Climate change sceptics excluded, we recognise that our environment is in very serious trouble indeed.

This has led to a change in buying habits for many people; whether it’s buying plastic-free goods for the home, such as bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars, changing energy suppliers to ones that only supply green energy, cycling or walking to work instead of driving or taking the train, or using biodegradable, chemical-free cleaning products. People are really doing their bit and every bit helps. This year in particular, I believe many people will be applying this approach in their Christmas present purchase decisions.

But what if someone on your list is keen to be as green as possible and you don’t know where to start. They will already have adapted their lifestyle to the point where a funky reusable coffee cup is not likely to make them jump for joy (although I’m sure they’d still appreciate it).

Whether you’re looking for gifts for your family members, or gifts to treat a special client, or to reward your staff here are some gift suggestions for you to consider.

1. Planting a tree

However fundamental our grasp of deforestation is, we are all aware that more trees equals less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and more oxygen thus, in a small way, planting trees is a way of kicking back at the impact of the mass deforestation that has taken place over many decades. There are limitations in the effect of planting trees to save our environment, in that a sapling is unlikely to suck up enough carbon in its early years to make much difference; only mature trees really have any effect. Also, there is simply not enough land space to plant the number of trees needed to reverse the damage that has already been done. That said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to make a contribution by planting a tree. Perhaps you could give your eco-friendly friend a sapling of their own. Interestingly, the old favourite, the conker tree (Horse Chestnut) is a great tree for absorbing and storing CO2. 

If space is an issue, you don’t have to land your loved one with a tree bigger than their garden can accommodate. The Woodland Trust gives you the opportunity to buy ‘trees for bees’. For just £10, you can help the Trust plant more trees and create future homes for wildlife in the UK. They even send you a certificate that you can personalise.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

• Donating to a green charity

It may not sound like the kind of thing that will excite your loved one when sitting round the tree on Christmas morning, but your planet-friendly friend does not necessarily want lots of ‘stuff’. After all, consumerism and a surplus of objects that we don’t need and which then have to be disposed of, sooner or later, is part of the problem and reason we find ourselves in such a dire situation environmentally. So, it’s highly likely that knowing you have given your money to a charity that they believe in, will actually go down rather well.

There are so many charities and if you know what their favourite is, that’s the one to go for. If you’re not sure, think about what their chief reasons for caring about the environment are, and pick a charity accordingly. If they are concerned about the impact on wildlife, consider a donation to WWF, Born Free or similar. If deforestation is their bug bear, try something like the Rainforest Trust. And if you’re not entirely sure, Greenpeace is a good bet! The good part about this is you can donate what you would usually spend on a gift so the donation can be big or small enough to suit your budget.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/

https://www.bornfree.org.uk/

Homepage

• The gift of carbon dioxide removal

A Climeworks subscription is a unique proposition that anyone who wants to help reduce their impact on the planet will love!

Climeworks removes carbon dioxide directly from the air, which is then stored safely and permanently underground. What’s clever about this is that it removes historic CO₂, i.e. the carbon dioxide that has been kicking around for some time and that needs to be removed to keep global warming under control.

Another clever aspect is its speed: within just five years from the date of purchase, CO₂ is permanently removed from the air and stored underground – this is at least twice as fast as planting trees. And it differs from other methods through its permanence and safety: there is no risk of releasing the CO₂ back into the atmosphere through burning, rotting, etc. This air-captured carbon dioxide is removed for good!

Climeworks works with big organisations, such as Stripe or Shopify, to help them remove their carbon footprint but it is also available to people like you and me – making it a great Christmas gift. For as little as €7 per month, 85kg of carbon dioxide can be removed from the air per year. That’s the equivalent of around four trees.

Together, as gifter and recipient, you’ll be making a difference in the world and helping to ensure this Christmas is truly climate-positive.

https://www.climeworks.com/gift

• Solar chargers and power banks

Our phones need charging, as do other portable devices, such as tablets and laptops. This means using electricity, of course. To be fair, charging a device actually uses relatively little electricity but all the small efforts that go into conserving electricity add up. So, another great gift idea is a solar charger or a solar power bank.

A solar charger, as you would expect, captures solar energy to charge your device and a solar power bank will store the energy from the sun for when you need it later. In addition to the environmental benefits, these little gems are both economical and great for people that are always forgetting to charge their devices and get caught short at the vital moment. They’re also invaluable for those who like to hike or camp, for example, but still want or need their tech when they are in the great outdoors.

There is a plethora of options on the market and the right one will depend on budget and purpose. For instance, you can get large ones that strap to a backpack or super-portable ones for people that need to travel light. It’s worth doing your research to find perfect one for your environmentalist. Try here for some ideas to get you started:

https://www.lifewire.com/best-portable-solar-chargers-4149830

• Rainwater harvesting

Of all the things we consider as environmentally damaging, water waste is perhaps not one that springs to mind very quickly. But, in fact, the average household uses 150 litres of water a day and very little of that is used for drinking or cooking. Harvesting rainwater is not only environmentally responsible, it also promotes self-sufficiency and saves money! Rainwater harvesting can be as simple as having a water butt in your garden to collect rainwater for plants and lawns. It can also go further with filtering systems, meaning you can use rainwater for toilet flushing and bathing. If you want to spoil your favourite “greeny” with anything from a decorative water butt to a complete harvesting system, you can get plenty of inspiration from Celtic Sustainables:

https://www.celticsustainables.co.uk/rainwater-harvesting/

•   Gift experience

As mentioned, in a world already filled with material possessions, it’s unsurprising that gift experiences have become increasingly popular.

There are companies that arrange the whole experience for you, such as Red Letter Days and BuyAGift in the UK. Each has a huge selection of gift experiences to choose from, many of which will suit your environmentalist. For the nature lovers there are opportunities from rock climbing and zip lining to mountain biking and sailing. Or, if you think they’d prefer something more relaxing, there are glamping experiences and even the opportunity to spend a couple of nights in a tree house. The disadvantages of this are the cost and, more importantly for your recipient, the fact that they may have to travel some distance, which might negate some of the environmental advantages.

So, it might be worth doing a little more research and finding an experience local to them and getting a gift voucher. If they don’t automatically offer gift vouchers, most local businesses will come up with something. Think about what they would really like and buy accordingly, perhaps a slap-up meal at their local vegan restaurant or look into local courses in hedge laying or bee keeping.

Alternatively, give them an experience where they don’t even need to leave the house. Zero travel and you won’t have to worry whether the current situation will mean they can’t redeem their vouchers in time, due to travel restrictions. Airbnb is the perfect place to look for these experiences and some of these virtual experiences could rarely be achieved in real life. Your gift receipients can dive under the sea with a shark expert or go on a safari in South Africa. They could meditate with a Japanese Buddhist monk or even experience the Great Wall of China, all from the comfort of home!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liesbeth Deddens is from Climeworks. Climeworks empowers people to reverse climate change by permanently removing carbon dioxide from the air.

One of two things happens to the Climeworks air-captured carbon dioxide: either it is returned to earth, stored safely and permanently away for millions of years, or it is upcycled into climate-friendly products such as carbon-neutral fuels and materials, fertilizer for greenhouses or bubbles in your fizzy drinks. The Climeworks direct air capture technology runs exclusively on clean energy, and the modular CO₂ collectors can be stacked to build machines of any size.

Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks strives to inspire 1 billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air.

Together we can build a climate-positive world. Join us!

Web: https://www.climeworks.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Climeworks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/climeworks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/climeworks

The availability of business accelerator programmes has increased over recent years so there are more opportunities to get involved.  Let me give you an overview of what accelerator programmes are and then review the benefits that you can gain by participating. you benefit by joining one?

Overview

Generally speaking, an accelerator programme gives developing companies access to training, advice, mentorship, investors and other support that will help them become stable, self-sufficient businesses. An accelerator programme can help from the very earliest ‘lightbulb’ stage, through to the time when a business needs help scaling up or attracting investment.

Some programmes are free once your application is accepted while others charge for participation.

How you can benefits by joining a business accelerator

The opportunity to dispassionately validate your idea

Every innovator with an ostensibly good idea thinks that theirs has huge potential and will plug an unfilled gap in the market, leading to untold riches and recognition. However, as we all know, not every bright idea can be a success. In reality, most ideas for new products and services barely get off the ground.

Being selected to take part in the right accelerator programme gives you a chance to really validate your idea and test your hypotheses. Is there a market for your product? Do the financials stack up? Do the costs involved in the development and/or manufacture make it a viable proposition? Is it investable?

When we’ve had an idea for a while, it’s only natural to become emotionally invested in it. The mentorship and expertise found on an accelerator programme will help you to make a clear-headed and dispassionate evaluation of whether your idea has legs.

Furthermore, a good programme will help you make the adjustments and course-corrections that may be required – saving you from wasting months, or even years, heading in the wrong direction.

The support available to you

Many budding entrepreneurs who end up on accelerators don’t come from business backgrounds and soon learn that launching and growing a new business can be a daunting endeavour. Accelerator programmes will address participants’ knowledge gaps (not to mention offering plenty of reassurance and emotional support!) by providing mentors, success stories and subject experts to support you and equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to get your idea off the ground.

The valuable experience and hard-won advice shared by successful entrepreneurs can be lightning in a bottle for fledgling founders. Many programmes, such as BioAccelerate 2020, set aside time in their schedules to invite founders and directors in relevant fields to offer their wisdom and to share their journeys with the cohort.

Learning what investors are looking for

Unless you’re fortunate enough to be in line to inherit the family fortune, you’re probably going to need investment at some stage to grow your company and to bring your product or service to market.

Accelerator programmes invariably end with some sort of pitch or demo day, where you’ll demonstrate the progress you’ve made over the course of the programme to a panel of industry experts and potential investors. Learning how to present to these types of audiences will be vital in securing funding at the various stages of your startup’s journey.

Gaining access to facilities and equipment

Though we are witnessing a proliferation of business accelerators at the moment, not all programmes are alike. There are, of course, overlaps and similarities: most programmes will teach participants about core topics such as finances, intellectual properly, branding, product development and so on. However, some programmes go further.

Sector-specific programmes, and ones that are aligned to universities or innovation parks, can often also provide access to cutting-edge facilities and equipment, not to mention the pre-eminent expertise that you would expect to find at an academic institution.

For example, the BioAccelerate programme offered at AberInnovation gives startups in the biotechnology, agri-tech and food and drink sectors access to their brand-new £40.5m campus, which includes a state-of-the-art biorefinery and a Future Food Centre.

Meeting like-minded business-owners and innovators

When you spend time on developing a new product or service you can feel very alone. It is important to keep up your morale and motivation and one way to achieve this is by finding a welcoming and supportive group of peers who are on similar journeys.

It is therefore imperative to find the right programme that has rigorous and robust selection criteria to ensure a cohort of inspiring and ambitious entrepreneurs. There are bound to be dark days and moments of doubt as you iterate and develop your proposition over the course of an accelerator programme. A supportive group to bounce ideas off and provide feedback will help you navigate these more challenging times.

In an increasingly interdisciplinary world where problems often require a multitude of solutions, these relationships may even lead to opportunities in the future.

You can gain huge benefits by joining a business accelerator programme.  Do your research and find the best accelerator programme for your sector and business then apply.  It could make all the difference in getting your product or service to market and building your business.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben Jones is from AberInnovation. Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AberInnovation) provides world-leading facilities and expertise within the biotechnology, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors. Set in stunning scenery between the Cambrian Mountains and the Irish Sea, the £40.5m Campus offers an ideal environment for business and academic collaboration to flourish.

https://aberinnovation.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AberInnovation

https://www.linkedin.com/company/aberystwyth-innovation-and-enterprise-campus-ltd

For more information about BioAccelerate: https://aberinnovation.com/en/our-community/bioaccelerate/

As a small business owner you’ll be very conscious of the impact of Covid-19.  Like the ongoing saga of Brexit it is not just affecting your bottom line, but also the day to day running of your business and the amount of work needed to ensure compliance with ever changing regulations and guidelines.

The easiest way to deal with this is to create a package of tools that will help you stay on top of the changes and the ever-increasing regulation and actions you need to take. For example, Thomson Screening has developed a toolkit to help SME managers and business owners work through what’s needed and how to action it. The toolkit provides training and sample documentation. The good news is, none of these activities is new; businesses do them all the time. What’s different is that now businesses need a specific “Covid flavoured” version.

A good communications plan will be the cornerstone of your successful management under Covid-19. 

Let’s start by reviewing the basic elements your small business needs for effective communication. Any communications plan needs to include the following characteristics:

1. Understanding your audience
2. Listening actively
3. Being clear about what you want to say (simply)
4. Using the appropriate channel(s)
5. Making sure your communication is timely.

Before we take each of these in turn and work through how they need to be adapted, let’s add one step: know your trusted sources of information!

The best sites to visit are the most important government websites. These are the first places you will need to check regularly. One of the difficulties at the moment is that there is so much conflicting, confusing or out of date information circulating. Go straight to the horse’s mouth, check the government websites first.

• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#people-who-develop-symptoms-of-coronavirus
• Office of National Statistics, Coronavirus Roundup https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19roundup/2020-03-26
• Finding your local Health Protection Team: https://www.gov.uk/health-protection-team
• Moderate and high-risk factors: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-COVID-19/people-at-higher-risk/whos-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/

The communication steps and how each needs to be adapted for Covid-19

1. Understanding the audience your small business needs to address

Under the current circumstances your audience will be much more sensitive to different types of communication, and this will not necessarily be along the lines you may expect.

Essentially, we are talking about people’s ability to handle uncertainty and manage risk and this has nothing to do with their job, their level of education or even their age.  Whether they are staff members, customers or suppliers etc. some people will be very risk averse, some will rely on science or authority, and some will be just the opposite.

Your communications plan needs to be mindful of this and cater to the different needs of your audience. It may need you to say the same thing from three different perspectives to cater to three different needs. The key to getting this right is understanding your audience and you can do this by listening actively. 

1. Listen actively to the groups that make up your audience

You need to listen and hear what your audience or different groups in the audience (whether internal or external to the business) are most concerned about. For example, is it rules around social distancing? or mask wearing?

You also need to show the audience that you are there, that you are listening, that the measures you are putting in place are to protect them and meet their needs. The actions you take need to be about them – and they need to understand that in your communications. Just acting, but not communicating, can lead to misunderstandings and a break-down in trust.

1. Clarify what you want to say

You don’t want people to come to work if they have symptoms – so be clear about this and what they should do in this situation. For example, if in doubt, stay home and phone or contact your manager. You also need to ensure that everyone has all the contact details they will need if they are at home and can’t come to the office.

If you need customers or other visitors to wear a mask at all times, or if they only need to wear them in certain areas – be clear about this. If areas within your place of business are off limits to external visitors, ensure they are obviously labelled.

Above all, your communications need to be clear, simple and, if necessary, repetitive. Just look at how the NHS is using simple words and lists of no more than three or four items. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms. Don’t assume just because you’ve said it once, everyone has heard it or taken it on-board.

Finally, it really helps to give some specific examples and little personal touches: show that you have considered the needs of disabled staff and customers, or perhaps those who rely on lipreading.

1. Decide on the best communications channels

Even small businesses have many communications channels including your website, Twitter WhatsApp, newsletters, window signage etc. Choose the right platforms for the audience and for the message. Make use of as many channels as you can and be consistent with your messages. Normally you’d be using a slightly different approach in each channel, but in your Covid-19 related communications, it is really important that there is no misunderstanding.

Start by creating a list of all possible “channels”: website, newsletter, sign on the door, customer service team, training materials, Twitter feed, LinkedIn post, everything you can think of.

Use templates as much as possible as this will save time and keep the communications consistent. Ensure anyone involved in any form of comms (from PR to social media, from web editor, to marketing flyers, from poster designs to advertising) know what your Covid-19 messaging is and when and how to include it.

1. Ensure timely communication

This is where Covid-19 related communications get really tricky: things change very fast (or they may stay the same), which makes it very difficult to plan. You want to make sure you have not left out of date information on any of your communications, and you want to be sure you are always in line with the most recent government or Public Health guidelines. Yet, you cannot spend every hour, every day, checking and updating everything.

Fortunately, there are a couple of tricks and tips you can use. These are not new, they should be familiar to you, and in Covid-19 related messaging they are essential:

• In electronic communications (websites, newsletters, chats, etc.) use links directly to the relevant government websites. (see list above)
• Used shared file systems (e.g. Google Drive, One Drive or Dropbox) for templates and drafts
• Have a log of where these templates are used, to make sure you don’t miss one of them
• It is an extra few minutes to get everything in one place when you start, but it will pay dividends many times over when you suddenly need to change something.

Once you’ve set everything up, check weekly to confirm that either everything Covid-19 related is still correct and relevant or there are changes that need to be communicated right away. Something as simple as a diary reminder is good for busy business owners.  That way you’ll ensure are ready to communicate any Covid-19 news and changes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marta Kalas is co-founder of Thomson Screening, developers of the Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager software platform that enables testing providers to scale irrespective of where, how and what test is carried out. Functions include automated reporting at local and national level for bodies including Public Health, Community Health and Employers with data reporting into other systems, as required.

A separate module using questionnaire and risk assessment methodology enables local residents to self-report Covid-19 symptoms with automated reporting to local (or national) Public Health and the ability to automatically push out messaging specific to the individual with symptoms.

Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager is designed to adapt rapidly to fast changing requirements and is fully scalable. The Innovate UK grant enables Thomson Screening to utilise investments made in the core functionality of the company’s products used in the NHS, especially its SchoolScreener Imms product, to rapidly repurpose and deploy the software.

Web: https://workscreener.com/covid-19-test-manager/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchoolScreener/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Schoolscreener/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thomsonscreening/

Sources:

• https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#people-who-develop-symptoms-of-coronavirus
• Ethnicity and mortality rates up to 15^th May 2020 in England and Wales: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronaviruscovid19relateddeathsbyethnicgroupenglandandwales/2march2020to15may2020

Recently, I went to the premiere of David Attenborough’s new film ‘A Life on our Planet’.

Described as his ‘witness statement’, the film contained a plethora of compelling statistics that defined the devastating problems we face if we do not stop destroying our planet. The film shows the numbers for the rapid increase in global population, the increase in carbon in the atmosphere, and the accompanying sharp decrease in unfarmed natural land.

It is a stark message. By losing the biodiversity of our land, we are fast accelerating towards extinction as our planet struggles with the excess demands placed upon it. The earth has finite commodities, but we are acting like they are limitless.

The film does however end with a ray of hope. Attenborough lays out the steps we need to take to quickly redress the balance and allow the planet to recover.

These steps are simpler than you might think.

1. Population control – end poverty and increase access to education for all people, which will naturally lead to population control. This, of course, requires global commitment.

1. Rewild the rainforests to restore biodiversity. Rewild more farmland.

1. Stop eating meat. For every one carnivore in nature there are at least 100 prey animals, so for 11 billion humans to be carnivores is completely unsustainable. It’s an absolute no brainer.

1. Abandon fossil fuel in favour of renewable energy. Everyone knows this, but with pension funds and big business still investing in fossil fuels there is a substantial way to go.

1. Land use. Using less land in more intelligent ways to produce more food, such as vertical and urban farming.

1. Stop Waste. Period.

So how can businesses play their part?

You might think that most of this list is beyond the sphere of influence of an individual or an individual business, with international action and financial incentives needed for this to happen on a global scale.

Whilst it’s true that international action is needed, we can all instigate actions that make a difference. Some of these involve supporting non-profits in a financial sense, but many of the actions we can take are changes within our own supply chains which are not disruptive or costly. They simply involve making more ethical choices in our purchasing decisions.

A recent Futerra survey showed that 88% of consumers want brands to help them be more sustainable, and many people utilise their purchasing power as a way to make their mark, so it’s also a shrewd business decision to make positive changes within our own business.

• Education
  Consider donating a small part of your income. Attenborough states that to achieve the eradication of poverty, education, particularly of women, plays a huge part. Camfed, a charity directly impacting the education of women is one such example of an organisation working towards this aim.

• Rewilding
  Work with the many new ethical suppliers who are themselves making a difference. For example, we work with a tea supplier called Reforest Tea. For one 500g bag of breakfast tea, costing £12, they are able to plant 6-8 trees. Perform your own sustainability audit (there are also individuals and organisations that can conduct this for you, or you could simply do it yourself). For example, it’s now widely known that palm oil is one of the main reasons that the rainforest has been destroyed, so eradicating it in your home, business and supply chain is one way of making an impact.

• More Plant-based meals
  Obviously as a vegan brand we are hoping that the whole world will eventually refrain from eating meat. But even if you are not vegan, the fact that 65% of all the mammals on this planet are farm animals, their devastating carbon impact and land use cannot be overstated.

It’s simply not sustainable for the 11 billion animals on the planet to eat other animals. But what does this mean for a business or for one that serves meat? And what if your offering is purely meat based, like a steakhouse? Fortunately / unfortunately it means you need to pivot your business model. Although it might feel like your offering is well supported now, it will become increasingly regarded as unethical in the future.

If you have a staff canteen, look to increase the plant-based offerings. Educate your staff about eating less meat (whether that’s avoiding it for a few days a week, or putting less on the plate). If you host events that involve food (whether canapes or a full sit-down), ask your caterers to provide a good choice of plant-based options, or better still (like many companies and charitable organisations) choose to make your events 100% plant-based.

I am not lecturing here, but don’t count on people wanting to continue eating meat in the future like they do now. So now is the time to explore plant-based options that suit your brand, and develop new products that have a lesser carbon impact. Stem & Glory is working on a pilot project with a new business that does carbon labelling for menu items. It may take a while for this to take on, but we predict this will be in huge demand in the future by consumers.

• Using Renewable Energy
  In pursuit of renewable energy, businesses can make a huge impact by simply moving to renewable only energy sources. There are a number of these now, including the most established Ecotricity and Green Energy. But we can go one step further. Who are your investors? What are their green credentials? Do they invest in fossil fuels? Who are your partners? Who are your landlords? Scrutinise everything. Ask the questions. Take every opportunity you can to bring attention to this.

• Vertical Farming
  I visited Amsterdam in February, in those heady days before Covid-19. There are some super exciting projects there with vertical and urban farms. They are a big exporter of vegetables because of this. They get a greater output from a much smaller footprint in this way. It’s now also breaking into the hospitality sector. I visited a restaurant called Juniper & Kin which is on the top floor of a tall hotel building. They have a green house on their roof and grow a high percentage of their produce there. There are a number of similar operators in the UK and it’s a hugely exciting space to be involved with. We are in discussion with our landlords about making this happen at our existing and all future sites.

• Waste. Probably the biggest issue of all.

Food Waste
More than one third of all food produced is wasted. And with regard to fruit and vegetables, it is almost half. In the developing world this waste is largely down to inefficient processing, poor storage, and insufficient infrastructure. In medium and high-income countries (that’s us) whilst supply chains can still be an issue, the behaviour of consumers plays a much greater part. We are simply buying it and not eating it. Much of this food waste could be avoided if it were managed better. The hard fact is, if we managed to reduce the amount of food waste down by just 25%, that would be enough food to feed the 870 million who currently do not have enough to eat.

Packaging Waste
There is a huge amount of misinformation out there on this subject, especially with regards to single use. I watched a short film recently, called Our Planet, Our Business and one of the experts said, ‘there is no such thing as waste, it’s just a commodity in the wrong place at the wrong time’. That really struck me. Packaging is a complicated subject that we’ve been immersed in researching for some time, and here is what we have learned:

• The only truly sustainable, circular solution for packaging is to use products that are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste, which are then endlessly recycled. So, we are no longer using single use anything.
• Compostable is not the answer to the issue of single use, as compostable containers are widely made from virgin materials, which increase the carbon footprint of the product, and do nothing to solve the issue of mass disposability.
• When the world is truly plastic free, then it may be that recycled packaging which is also compostable could play a part. But, whilst we have such huge amounts of post-consumer plastic waste, the most responsible thing we can do is recycle it. If demand for 100% recycled plastic were greater, demand would also increase for manufacturers to buy post-consumer waste plastic. And so it goes on.
• Of course, responsible use of recycled plastic products requires education, and we need to invest energy into just that. It’s a big step for us all to make in our heads because plastic has been vilified for so long, but research shows it’s moving away from single use anything that has the greatest carbon impact. The leap we all need to make is to start viewing plastic (and everything else on this planet) as a valuable commodity.

Other Waste
At Stem & Glory, we are currently fitting out a new site in Cambridge. The driver behind our decor is reuse and recycle as far as possible. It’s been great to see that there are so many new products on the market that are composed of recycled post-consumer waste. We predict that this will explode massively in the coming months and years. From table-tops to worktops, paint, flooring, concrete, lights, innovation is everywhere. And it looks completely fab! As part of this process we have also been able to get our entire team on board – from designers to contractors, all are now also committed to the reuse and recycle way of living.

And this is probably the best way we can win hearts and minds to tackling climate change. Never underestimate the contribution that an individual or individual business can play. By changing ourselves we generate spirals of positive influence – the R number of sustainability! The more you make changes and tell others, the more people you will influence for good.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Louise Palmer-Masterton is founder of multiple award-winning restaurants Stem & Glory; hip and trendy but accessible plant-based restaurants, serving delicious gourmet vegan food from locally sourced ingredients, 100% made on site. Stem & Glory also offers click-and-collect and local delivery in London and Cambridge.  www.stemandglory.uk 

https://www.seedrs.com/stemandglory

Social Media:

Web: www.stemandglory.uk 

Twitter: @stemandglory
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stemandglory/
Instagram: @stemandglory

Linked in: /louisepalmer-masterton

Seedrs: https://www.seedrs.com/stemglory

Notes:

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet – is available on Netflix

Our Planet, Our Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdWQJq2OkJs&feature=youtu.be

Legal problems in business can be worrying, especially if you do not have the expertise in-house to deal with it.

Of course, for smaller business, the cost of using a solicitor can be financially prohibitive and is not within the reach of most budgets. Solicitors charge fees of anywhere between £150 per hour to £600 + per hour. They can even charge you £500 for writing a letter on your behalf.

You may be surprised to hear that a large percentage of legal matters can be dealt with by non-solicitors. These days there are alternatives to consider such as employing the services of a mediator, a McKenzie friend or a paralegal, so don’t despair.

Recently, the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation by Professor Stephen Mayson, stated that a survey of statutorily regulated lawyers (solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives) confirmed that only 20% of the work they do falls within the remit of reserved legal activities (i.e. meaning that they are reserved for solicitors, barristers and legal executives only to perform). Translated to layman’s terms, this means that 80% of all other legal work can be carried out by non-solicitors.

Of course it does depend on the legal issue, but in many cases, finding a mediator will assist you and your opponent to resolve the issues you may have, and is far less costly than instructing a solicitor. Mediators are trained to help and guide the parties to understand and focus on the main issues in order to find a satisfactory solution acceptable to both parties.

Even if your legal issue means taking someone to court, or defending a claim against you, you can do this yourself if it is a relatively small civil claim. To assist you, you can use the services of either a paralegal practitioner or McKenzie friend.

A McKenzie friend is usually a person who will accompany you to court if you are attending as a litigant in person (LIP). Because you are not represented by a solicitor or barrister a McKenzie friend can give advice and support but, more often than not, will have no legal qualifications but will have experience of court matters.  They can be either family members or friends accompanying you to court for moral support, or can be volunteers from charitable organisations. Quite often McKenzie friends do not charge fees but it is currently a growing trend for them to charge a nominal amount to assist you in this way.

Apart from offering you moral support, McKenzie friends can also take notes during any court proceedings, and give advice and help on completing court forms and the court process.

A paralegal practitioner is distinguished from a McKenzie friend since they usually will have a legal or paralegal qualification and may have a Licence to Practise. Therefore, there is often a fee to pay but not as excessive as that of a solicitor. On the whole the fees that paralegals charge are anywhere between £40 – £80 per hour, or perhaps a fixed fee for carrying out a specific task or job.

The kind of cases that you can call upon a paralegal to assist you with are varied and cover a broad spectrum. In fact, a paralegal practitioner can assist with most cases that a solicitor can as long as they do not perform any ‘Reserved Activities’. These activities are solely for solicitors and in some cases, barristers to perform, and include having an automatic ‘right of audience’. This means that solicitors and barristers have an automatic right to represent clients in court and speak on their behalf. This right is not granted to paralegals or McKenzie friends.  However, in some instances, the Judge in a particular court case, can grant such a right, at his/her discretion, provided s/he is satisfied in respect of the competency of the paralegal/McKenzie friend and believe it in the best interests of justice to do so.

Paralegals are not able to act on your behalf to sell or purchase property or land unless they are Licensed through the CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers), nor can they offer immigration advice unless they are registered with the OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner).

Paralegals and McKenzie friends are not regulated by statute in the same way as solicitors and barristers are. This means that anyone can refer to themselves as such. However, there are organisations that are voluntary regulators such as NALP (National Association of Licensed Paralegals) or The Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, that have strict codes of conduct that members must follow.  If choosing to use a paralegal or McKenzie friend it is always advisable to ensure they are members of such a body.

For further information on alternatives to using a solicitor please go to the Legal Choices website: https://www.legalchoices.org.uk/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres, accredited recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for a career as a paralegal professional. 

See: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk

Twitter: @NALP_UK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-hamilton-llb-hons-840a6a16/

For start-ups and early-stage businesses it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the opportunities for accelerator programmes and grants that can make a huge difference to their business development.

If you have already incorporate a business or a thinking of taking the plunge in the 

biosciences, food and drink, health, agri-tech and all aspects of the circular economy,  you should look urgently at BioAccelerate 2020.

BioAccelerate, AberInnovation’s flagship accelerator programme for early-stage businesses and start-ups, across the UK, is back for its third year and seeking participants for its next cohort.

Applications are now open, and close on October 14^th.

Participation in the programme is free of charge to successful applicants. In phase one there are two £50,000 awards and six £10,000 awards available for the strongest pitches as judged by a panel of experts in business growth on the final day.

Launched in 2018, BioAccelerate is a programme of training and mentoring which helps entrepreneurs and business founders to bring the best ideas within the biosciences, healthcare, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors to market. BioAccelerate is an ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs with a great idea to get the support and help they need to make their dream a reality and create the high growth businesses of tomorrow. With support from UKRI- BBSRC, AberInnovation can now give intensive and thorough investor-readiness support to start ups in food and drink, all aspects of the circular economy, health and agri-tech.

The tailored 13-week programme blends intensive workshops with group activities and hands-on mentoring. BioAccelerate 2020’s first workshop kicks off on Wednesday 21st October 2020.

Six graduates of the programme (as chosen by the panel of judges) will be invited onto the second phase of the programme and given further opportunities to develop their business plans and products. This will culminate, once again, in a pitch day, this time to venture capital specialists and investors. The best two propositions will be awarded £50,000 each to help take their innovation to market.

The 2020 BioAccelerate programme is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation.

Brand-new event and conference space within AberInnovation will allow BioAccelerate workshops to take place in a socially-distanced manner and the programme will be delivered using a mixture of in-person and virtual methods. The programme delivery will once again be led by investment-readiness specialists Nurture Ventures.

AberInnovation recently moved into its new £40.5m campus development in Aberystwyth. This has been funded by: The European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (part of UKRI); and Aberystwyth University.

To apply to be of this year’s BioAccelerate from AberInnovation, see: https://aberinnovation.com/en/our-community/bioaccelerate/

About the Author

Dr Rhian Hayward, MBE is CEO of Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AberInnovation).  AberInnovation provides world-leading facilities and expertise within the biotechnology, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors. Set in stunning scenery between the Cambrian Mountains and the Irish Sea, the £40.5m Campus offers an ideal environment for business and academic collaboration to flourish.https://aberinnovation.com/

To apply for BioAccelerate: https://aberinnovation.com/en/our-community/bioaccelerate/

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now more important than ever. We’re currently living in a low trust world where it seems everyone is just out for themselves and what they can take from life. But times are changing.

Before Covid-19, people were already asking for a different approach, wanting a world where business is more than just about making money. They had also started demanding transparency – just saying ‘we do what we can’ was no longer enough; they wanted specifics about supply chains, fair trade, good working conditions, environmental responsibility and so on. 

Of course, it’s true that some customers won’t care. However, a growing majority do care and these people, whether they are buying as a business or as a consumer, want to buy responsibly, and they want details to prove that they are doing so.

What counts as CSR?

CSR can come in many forms such as financial donations, resource donations (e.g. product, time, staff, etc.), offering pro-bono work for charities or the vulnerable in society, co-marketing to promote a charitable cause, and having specific, clear, publicly announced  ethics (e.g. LGBTQ-friendly, vegan, no investment in drugs or weapons, carbon zero, etc.)

Here are some examples of the different approaches to CSR. Take a look at see what could be applied to your business:

Give a financial donation for every transaction

A clear and easy way to practise CSR is to donate a percentage or a given sum to a charity or organisation with every transaction. For example, at Bidwedge, we are all mad about cats, so we partnered with Born Free. When changing your unwanted foreign currency back into Sterling, you can opt to donate the full amount to Born Free (via the Bidwedge platform) and we’ll donate 100% of our handling fee, or if you’d prefer to keep the cash yourself, we’ll still donate 50% of our handling fee. All the money donated goes directly to support Born Free’s big cat sanctuaries at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in South Africa: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/shamwari-big-cat-rescue-sanctuary.

Another example is UK insurance broker Club Insure, which announced earlier this year that it was aiming to raise £75,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by donating £5 for every new or renewed insurance policy. This followed a long-serving Director’s advanced diagnosis of the disease, which adds a personal touch to the partnership between the two organisations. Potentially this charitable relationship will tip the balance for people looking for insurance cover, who like the idea of their money doing something good while buying a service they need.

Donating in-line with your brand

There are also many organisations which donate something allied to their brand. This can give a fun and / or memorable message for the organisation. For example, Who Gives A Crap’s tagline “toilet paper that builds toilets” tells you what their business is and what their charitable contribution is, while showing itself as a fun brand, with the nudge towards toilet humour. And they do donate a very generous 50% of their profits to help build toilets in developing world countries where access to sanitation is limited.

Green Tomato Cars is another ethical brand, founded to provide an eco-friendly car service in London. They aim to do their bit towards improving air quality in London and were the first operators in London to use the Toyota Prius. Not only that, they offset their unavoidable emissions by supporting The Ugandan Improved Cookstoves project. This project subsidises the sale of fuel-efficient biomass and charcoal cookstoves across Uganda to improve cooking conditions and reduce indoor air pollution.

Donating product like-for-like

Rather than buy-one-get-one-free, the smart money might well be on give-one-away-for-every-one-bought. It certainly worked for Dashel, who gave away one of their stylish recycled cycle helmets to an NHS keyworker for each one bought online during lockdown. Not only did they give a real benefit to NHS workers choosing to cycle to work, rather than risk public transport, they showed themselves to be a truly ethical company and, in turn, found their helmets very much in demand.

Volunteering

If donating money is not right for you and / or you don’t have the margins to give away product, you can give your own time – and that of your team – to help out. Many large companies give employees a number of days paid time off to volunteer. As a small business this may not be so easy but even a couple of half days might make a difference and boost morale.

Alternatively, perhaps you have services that you can offer a smaller charity. Maybe you can offer to set up some social media activity or give an hour each week to advise on financial administration or software. Reach Volunteering is a platform that connects organisations that have skills they want to offer with organisations looking for help: https://reachvolunteering.org.uk/

Helping locally

For smaller businesses, it may seem that the size of donation you can afford is so small, it will just be an insignificant drop in the ocean for a major charity or project.  This isn’t true as absolutely every contribution, no matter how small, does make a difference. However, if you want to feel your company is making a significant difference, it may well make sense to keep your efforts local.

James Alexander Estate Agents in Thornton Heath, London, regularly contribute to local events to support community organisations. In fact, their local primary school has received over £15k in the last few years – a huge amount for a local school that will make a very big impact. They also sponsor two local church fetes, plus they have a charity push every year about something the team feels passionate about – this year they did a sleepout with Centrepoint and raised £2,300. This, alongside a lot of other work to support local organisations, means they are having a very real – and noticeable – impact locally.

Being ethical

Whether you are giving to charity or not, CSR requires you to be ethical in your business. This covers everything (and I do mean everything) and should be checked at every level of the business so you can be confident in your transparency.  It’s not enough to treat your employees well and ensure their working conditions are spot on, you need to check that ethos across all your suppliers and make sure none of them is exploiting foreign workers further down the supply chain.

These are just a few examples of successful CSR, which I hope will inspire you to take action within your own small business.

How to decide what your business can do

1. Choose something that resonates with you and/or your business
2. Don’t choose something just because it makes you look good. It won’t work. Customers (and staff) will see through it, and you will find it difficult to sustain if your heart’s not really in it.
3. If you have a big team, perhaps allow them to choose what they want to do and how they want to contribute. You’ll get better buy in that way and they are bound to enjoy it even more!
4. If necessary, start small. Something is always better than nothing. And once you’ve started you find it easier to expand your contribution.
5. And whatever you choose, make it public. Announce it on your social media, on your website, maybe even on your packaging. Just be sure to let people know,

Teaming up with a big name can give the business added kudos; supporting a local charity makes sense if your market is primarily local; getting involved with a smaller charity can work well if you’re looking to make a big difference or would like reciprocal exposure.

Don’t worry if you are starting small, it’s still a contribution. Find an approach to CSR that suits you, put a plan together and be proud of what you can contribute.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shon Alam is founder of Bidwedge. Bidwedge makes it easy to change your left-over cash currency back into Sterling – at great rates for even the smallest amounts. Just enter the amount, see the rate you’ll be paid, post the cash and watch the money appear in your bank account. It’s easy to do.

Website – www.bidwedge.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Bidwedgecom-109169113819592/

Twitter – @bidwedge – https://twitter.com/bidwedge

LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/bidwedge/

People are central to the success, so it is essential to have a learning and development plan for your team (s) in your small business.

Learning and development (L&D) forms a key part of developing your staff and carrying out performance management.  A L&D Plan is a strategic roadmap creating a picture of where the business wants to be in the future with Learning and Development to support the building of staff capability, capacity and commitment.

A Learning and Development plan should be designed to inspire, develop, and ultimately help your people grow in competence and confidence. Businesses and teams with the best players thrive and outperform the competition.  

To achieve a coherent, practical and effective Learning and Development plan here are the steps to follow:

One: Design Clear Career Pathways

To create clear career pathways, you will first need to identify the role profiles that exist within your business. The determine the purpose of the role, reporting lines and career progression routes.

For example, the purpose of a sales team is to generate sales, grow the business and retain existing customer relationships and within the sales teams there will be different job roles such as Sales Representative, Key Account Manager etc.

Career pathways should show how to achieve progression and promotion, for example, from Sales Representative to Sales Manager? The written pathway should include the skills are needed and how you obtain them e.g. by undertaking additional responsibilities under supervision and mentorship.

Two: Defined Roles and Responsibilities

Defining clear roles and responsibilities provides your business with the vital advantages necessary for continual growth. If people are clear about what they need to do, it makes it easier for them to do it, this enables increased internal control, improved process management and enhances operational performance.

To develop an effective Learning and Development plan, you should evaluate your existing roles and responsibilities defined in your job descriptions to ensure that they are reflective of what you need people to do. If not, the knowledge and behaviours criteria you set will not deliver the skills required to fulfil the role. The most efficient and effective way of achieving this is to set up a small working group with key operational people at different levels and across a variety of job roles.

Three: Clarify the Knowledge & Behaviours Required

It is important that the new job descriptions clearly define the knowledge requirement to successfully undertake the role. When defining the knowledge levels required for each role, remember that knowledge can be gained through experience or education. Not everyone is required to be experts in everything, but base line awareness is often desirable.

Whilst knowledge is vital, you must also identify the attitude and behaviours that will fit within your organisational culture and are aligned to your Vision, Mission and Values. Because how you do something is more likely to deliver good customer service that just what you do.

Asking your staff to be part of this process will ensure that all angles are covered. Together with a training gap analysis you will be able to highlight specific skill gaps within your business. From there, you can prioritise your employees’ training needs. When discussing this with your team, you should consider a variety of core skills including, for example:

• Values & Behaviours – Values are just behaviours you want people to live by, giving them direction on how to achieve your mission. They should be specific and descriptive in the way you want people to act or treat people
• Performance & Time Management – Efficiency and punctuality are critical to a successful business and people should know how to prioritise and make the most of their time
• Commercial Focus – Everyone in a business can affect your profitability, from general awareness of business costs and the use of company resources, to cost saving and revenue generation  
• Leadership & Management – Line managers or supervisors have a massive influence on the team dynamics and performance. It is important to understanding how to motivate and manage you staff, this is often overlooked when people are promoted from time served

Four: Decide on Training and Training Delivery

Training is the act of teaching people the required skills or behaviours. It can be delivered in a variety of ways including: Apprenticeships, Vocational Programmes or Mentoring, internal training, Continued Professional Development (CPD) modules.

A good Learning and Development plan gives people the opportunity to complete different types of training, not simply to assist in the competency of their role, but to inspire them to achieve their career goals, to broaden their knowledge and to widen their skills base. 

To select the right training, you will need use the job descriptions to identify the learning outcomes needed to fulfil the role. Finding a course that meets these needs, in the delivery method that best suits your business, can often be difficult and can require thinking outside the box.

Remember a recognised training course or a theoretical qualification may not deliver the competence levels you are looking for and often blended learning delivers the best results. Where you have a training need for a member of staff and you cannot find the course – approach your training provider and ask them if they can work with your business to design, deliver and complete a bespoke training.

Five: Build on Skills & Experience

Just because people attend a training course does not mean that they are competent in those skills. Skills are defined as the ability to do something well, and this is developed over time.

You should encourage your teams to put their knowledge into practice in order to develop their skills, whilst being observed, supported and mentored by their line manager.

Within the job profiles, you should determine the skills and experience levels required for each role.

Six: Monitor the L&D Journey

Knowing that 95% of your people have completed a required course, is not the only measure you should be focussed on.

Each person’s learning and development journey will be different, and it is important that you remain flexible and inclusive in your plans. APersonal Development Review (PDR)can provide a framework for employees to have open and regular conversations with their line manager about their performance, including reviewing their competency, personal development and career goal:

When you have a structured Learning and Development plan it means that you understand the training your small business needs to drive growth – the ongoing growth of the business and the personal development and growth of your staff.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joanna Strahan is founder of C2C Training Group, which offers high quality assessment/competency-based courses in Health and Safety, leadership, business skills and personal development. Joanna brings 18 years industry experience to her training courses to ensure that learners are engaged and change is generated. C2C Training’s aim is to break industry norms and influence positive change to the way training is delivered.

Web: https://c2ctraining.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/c2c-training/