Firms warned to get greener (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Firms warned to get greener

BUSINESSES are going to have to evolve and become more ethical or they could face extinction, according to a leading business change expert.

And becoming more sustainable will actually bring more, rather than less, profit.

Brett Sadler is part of Interchangers, a south west firm specialising in helping businesses make change.

It has teamed up with Swindon Chamber of Commerce to run a workshop for firms which want to learn more about what they can do to improve their environmental credentials and their bottom line. The session is called Profitable Sustainability.

Brett Sadler from Interchangers said: "It's about adopting ethical and sustainable business practices, and doing it so you get a return on it.

"Even if you believe about doing things to benefit the planet, businesses will not take it on board unless there's a return."

However, contrary to received wisdom there are many easy green and ethical ideas that firms can implement that will bring in more money.

Mr Sadler gave the example of waste metal recycling in the engineering industry.

If recycled as mixed metal, it is worth £5 a tonne, but if the swarf is sorted it can be sold at £75 a tonne.

Another example is the use of ground glass rather than aggregates in the construction industry, which removes both transportation costs and landfill tax. The workshop, to be held at the HTS conference centre at Lydiard Park on Tuesday, July 12 at 4pm, will be in three parts.

The first will be a general background to the issues surrounding sustainability and then there will be a specific case study given of a cleaning firm, which after looking for ecologically friendly cleaning products realised there was a gap in the market in this country.

It has now moved into distribution and training other firms on how to use them and has grown to a multimillion pound turnover.

The third part of the day will be a practical sustainability workshop where experts will be on hand to speak to businesses individually and find out what they are doing and offer advice on how to improve.

Mr Sadler said: "People say that it's only a minority interested in this but it's not. Supermarkets are beginning to look at their sourcing policy, and the Government has recently announced that its suppliers must prove their ethical credentials."

Legislation including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive from Europe which lays down rules on disposing of all electrical equipment is also coming in and needs to be abided by.

Mr Sadler said: "A lot of legislation is going to come in sooner and harder than expected."

To find out more contact Steph Trinci at Swindon Chamber on 01793 649574