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Questions submitted
Please see the full list of questions below. As part of the registration process, which you can access using a link on the left of the screen, you will be able to select all of the questions you would like to engage in a workshop on. By providing a priority list you will help us to plan the schedule of the day.
Company Name: Addison Engineering
Question 1; As a family business how do we ensure that we retain our culture, ethos and core values as we grow from being a smaller SME business into broader UK territories?
Background information: We have bases in Lancashire, Cheshire and most recently in Teesside and looking at other growth opportunities further north and south.
Question 2: How can we engage our team more in their personal responsibilities to look after the working environment and fully engage with the initiatives in place and care more about their personal role and impact in it?
Background information: Lots of initiatives are in place but too many examples of people still leaving unnecessary monitors on, light on. Even operating the heating with windows open or air conditioning on at the same time.
Company Name: Arden Dies
Question 1; We have recently introduced a new sustainability team (Responsible Business Team) how do we make sure that this team leads change across the whole organisation?
Background information: We are 14001 certified and have been identifying small improvements. There were two people running this and we have now moved this to a team approach covering all aspects of sustainability.
Question 2; How can we improve our sustainability credentials when we don’t know what to measure or how to measure it?
Background information: We have many data points so we would like to know what to measure for the biggest impact!
Company Name: Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses
Question 1; How to start our responsible carbon journey?
Background information; We are a 4th generation family business making premium farmhouse cheese which we supply to all retailers in both brand and own label. We have recently completed transition to the next generation and now have a young board with a desire for long term sustainability. We had a devastating fire in the last 8 weeks which has completely destroyed all our cheese stock and packaging capability but we are in the process of rebuilding at pace.
Company Name: Cicerone Press
Question 1; Cicerone relies on customer’s appetite for adventure and travel. How should Cicerone encourage and champion sustainable travel?
Background information; Cicerone Press publishes outdoor activity guidebooks for walking, trekking, cycling and mountain activities. The range of nearly 400 guides includes UK and International/global areas, with customers all over the world. A family business, with a staff of 17, Cicerone manage all editorial, design, sales and marketing in-house; our authors are freelance, and book printers and distribution is through external partners.
Company Name: GA Pet Food Partners
Question 1; As part of GA’s net zero plans we propose to provide the local community with 5% of the renewable generation at no cost, this is envisaged to work on a shared battery and microgrid system. However, current DNO policy is restrictive to this from a procedural basis even if with existing proven electrical and mechanical methods for safe network decoupling, what methods, partnerships or future policy changes do the academics foresee which would look to encourage industry or community microgrids?
Background information; https://brethertonenergy.co.uk/
Company Name: HMG Paints
Question 1; As we grow as a business, how can we ensure our values are wholeheartedly passed on to next generations to continue the business with the same ethos and community focus?
Background information; As well as obvious instilling the values in how we operate, what other ways can we ensure that people coming through the business truly feel the ethos of the business, especially when there are more non-family members in management positions.
Question 2; How can we identify, nurture, and develop the next generation of senior management where there may be some potential gaps if we don’t prepare a plan of succession?
Background information; A succession plan question, but in the context of an industry that isn’t the most attractive or populous with technical talent, among other areas. Finance and other ‘general’ business leadership skills are more easily filled / attracted into, but specific paint industry knowledge often has to be home grown.
Question 3; How do we react gracefully to greenwashing and misinformation in the industry?
Background information; In the paint industry (as well as many others) there are spurious claims on packaging, and greenwashing is common. An example would be claims for “VOC free” products which cannot be physically possible. As a business we do not want to be too forward in calling people out, as it could possibly end up reflecting badly on us, but equally we must promote the correct information, but without being too information heavy for consumers. Our industry body the British Coatings Federation is good at calling out this behaviour, but what are others doing in this area to stand out whilst maintaining a good reputation and not dragging others down to build themselves up?
Company Name: Lakeland
Question 1; Can Plastics be a part of a sustainable world?
Background information; We have a constant challenge. Our approach has been to move away from disposable plastics, we move towards reusable products and develop closed loop recycling. We have alternatives with compostable products. We could use growable cellulose like product but this is unsatisfactory if this enters the recycling chain. Where should we be focusing our energy?
Question 2; What is the most sustainable form of distributing our products to customers – shop, internet, or mail order catalogue?
Background information; How do we measure the sustainability of different forms of retailing? Is it most efficient to bring stock into our distribution centre then out to shops? What is the environmental cost of sending out a catalogue as opposed to marketing on the internet? What is the most efficient means of transporting product to customers, is this more efficient than sending to a shop?
Company Name: McClures
Question 1; How does our board need to evolve to oversee, enable and support delivery of an Environmental Management Plan/ Sustainability Strategy?
Background information; Early stages on implementing a strong EMS on our business, we have plans to get the ISO14001 Accreditation in a near future, so any support and partnership would be very welcome.
Question 2; How do we create the right culture and mindsets, engage our people and reinforce the right behaviours?
Company Name: The Plastic Bottles Company
Question 1; How can the council’s collaborate better to find an inclusive process for recycling?
Background information; One of the main issue we have is customers asking about recycled content. We can have a bottle that is 100% fully recyclable but what the end user does with it at end of life is what counts. All councils operate different policies with no uniformity.
Question 2; How can we educate and market the consumer better and more effectively about Prevented Ocean Plastics?
Background information; Prevented Ocean Plastics (POP) are plastics that are hand sorted within a radius of 50km from entering a waterway.
Question 3; The Plastic myths are a danger to the consumer as they do not understand the full connotations. This means some may switch to glass or aluminium which in many ways is more harmful to our environment and green foot print. How do we educate people to stop vilifying plastics without full understanding?
Background information; We spend so much of our time educating customers about packaging materials and what would work for their industry. they often change their focus when they have the correct information but how do we get the word out there to ensure people understand there is a need for all types.
Company Name: The Rowley Estates
Question 1; As caretakers of Eden Valley heritage, in terms of buildings, woodland and farmland, how do we bring sustainability to the forefront of our family estate business organisation and maintain a balance between People, Planet and Profit?
Background information; Melmberby Castle is among the family’s holiday lets | In Cumbria (in-cumbria.com)
Combined workshops: Supply Chain Management
Addison Engineering; How can we effectively encourage our supply chain to respond to our Net Zero commitment?
Cicerone Press; How can Cicerone encourage more sustainable business practices in our upstream supply chain (paper use, printing, shipping)?
Background information; Cicerone Press publishes outdoor activity guidebooks for walking, trekking, cycling and mountain activities. The range of nearly 400 guides includes UK and International/global areas, with customers all over the world. A family business, with a staff of 17, Cicerone manage all editorial, design, sales and marketing in-house; our authors are freelance, and book printers and distribution is through external partners.
Lakeland; How do we encourage our supply chain to support our environmental policies?
Background information; How do we motivate suppliers to encourage sustainable manufacturing when our demands on their production capacity is low? What international standards can be employed to benchmark international companies in their environmental standards?
The Rowley Estates; How can we work collaboratively with our local business network and suppliers to maximise our sustainability and local sourcing efforts? We need to ensure cost competitiveness and would like to achieve this whilst sourcing locally and collaborating to support business vibrancy in our area.
Combined workshops: B Corp Accreditation
Arden Dies; How would we benefit from B Corp accreditation and how do we know when we’re ready to apply?
Background information; One of our customers is B Corp certified and is something we have been considering.
Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses; How would becoming a B Corp benefit us?
Background information; We are a 4th generation family business making premium farmhouse cheese which we supply to all retailers in both brand and own label. We have recently completed transition to the next generation and now have a young board with a desire for long term sustainability. We had a devastating fire in the last 8 weeks which has completely destroyed all our cheese stock and packaging capability but we are in the process of rebuilding at pace.
The Rowley Estates; Our family business is multi-generational and does not have any external investors in its ownership structure, is B Corp status a realistic ambition in the absence of being able to offer equity to our team members and, if so, how would working to have B Corp status benefit our business?
Combined workshops: Net-zero business models
Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses; How to create a net zero business model?
Background information; We are a 4th generation family business making premium farmhouse cheese which we supply to all retailers in both brand and own label. We have recently completed transition to the next generation and now have a young board with a desire for long term sustainability. We had a devastating fire in the last 8 weeks which has completely destroyed all our cheese stock and packaging capability but we are in the process of rebuilding at pace.
Cicerone Press; What would a Net-Zero business model look like for Cicerone?
Background information; Cicerone Press publishes outdoor activity guidebooks for walking, trekking, cycling and mountain activities. The range of nearly 400 guides includes UK and International/global areas, with customers all over the world. A family business, with a staff of 17, Cicerone manage all editorial, design, sales and marketing in-house; our authors are freelance, and book printers and distribution is through external partners.