Legal Compliance

With so much talk of green taxes and carbon trading schemes it is easy to become confused about which piece of legislation applies to which sector of industry. There seems to be so much new and impending legislation out there, some is in draft form and some is under consultation. So how do small businesses keep track of it all this environmental legislation and make sure they aren't doing something they shouldn't? The netregs.gov.uk site is really good for small businesses to keep up to date. If you are on of our clients signed up to our virtual environmental manger site then we'll also keep you informed of any changes to environmental legislation that affect you. So whether it's Energy Performance Certificates or the Batteries directive we'll make sure you are doing the right thing. Have a look at our website for more details. www.responsible-solutions.co.uk

Environmental Training

We're planning some new open courses and are researching to make sure we offer the most interesting courses and those which people most need. Some of the ideas we had are Energy saving basics for business, Carbon footprinting basics for business and a workshop on how to use your "green" credentials in your marketing work without being accused of green wash. We are also planning some more Site Waste Management Training Courses in September. Let us know if there is an area of training that you think should be covered.

Code for New Non-Domestic Dwellings

The Code for Sustainable Homes has been given much publicity but following in its heels could well be the Code for New Non-Domestic Dwellings, this will set similar radical emissions reductions in all new commercial buildings. A popular recommendation is that all new non-domestic dwellings should be zero carbon by 2020. Read the report published by the UK Green Building Council - Report on carbon reductions in new non-domestic buildings for more information.

Display Energy Certificates ... are you ready?

From 1 October 2008 public authorities, institutions providing a public service and buildings that are frequently visited by the public will have responsibilities to make Display Energy Certificate (DECs) available to the public.

The fundamental aim of this legislation is to raise the public’s awareness of energy use and to inform visitors to public buildings about the energy use of a building. Buildings will be given a rating of A-G and DEC certificates will need to be displayed in a location visible to the public. A useful document if you think that these regulations may affect you business is - Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings: A guide to Display Energy Certificates and advisory reports for public buildings.

Business Breakfast Briefing

We're putting on a free breakfast briefing for anyone involved in the construction industry. We are running it in association with EMCBE and Business Link and aiming it towards those companies that are maybe smaller and haven't got round to looking at their environmental performance. We'll talk about the things that companies need to be aware of and how you can make steps to becoming more aware and better prepared for increasing environmental legislation. It'll be a good time for networking within the construction industry too and we may have a representative on hand from the Environment Agency to answer any questions you may have. It'll be finished by 9.30am so won't take too much time out of your busy days!