The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) runs a quarterly network in Winchester which is supported by Winchester City Council.

The free events bring together engaged and like-minded businesses in an informal setting to consider a different sustainability issue each time. Past meeting themes have included environmental management systems (EMS), transport, energy, marketing yourself as a sustainable business, sustainable procurement, staff engagement and many more. Morning and afternoon events combine high-quality presentations from experts within the field, a practical workshop element and of course all of the valuable networking opportunities you would expect from such a group. Feedback shows that delegates leave with ideas for action they can put in place at work. Network members also receive a regular e-magazine with news from the sector, information from the SBN and events listings. They also have access to a SBN helpline, a comprehensive website and discounted environmental training.

To view upcoming dates and topics visit here. 

Membership of the network is free.

Becoming greener as a business, is a great way to reduce your energy bills and lower costs. We’ve pulled together a list of top tips your business could think about adopting, if suitable.

• Carry out an audit to evaluate your energy and water usage

• Set sustainability goals for your business

• Promote your businesses carbon footprint or EPC rating, like a food hygiene rating, so consumers can choose to support you as a low carbon and decarbonising business

• Use heat-reflective roof tiles or paint the roof with heat-reflective paint. This reduces heat-absorption

• Invest in insulation and double-glazed windows to cut down your energy consumption by 10%

• Cogeneration energy systems recover waste heat from on-site generators and transform it into water and space heating

• Solar panels are a long-term strategy to save on energy costs and ensure that the energy used in your business is clean and renewable

• Installing blinds to cover the windows will stop direct sunlight from entering and heating the building

• Investing in better, more energy efficient alternatives may seem like an unnecessary cost to begin with, however over time they will last longer

• Connect with other businesses in the area to share energy- saving tips

• Turn off equipment when not in use, including lights at night time and if the room is empty

• The Green South Downs Sustainability Certification is a bespoke sustainability award programme created by the South Downs National Park Authority in partnership with Green Tourism for businesses based and/or working in the South Downs National Park. Businesses that sign up to Green South Downs will receive a step-by-step bespoke package to help them on their journey and will receive training on sustainability and carbon literacy, as well as strategic support around waste management, climate action, nature, and energy
• Our South Downs is a business sustainability network run by South Downs National Park Authority. Its aim is to bring together businesses on their quest to net zero and provides them regular information and access to schemes to support them. It also seeks to promote collaboration between its members to shorten supply chains across the South and stimulate the local economy. Join free-of-charge here
• BEIS Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator provides funds for companies willing to implement low carbon technology
• Clean Growth Fund invests in early-stage UK companies seeking investment capital for low carbon activities
• Gigabit vouchers give up £3,500 for businesses to install high speed internet in rural areas
• Green Economy allows SMEs to buy and sell low carbon products and services to other businesses
• The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund gives high energy use businesses matching funds up to £30M for feasibility studies, efficiency measures and decarbonisation deployment
• The Workplace Charging Scheme gives businesses up to £350 per socket (up to a total of 40) to install electric vehicle charge points
• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives up to £6,000 for small businesses to install a heat pump or biomass boiler
• Get a business rate exemption on solar panels, heat pumps and other renewable equipment
• The SME Climate Hub is a non-profit global initiative that empowers small to medium sized companies to take climate action and build resilient businesses for the future.

We have a new Sustainable Travel Officer on secondment from the walking and cycling charity Sustrans.  Anna Herron will be helping local workplaces make it easier for their staff to travel sustainably.  Supporting your staff to use active and sustainable travel can result in healthier, happier and more productive teams. And it can lower your carbon emissions.  

Examples of how we can help include:

• Networking events where workplaces share their tips and successes in sustainable travel, and you receive local travel updates
• Advice on how to run a staff travel survey and create a workplace travel plan
• Support when creating a travel policy and travel information pack for staff
• Ideas for running staff active travel events and challenges
• Access to the Love to Ride platform to encourage and incentivise staff to cycle. My Journey Workplaces cover the cost of many local businesses signing up to the Love to Ride platform.
• Information about, and support promoting the Breeze app – a free to free-to-use, all-in-one app that enables an organisations staff and visitors to plan, book and pay for their sustainable transport journeys in one place
• Advice and information about promoting car sharing

If you have questions, or want to ask about travel support for your workplace, please contact Anna on: AHerron@winchester.gov.uk

Going green with your business deliveries is another way to reduce your carbon footprint and, in time, your costs. Green alternative delivery companies, like Zedify, can help your business with zero emission deliveries by cargo bike.

Switching your fleet, if you have one, is a significant step. Fossil fuel-powered cars, vans, lorries and other vehicles emit a large amount of greenhouse gases and reduce local air quality. Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, significantly reducing their carbon footprint. 

The Energy Saving Trust website has guidance on electric vehicles for fleet operators.

Find more information about providing electric vehicle charging points at your premises and incentivise employees to switch to an electric vehicle. Companies that purchase electric vehicles currently qualify for 100% capital allowances in the first year, meaning tax relief is given for the full price of the car in that year. The same is true for the cost of purchasing charging points, either at the workplace or at an employee’s home.

Free carbon footprint measuring tools for businesses

• CarbonFootprint.com - Small Business Calculator
• Carbon Trust - Emissions Calculator
• Business Carbon Calculator by Normative

What is a hybrid workplace model? The hybrid workplace model offers employees the flexibility to work a percentage of their working hours from home, as well as in the office.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the work from home advice shifted opinions of those who could work from home. Working from home became popular for many different reasons from creating a better work life balance, to reducing commuting costs and carbon emissions.  This helped to lower the carbon footprint of both businesses and its employees.

Post pandemic the flexible work is here to stay and the hybrid works helping to recruit and retain staff. Hybrid working gives the best of both worlds: the social aspects of working physically alongside colleagues, together with the lifestyle benefits of working from home.

If the model is planned carefully and strategically, it has the potential to improve your business in several ways:

Increased productivity, staff satisfaction, culture and retention

Adopting a hybrid working model in a business can offer the flexibility to employees to work in ways that are most effective for them, which in turn could boost productivity due to aiding them to have an improved work-life balance.

By welcoming a culture that understands remote working as a positive alternative to completing work patterns in an office, teams can find a good balance of creativity, collaboration and productivity. Ensuring the working model holds a strong mix of synchronous and asynchronous elements is vital and will depend on workload and timing.

Employees who prefer quiet time to focus or those who thrive in an office setting can be given the choice to work where and when they’re most productive and schedule their time around their workload.

Offering a hybrid working model could also increase staff retention due to offering flexibility and allowing employees to have more control over their work schedules.

Increased possibilities for staff development

It is tough on a day-to-day basis to be performance-driven and not having the time to include long-term development for employees. When the workday comprises of back-to-back meetings, this doesn’t give employees enough mental capacity to process information or reflect. Employees gaining more timeout from busy environments could use this time to focus on more training and progression tasks.

Improved mental health of employees

A hybrid working model could enhance employee’s mental health due to having the flexibility over their work pattern. Giving employees choice as to how and where they get their work done is also empowering, giving them occasional freedom from not having to commute or dress up, providing them more variety in their day-to-day and demonstrates trust in the individual, potentially leading to better employee engagement. 

The work-life balance is a vital element to create a healthy working environment. Enabling employees to fit their work and life together in a way that works for them would help prevent burnout and reduce stress.

If a business introduced full time remote working, this would lower the level of human interaction the employees have, which can adversely affect their mental health. With the hybrid working model, the employees would essentially have the best of both worlds.

Reduced carbon footprint

A flexible, hybrid work model can help businesses become more environmentally sustainable by the reduction of emissions through less business travel and fewer commutes to work.

By lowering the number of employees commuting every day the air quality would be improved, historic buildings would be protected, there could be fewer road traffic incidents and the roads would be quieter and safer for active travel and schoolchildren.

To further reduce business carbon footprints, employers could also implement sustainable travel plans for their organisations to ensure that when employees do travel for work, it is done with the least possible carbon emissions. Hampshire County Council offers information on how to write and implement sustainable travel plans for employees.

In addition to this, Winchester City Council has a free-of-charge service offering free support to help organisations apply for funding and to produce carbon reduction action plans.

Lower business costs

Aa hybrid model means there will be less people at any given time using the physical office space. This would mean that the business would be saving on utilities, such as heat and electricity.

Due to the workforce spending less time in the physical work place, the opportunity arises for shared desks and implementing a hot desking policy. Setting up a fair rotation system or using a tech-based booking system can help with then management of shared facilities.

 

In summary, the hybrid working model requires a strong organisational culture high on trust and communication. It is important to make sure the business evolves to support this if it is decided to implement this model. It will look different for every organisation and can change over time. 

However, it is important to remember that employers should tailor arrangements around staff, some would be unable to work from home and others would be more productive in doing so, it is important neither are forced into inappropriate circumstances.

The Innovation Virtual Campus offers businesses the opportunity to learn a new skill without the need to take a whole qualification by using a skills-focused range of short programmes. You can choose the courses that are most relevant to you and benefit from fast, relevant and convenient training.

The training was started by a group of regional colleges and universities, including Sparsholt College, in collaboration with the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Using LEP funding, the group have developed an online platform to deliver free online learning to employees across different sectors. There are also several green skills courses available, including:

• carbon literacy
• introduction to domestic retrofitting
• introduction to retrofit technologies
• introduction to sustainable resource management
• rainwater and greywater harvesting
• tree planting and climate change

Sign up here to benefit from these free online courses

Winchester City Council and Hampshire Fare created a local food and drink heroes map to highlight and promote the variety of producers across the Winchester district.

From wasabi and trout to lavender and gin, there is a lot of choice for businesses who want to support local producers across our district. Using local producers helps reduce food miles, carbon emissions and packaging and supports the local economy.

Explore the producers and plan your foodie break, investigate experiences and support the district’s local heroes.