Benefiting from the green way

Sep 9 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

PRACTICAL help and advice on how to make your company more environmentally friendly and at the same time saving money will be on hand at next month's Green Leaders conference.

A packed programme of workshops will give delegates the tools and strategies they need to implement greener methods and processes within their own businesses.

The event, being held at the Hilton Hotel, Newcastle, on October 14, will also include an inspiring panel of speakers.

The Green Leaders workshops programme will feature:

Carbon Management and Energy Efficiency – Astley Fenwick of the Energy Academy, based at Heriot- Watt University in Edinburgh.
This half hour workshop will explore the drivers for essential processes and maintenance for carbon and energy management in an organisation. Material covered will include reasons and importance of measuring energy use; how to approach energy reduction in terms of investment and savings and the current and potential new technologies available.

Corporate Social Responsibility – Stuart Smith of Newcastle-based strategy consultancy Wood Holmes.
This session will focus on the implications of climate change and environmental legislation for businesses and explore necessary adaptation to climate change and resource depletion, alongside compliance with emerging regulation signalled by the UK Climate Change Act and the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

A key issue will be an examination of the threats and opportunities of the carbon market with a discussion of the nature and potential impacts of the incoming UK carbon-trading scheme – the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Green Communication – Graeme Mills, GPM Marketing
Find out how businesses can translate their environmental improvements into important marketing messages.

The workshop will explore consumer trends and the rise of the “green consumer”. It will also show how to avoid your environmental message being dismissed as “green wash” and how you can use communication techniques to motivate staff to continue to support environmental improvements.

Leadership and Management – Tony Wilson of Lifestyle Architecture, which has an office in Hartlepool.
Get advice on simple, effective and consistent application of management practice.

The session will explore creating and discovering a green big picture; establishing a leadership framework; creating value, impact and application in your business; discovering how balanced goal setting will enhance results.

Effective Environmental Management Systems – Anna-Lisa Kelso of environmental training expert, The Environmental Academy.
Get an introduction to the foundations of an Environmental Management System (EMS). Explore the benefits of implementing a basic EMS such as improved company reputation, increased competitiveness in tenders and Pre Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) as well as the moral, legal and financial benefits of more efficient operations.

This session will look at how to write an environmental policy and how to identify the environmental aspects and impacts of your organisation to write objectives and targets to improve environmental performance.

Green Technology and Renewables – with John Barton of Wilton-based RENEW
There are a host of new technologies all claiming to be green and sustainable. This workshop will explore some of the issues around these and debate their practical application here in the North East.

Participants will gain an appreciation of just how many of these projects are being considered here and the potential impact they can have on this area in terms of jobs, investment and carbon emissions.

The region has a strong reputation as a home for green technologies.

This conference and workshop will explore how we can exploit this position and benefit from it.

New Skills, New Jobs – Michelle Campbell, The Environmental Academy, in association with Kevin Marston, head of automotive engineering and logistics at Gateshead College
The future looks bright for the environmental field. More than 1.2 million people in the UK will be in green jobs by 2020. What will be their journey to obtain the skills and expertise required to do these jobs well? This break-out session will explore the opportunities, threats and experience of how to prepare for the green job boom.