FREE technical support for SMEs now available!

Green Gain is now able to offer free technical support to SME businesses across the whole of the Yorkshire and Humber region to help improve productivity, innovation and growth. we can provide up to five days of free consultancy. This can be used in a variety of ways including:

• Identify and measuring your environmental impacts;
• Generating savings by managing waste and resources more effectively;
• Improving margins by finding new high-value markets for waste materials;
• Generating savings by improving energy efficiency;
• Generating income and savings though renewable heat/energy;
• Redesigning your product and packaging to improve margins and reduce carbon impacts;
• Environmental management and policy;
• Technical support to Develop your own green product, service or technology;
• Insights into accessing public sector contracts and financing new developments.

Limited free places are available, so please get back to us ASAP to talk through this in more detail if you are interested. One of our Directors will be happy to talk through how we can put a plan of free support together for you.

Green Gain is able to offer free SME support thanks to being a delivery consultant on behalf of three ERDF funded, business support frameworks - namely:

1. The GREAT Project - managed by the Grimsby Institute Group;
2. Business Brains - managed by the University of Bradford;  
3. Enterprising Barnsley, Phase 2 - managed by Barnsley Development Agency. 

For more information please contact Steven Ogden on 07519428475 or steven@greengain.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Green Gain is very proud to have helped deliver some significant industry research into the Circular Economy

“The Circular Economy: what does it mean for the waste and resource management sector?” - this report is the product of a research project commissioned by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) in April 2014 from a Yorkshire based consultancy consortium of Ray Georgeson Resources Ltd (RGR), Beasley Associates Ltd and Green Gain Ltd. The desired intention of CIWM was to seek a deeper understanding of and preparedness for the circular economy from across a broad range of the waste and resources industry, especially focused on the CIWM membership. An electronic online survey was completed by 612 respondents, and 54 detailed interviews were completed with industry leaders. 440 respondents stated they were CIWM members, representing 8% of the total membership in July 2014.

The research shows that it means different things to different people. It has covered a broad spectrum of interests in the waste and resources sector across the five countries of these islands. It has included a wide range of organisations across the industry and employees from CEOs to operational staff. It provides CIWM with an important insight into the understanding of the Circular Economy and provides them with a valuable building block and a positive opportunity in plotting their future direction.

The report can be found here: http://www.ciwm.co.uk/web/FILES/Technical/CIWM_Circular_Economy_Report_SUMMARY_FINAL_Oct_2014.pdf

Do you want to pitch for public sector contracts but don’t where to start?

For a one-off payment of £299 (plus VAT), Green Gain will provide you with one-to-one support to get you tender-ready. For this one-off fee, we will:

• ·        Conduct a site visit and ‘readiness assessment’ – this will involve getting a broad understanding of your business and its ability to service the public sector. Understanding your assets, infrastructure, personnel and customer services will be an essential part of this task.
• ·        Register with up to 10 public sector procurement portals – once we have collected your company information we will create a profile, keywords and register with up to 10 public sector portals that befit your geographic and sectoral coverage. We will set up daily / weekly email alerts to a dedicated person within the company for them to peruse the relevant opportunities.
• ·        Review your company policies, procedures and financial standing – we will assess your company policies (including Health & safety, Environmental, Quality, Equal Opportunities policies etc) to assess their robustness and ability to satisfy public sector procurement needs. We will make recommendations on areas of improvement.

This foundation will ensure you are ready to grow your business, diversify into public sector markets and access millions of pounds worth of public sector contracts.

We have been appointed as a bid-writer for a large UK-based regional waste management company. Over the past 2 years, we have successfully secured 2 large NHS waste collections contracts, 2 integrated waste management contracts for academic institutions and 2 large scale WEEE and bulk hauling contracts on behalf of North East England local authorities. We also secured nearly £100,000 from WRAP to purchase a vehicle for the collection of commercially-sourced food waste for the company. Collectively, these contracts are worth approximately £12 million per year to the company.

So if you require a fresh approach to bid-writing then get in touch to see how our professional, friendly and confidential approach can help strengthen your business. info@greengain.co.uk

Are you paying too much for your business electricity and gas?

Sourcing energy is a real challenge for businesses. Most of the businesses we work closely with struggle to answer the following questions:

• Are we getting a good deal from our existing energy provider?
• Are we paying too much for our energy?
• Why aren't we being supplied with green energy?
• How can we avoid paying climate change levy charges?

Green Gain through our partnership with Green Energy Consulting is now able to answer these questions for you. Our team can help you understand the energy marketplace and find a supplier and contract to suit your business needs. We will help you to lower overall tariff rates, advise on long term contracts, and move your energy to renewable supplies. In doing so we can establish products that are exempt from the Climate Change Levy charges.

We are able to use our high-level energy supplier relationships and buying power to access products unavailable to the market place directly, to secure you the best green energy deal available. All clients, from SME to large corporate level businesses, can now benefit from bespoke energy management and an end‐to‐end service. 

Where it is not possible to use renewable energy, our carbon management strategies can be implemented to offset the carbon use of your energy in a cost effective way.

By identifying affordable and practical green solutions, our customers can benefit from:

• exemption from Climate Change Levy charges;
• a reduction in energy expenditure;
• access bespoke services with enhanced green credentials; and
• increased social, environmental and ethical responsibility.

Contact us today for a free, no obligation review of how you source you energy:
email: steven@greengain.co.uk or call: 07519428475

Case Study – Maximising profit through waste reduction - St Brides Spa Hotel

The Challenge

St Brides Spa Hotel is a beautiful hotel based in an idyllic setting in Pembrokeshire and is host to thousands of visitors a year. Owner, Andrew Evans, called in Green Gain to help them increase profitability by minimising waste and improving resource efficiency. Green Gain’s support was funded by WRAP Cymru, a support programme to help businesses reap the benefits of reducing waste, developing sustainable products and using resources in an efficient way. An initial audit of St Brides Spa Hotel, carried out by Green Gain, found that 97 tonnes of waste were being generated annually costing the business over £22,000. Over 45% of the waste stream was made up of food waste and their recycling rate was at nine per cent. The existing waste segregation and management system maintained an over reliance on landfill at excessive cost to the business.

With this in mind, the Green Gain team worked with the business to develop a strategy to reduce the quantities being generated and to target key waste streams for better management.

The Solution

Based on an intensive review of existing operations, interviews with staff and compositional waste analysis across the hotel and its two satellite restaurants, Green Gain provided a series of prioritised and costed recommendations. These demonstrated the potential environmental and economic gains that could be achieved from waste reduction and improved waste management.

These included:

•  Separating glass, food waste, and mixed dry recyclables for recycling and processing into new           products;

•  Engaging the supply chain on packaging take back systems;

•  Introducing portion size options for chips at the fish restaurants;

•  Investing in vacuum packing and blast chilling equipment in the kitchens to help preserve                   ingredients;

•  Outsourcing some food preparation to third party sources;

The Outcome

St Brides Spa Hotel is now in the process of implementing the recommendations and as part of this process, is applying for capital grant support for £6,000 from WRAP to help source the equipment to implement the highest priority measures recommended in this report. Green Gain is assisting in preparing the application. Once the actions have been implemented, the anticipated annual savings are estimated to be:

•  67tpa diverted from landfill;

•  95tpa of carbon avoided;

•  Over £10,000 of savings in waste management and procurement costs.

Andrew Evans, Managing Director for St Brides Spa Hotel said: “Since taking over the business, it has been our ambition to refurbish and reposition St Brides Spa Hotel from a tired ‘seaside hotel’ to a leading award winning destination Spa Hotel.

“The ambition also extends to our environmental impact. We aim to act as a leading example within South Wales of a business that combines high-growth with environmental sustainability. Our work with WRAP Wales and Green Gain on managing our resources more efficiently is a huge step in the right direction.”

Steven Ogden of Green Gain said: “St Brides Spa Hotel has demonstrated the financial and environmental benefits that can be realised from a pro-active approach to waste prevention and management. By employing Green Gain’s expertise in this area, the business will be able to continue to increase profit margins and drive down costs, whilst demonstrating its environmental credentials to customers.”

Green Gain’s technical support is helping waste management companies to develop new services collecting food waste.

Green Gain recently developed a good practice guidance document, on behalf of WRAP, aimed at waste management companies and local authorities, to encourage the collection of food waste from small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), public sector bodies, and larger businesses. It provides a step-by-step approach to the implementation of a commercial food waste collection service based on learning from 10 WRAP-funded business food waste ‘demonstration projects’.

Green Gain is applying the learning from this research to help waste management companies to develop new services on food waste collection. We are providing an interim management service to take waste collectors through a six step plan to establish a food waste collection:

We are then using the business plan to help waste companies to access capital funding to invest in delivering their new service.  In some areas, capital grant funding is still available for such initiatives.

Demand for food waste collections by businesses is growing. The UK as a whole needs to comply with the requirements of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive, which includes a regulatory target to reduce the amount biodegradable waste landfilled to 35% of that produced in 1995 by 2020. In Scotland non-rural food businesses producing over 50kgs of food waste per week already have to present that food waste for separate collection.

If your business is looking to establish or grow a food waste collection, then get in touch with Green Gain and we will explain how we can help you get this right.

Introducing the 'Green Gain Accelerator'

The Green Gain accelerator illustrated in the image below is a structured approach we use to assist commercial businesses to address sustainability.

In Stage 1 we establish a comprehensive performance baseline across the various business functions through an initial audit. This will provides the customer with robust data through which to understand the source and scale of its impacts, and measure the benefits of future improvements. This data is obtained through a process of on-site investigation, combining data capture and analysis, process observation and discussions with selected, relevant personnel.

In Stage 2 Green Gain will use the information collected in the baseline audit to develop an action plan for the business to take forward. The action plan will first of all identify quick-wins, which can be implemented at low and no-cost to deliver improvements in operational efficiency and drive down cost. It will also consider further long-term opportunities that could be considered. The action plan will be designed to facilitate change. 

The initial two stages of the Green Gain Accelerator form a sustainability strategy for the customer to take forward over the next twelve months and beyond.

The further stages of the programme, including implementation of the recommendations from Stages 1 and 2, will be delivered through ongoing retainer support for the business on a monthly basis. The ongoing support is flexible, and time can be concentrated in certain months if there is a specific requirement. This approach will provide the business with a year of technical expertise to implement, monitor and promote the outcomes of opportunities identified in Stage 2 of the programme.

Green Gain’s Directors between them have some fifty years’ experience of working with organisations on environmental opportunities. We pride ourselves on being able to offer a high quality bespoke service and bring a fresh perspective and new approaches to our clients.  www.greengain.co.uk

Helping caterers to cut costs

Did you know that every tonne of food waste produced costs a business around £1,800? 

The hospitality and food service sectors could save millions each year simply through better resource planning, reducing the amount of waste they produce and recycling more. 

Resource efficiency experts Green Gain have developed a comprehensive package of support specifically designed to meet the needs of businesses working in the Hospitality, Tourism, Food and Drink service and manufacturing sectors. We can work with business to identify opportunities for efficient work practices and to formulate a strategy for improvement.

Green Gain recently provided support to help the EJ Catering to identify and implement simple, no-cost measures around portion control and planning, stock management, preparation and procurement. Green Gain identified that a large proportion of the waste could be minimised and reused through better refrigeration. We developed a clear business case for further investment in a £12,000 refrigerated vehicle. Green Gain supported the business to access public sector capital grant funding of over £7,000 so that they could take forward this investment. The measures that we helped to put in place have led to landfill diversion of 8 tonnes per annum, a reduction in CO2 emissions of 33 tonnes and cost savings of £14,000 per year. Payback on the investment was achieved within the first year.

“Green Gain has helped reduce our wastage, reduce our costs and more importantly allowed us to become more sustainable in our day to day operations…thank you for all your work, you guys rock!” Emma Jenkins, Creative Director, EJ Catering Ltd

Email us now to find out how you can reduce your food waste and maximise your profit margins: info@greengain.co.uk 

Food waste facts

• The cost of food being wasted in the UK from the UK Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) sector was estimated at £2.5 billion per year in 2011, rising to £3.0 billion per year by 2016.
• On average 21% of food waste arises from spoilage; 45% from food preparation and 34% from consumer plates.

What is the circular economy 100?

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