In our winter newsletter below, we’ll share a few updates on our work over the last month, our commitment to our values, and what we have been involved with beyond client work.
Remote Working Update
Stepping into the world of remote working has been explored at Beyond Green before COVID-19 through our Flexible Working Policy. This policy gave the freedom to alter the time or location from which we can put our head down and get a good day’s work in. With the lockdown that required working from home to be prioritised, we found ourselves in a strong position to deliver our work by having already tested the process out. We have also been doing this work for a while now; after delivering over 700 projects for Zero Waste Scotland, our team’s collaborative approach quickly builds trust with clients to support their business needs.
With our experience of remote working and delivering projects, we had everything we needed to continue providing a valuable service to our clients with a laptop, an internet connection and a phone. Whether we knew it or not, our Flexible Working Policy served as a great trial run and we have now invested in our employees to function completely remotely and have said goodbye to our office.
Meeting rooms can be hired for an hour at a time instead of being left unused, our costs have come down improving our financial resilience in this difficult time, and productivity appears to be increasing as we review the amount of work completed. It has also been a good motivator to get that home working space looking nice with a fresh coat of paint, a good desk and office chair, and some pictures on the walls to spruce up your background on those video conferences.
You can still reach us on our primary number 0131 564 1370 where an option menu will transfer you where required.
Zero Waste Scotland support and the Glenhaze Case Study
In 2020, we helped Glenhaze to assess the benefits of replacing their gas fired air blowers with a radiant heating system. They have gone ahead with the support of ZWS £4,200 cashback grant. In 2021, they will see their gas bills fall by a third, and the investment will pay back within 5 years. Beyond Green and Glenhaze talked about the project as part of the ZWS webinar series in December – you can find our webinar here.
A new cashback grant from the Scottish Government SME Loan Scheme is available now while funds last. You can receive up to £20k in cashback to reduce your business’s energy costs and carbon footprint.
New Client for 2021 – International Rescue Committee UK
Beyond Green is delighted to have been chosen by the International Rescue Committee – UK to assist them with their next annual report for compliance with the new Streamline Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR). SECR came into force for accounting periods ending on or after 31st March 2020.
Retainer support during COVID – IOM
At Beyond Green, we take pride in providing support to our retainer clients whenever they call.
Despite the pandemic, we were there for the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), when they had an unexpected Ofgem Audit in May 2020. Our expertise and knowledge allowed us to take control of the process, easing pressure on the Financial Controller to concentrate on business critical issues.
Using collaborative tools and plenty of zoom meetings we efficiently gathered the data, liaised with third parties, and demonstrated compliance to Ofgem requirements. Our support is part of our wider support where we are a fully fledged member of IOM’s environmental team helping to
- facilitate the team meetings and bring fresh ideas, such as energy sprints
- share responsibilities with others to ease their workload
- provide insight of energy spend with targeted analysis of half-hourly energy patterns
To read more about Beyond Green’s approach to going beyond compliance, click through to our recent blog here.
Value-based memberships
We became a Living Wage accredited employer in 2015 – we are proud to continue putting our values at the core of our work, both in how we treat our team and how we strive to improve our services for our clients. As such, this is also the second year that we’ve signed up to Purple Tuesday – our commitment this year is to access training to improve how we have conversations around accessibility for site visits, presentations, and reports.
A Message of Hope
Thinking back to January 2020, the start of a new decade, we could not have imagined how the year would pan out. It is an understatement to say that it has been a challenging year for everyone. Though amongst the uncertainty, there has also been hope and resilience – we wanted to make space in our newsletter to capture this.
“A close friend of mine gave me this book. ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree is fundamentally about the restorative power of nature if left to do its own thing, and if we trust it to do good. In 2000, the owners of an unprofitable farm in the Sussex downs, which was reliant on subsidies to survive, took the brave step to return the land to nature. Their story demonstrates the value of a diverse ecosystem where everything, especially the soil, plays an important role. And with patience, nature flourishes, people’s wellbeing improves and a sustainable business emerges from nature’s treasures. It’s a message about change and how we can build back better by recognising fairly the value of all of us to our economy.” – Paul Adderley
Links
In this section, you’ll find links to our latest blog posts, interviews, and case studies.