Suffolk Carbon Leaders and Adnams inspire medium-sized businesses in becoming more environmentally active
Adnams hosted a Suffolk Carbon Leaders event at their Southwold facilities recently which inspired attendees to reduce their energy consumption and improve their carbon footprint. Over 30 delegates from local Suffolk medium-sized companies spent the afternoon learning about solutions like voltage optimisation, solar energy and behavioural change at one of Adnams’ managed inns, The Crown. They had a tour of Adnams’s brewery, distribution centre and anaerobic digestion plant to witness the energy solutions Adnams have been implementing in their forward-thinking facilities.
Started in January 2014, the two year Suffolk Carbon Leaders programme supports medium-sized businesses in Suffolk to save energy, reduce their carbon emissions, minimise resource use at their sites and identify cost savings. The programme is funded by Suffolk County Council as part of their Creating the Greenest County ambition, which includes a range of support for businesses and communities. Businesses can sign up to receive tailored environmental support from experts here: www.greensuffolk.org/scl.
Benedict Orchard, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Adnams said about the event: “Adnams were very honoured to be asked to host an event for the Suffolk Carbon Leaders programme. Adnams have been a proud sponsor of the ‘Creating the Greenest County’ scheme for a few years now, ensuring other local businesses are recognised for their stellar work through their annual awards and so were delighted to host this event.”
One of the attendees, Keith Clarke of Sembmarine SLP, shared his thoughts on the day: “it was refreshing to see a company’s commitment to greening their processes and that it translated through to the knowledge and enthusiasm of the personnel who took us around.”
Matt Hullis, Head of Environment Strategy at Suffolk County Council, welcomes the event as an opportunity to highlight the successes of Suffolk Carbon Leaders, saying “This programme is about unlocking the very significant savings potential within Suffolk businesses, but also about allowing experience of energy saving measures to be shared between businesses. Adnams are widely recognised as a sustainability leader, so this kind of event is a great example of how that expertise can be shared across the county. Businesses participating in this Suffolk County Council led programme have identified average savings of £50,000 per year; we’re now looking to help more businesses benefit from these opportunities.”
Adam Woodhall, Associate Director of Carbon Smart, who gave the behaviour change presentation at the event, comments:
“The whole Suffolk Carbon Leaders team are very grateful to Adnams for hosting us and for letting attendees see what they can do to become a more efficient business. We had some great speakers covering a lot of ground, and companies were able to ask any questions they had to be ready to implement the energy efficiency solutions discussed. Thank you to Eagle New Energy and to PowerPerfector for their very informative presentations. The event has raised great interest amongst Suffolk medium-sized businesses and it was a privilege to see all of our work come together and create such positive results.”
The Suffolk Carbon Leaders programme is overseen on Suffolk County Council’s behalf by sustainability consultancy Carbon Smart, chosen for their wide range of experience in helping Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and providing energy management recommendations.
