are some things you just can't afford to get wrong

Responsible Solutions have teamed up with colleagues from CoLaw for an event on Wednesday 22nd June from 09:00am at Highpoint, 165 Glenfield Road, Leicester, LE3 6DJ. The FREE half day informal session is aimed at helping you through the legal minefield of business. The seminar will provide you with guidance on the simple steps you need to take plus also offering advice on how your business could fulfill it's environmental and social responsibilities - you could even find out how this could win your business more work!

Mike Ellerby, CoLaw's Health and Safety specialist and Steve Edwards, their Employment Law guru, will join Ian Nicholson of Responsible Solutions to bring you this FREE event.

Please visit www.berightevents.co.uk or call 08456 588703 to book your place

Charlotte writes IPA article

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:45:30 +0100

Charlotte was recently asked to write an article for the Insitute of Professional Administrators, IPA ,on her top tips for getting the recognition we deserve in the work place. It has now been published in their spring magazine and you are welcome to have a read following the link below.

What do you think? Do you agree? Feedback very much welcome!

Charlotte Taylor - 5 Top TIps

FREE Responsible Sourcing Webinars!

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:46:01 +0100

Do you want to win more work?

In the current business climate we’d all like to win more work but in such a competitive market this can often be difficult to achieve – especially when everyone is offering similar services. There are ways, however, in which you can get a step ahead of your competitors by proving your environmental credentials and improving your business image.

Responsible Sourcing is a growing concern for businesses in the UK, with the UK Contractors Group increasing their target for the use of sustainability sourced materials to 70% by 2015. Do you know enough about Responsible Sourcing to be able to win business by meeting this increased target? We do, and so do the companies we’re currently helping to gain BES6001 standards and to train their staff in understanding what Responsible Sourcing means for their business.

At Responsible Solutions we understand that you might not know all you need to in order to make Responsible Sourcing a major differentiator for your business, and that’s why we’d like to invite you to attend a free online seminar detailing what it means and how it might affect you.

Places are limited and will be issued on a first come first served basis. Please see the available dates below and Click here to register for a place, providing your name, company and contact details.

***Register before Friday 6^th May and receive your first day of consultation free on certification to BES6001 or 10% off a training course place.***

Upcoming dates for our Free online seminar:

Monday 23^rd May

1:30 – 2:30pm

Thursday 9^th June

10:00 - 11:00am

Please register by clicking here.

Many thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing you at the seminar!

Low Carbon Conference - Nottingham

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:08:35 +0000

Big Business - Low Carbon Conference

Watch Managing Director, Ian Nicholson, at the Nottingham Big Business Low Carbon Conference - Showcasing Low Carbon and Energy.

Changes to NetRegs

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:17:26 +0000

The NetRegs website, which provides useful free guidance on environmental issues and legislations, is moving to centralised government websites. This is in part to the planned closure of numerous government websites by the end of March 2011 and the aim to provide business guidance and information on an individual country by country basis.

The guidance currently found on NetRegs will move to:

Business Link in England
NI Business Info in Northern Ireland
Business Gateway in Scotland
Business Wales in Wales

The process of moving NetRegs will be performed in stages and initially the NetRegs website will remain and direct the user to the appropriate pages.

More information on the NetRegs move can be found via this link: http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/help/124894.aspx

Responsible sourcing at Ecobuild

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:28:58 +0000

This is the last day of Ecobuild and it's been hectic to say the least. We're launching our new responsible sourcing training and have been fortunate to be interviewed by Caron Lyon of PCM Projects who have been running the social media presence of the Architects Journal at Ecobuild.

We chatted with Caron about how this training has been developed in collaboration with Loughborough University, how responsible sourcing is rather like "Fair Trade for Construction" and just who can benefit from understanding more. Take a listen to our conversation...

Listen!

Can you afford to ignore responsible sourcing?

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:21:28 +0000

The Sustainable Construction Strategy aims for at least 25% of all construction products to be responsibly sourced by 2012.

There’s no doubt that responsible sourcing is becoming a critical issue for the construction sector and its wider sustainability ambitions. Apart from these targets, what is driving the move to responsible sourcing in construction?

Responsible sourcing is one element of BREEAM, the most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. Whilst this enables developers and designers to demonstrate the environmental credentials of their buildings to planners and clients, the onus of proof is also passed along the supply chain.

Clients’ own social responsibility policies are important drivers, in turn prompted by the need to respond transparently to the demands of their customers and society’s concerns. Their reputations are at stake and so attention to detail at every point in their business, including the construction of their buildings, is vital. They expect their suppliers to fully play their part in ensuring they can be confident that their own environmental and social responsibility claims will not be undermined by the use of products of dubious provenance.

Add to this further imperatives arising from the Code for Sustainable Homes, the 2016 Zero Carbon Homes Target, the Olympics sustainability strategy, and more and it becomes clear that any construction business that lags behind in responsible sourcing may soon start to lose contracts.

And yet responsible sourcing is still in its early days and there is a lot of confusion around the various responsible sourcing accreditations. It remains difficult for construction product manufacturers to tell which standards they should seek to meet. Clients, contractors and architects face a similar problem in knowing which standards are appropriate for them to specify.

Responsible Solutions has responded to this by developing flexible training packages to enable both construction product manufacturers and specifiers to better understand how responsible sourcing issues are relevant to their businesses and how to best respond to the drivers of responsible sourcing. Find out more about responsible sourcing training for the construction industry.

The training will be officially launched at Ecobuild on 1-3 March 2011 but we're hapyy to take enquiries right now - contact Responsible Solutions.

We’re off to Ecobuild

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:11:47 +0000

We’ll be joining 17 or so other small and medium-sized businesses from the East Midlands at Ecobuild 2011 at ExCeL on 1-3 March, thanks to the support of the Construction iNet.

The timing is great for us as we’ll using the opportunity to launch our brand new training in Responsible Sourcing for the construction sector, developed especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers and specifiers.

If you’re planning to be at Ecobuild come along and visit us on stand N124. And look out for news and pictures of what we get up to there.

Responsible Solutions Office Warming

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:58:20 +0000

January 2011 saw us celebrating our recent move into new premises. Having spent several years in Loughborough University’s Innovation Centre, we decided we needed to plan for expansion and so moved to The Office Village, Loughborough.

We invited some of networking colleagues along for wine and nibbles and challenged them with our “Food Air Miles” test.

The bottle of champagne was won by PR specialist, Louisa Bayley, and IFA, Phil Wort. Despite putting in two entries, Martin Wood from Shape, managed a close second and took home a bottle of wine (and Phil Wort got in on the act there too).

Encephalitis Society Fund Raising Walk

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:23:53 +0100

Responsible Solutions are assisting our colleague Charlotte in her fund raising walk for the Encephalitis Society.

Earlier this year Charlotte unfortunately lost her 17 month old daughter Lucie-Mai to the viral infection Encephalitis.

The Encephalitis Society has provided valuable advice and support to Charlotte and her family and the society seeks to support thousands of families every day who have been affected directly or in-directly by Encephalitis.