admin
Posts by :
Ellesmere Port Industrial Area
Our Story
The Ellesmere Port Industrial Area is one of the largest industrial employment clusters in the North West region, and one of the most significant clusters users in the country. The area is characterised by international and nationally significant industrial facilities and users, currently contributing to around 5% of the UK’s CO2 emissions.
Cheshire West and Chester Council announced a Climate Emergency declaration on 21st May 2019 with a target of 2045, ahead of the UK’s overall commitment to be Net Zero by 2050. Since this declaration the council has engaged with a range of partners to develop its plans and response to the emergency.
The project presents a development and infrastructure framework containing a vision, themes and strategic objectives for the Ellesmere Port Area. The shared vision is to form one of the first Net Zero carbon technologies. The project could bring in more than £1.8 billion worth of investment for jobs and the borough’s green economy.
Our Solution
We are striving to become one of the UK’s first ‘SuperPlaces’, supporting the UK Government’s ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ that will deliver a network of world leading clean industry, power, and transport companies innovating new solutions to tackle the Climate Emergency. To do this we will look to connect local people to job, skills, and training opportunities in high value, innovative and growing employment sectors. Improving the connections between local people and opportunities through awareness raising was well as sustainable travel connections to the area.
We aim to be at the forefront of research, development and implementation of a new generation of industrial processes that helps us respond to the climate emergency, and ultimately become the world’s first Net Zero cluster. This will act as a global example for how a range of low carbon and sustainable technologies can be delivered at an industrial scale.
By placing Ellesmere Port on the world stage, the wider region of Cheshire will benefit from a major profile boost whilst safeguarding existing employers, allowing expansion and indigenous growth, and helping to foster a diverse range of job opportunities which will create a sustainable economy and support the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
Winsford Town Council Electric Vehicle
Our Story
In September 2019, Winsford Town Council declared a Climate Emergency and identified a Climate Strategy for the town. This gave the Council a good basis for identifying initiatives and ideas designed to tackle the issue of climate change.
One such initiative identified by members related to the Council’s only vehicle, which is used to transport materials around the town and elsewhere; in getting staff to various places owned and managed by the council; and to assist in the holding of events, such as Remembrance Sunday.
The vehicle was leased, and was due to expire in February 2021. So Councillors asked that – rather than replace the existing diesel vehicle with the same, the Council, recognising its role as a community leader and keen to set a good example to others, looked at an electric replacement.
As a result, extensive work was done in exploring the market to see what options were available and what the climate and financial advantages were for the Town Council.
Following receipt of various quotes from different suppliers – including local suppliers – the Town Council selected Drive Electric as its preferred supplier as they were able to offer a suitable vehicle at an appropriate cost for the Council.
From this point onwards, the process was straightforward and the council was able to take possession of the new electric vehicle in September 2021.
The Challenge
As mentioned above, Winsford Town Council recognised the position faced by all areas in terms of climate change and declared a climate emergency in the town. It followed this declaration up by developing a Climate Strategy for Winsford which sets out the areas of focus for the Council’s climate interventions.
In terms of its own operations, the Council recognises that it is a smaller organisation with a limited list of assets. As a result, resources were limited and we looked to external funding options, including from Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Climate Emergency Fund. However, we were unsuccessful.
Despite this, putting an application together was extremely helpful exercise as it allowed the Council to put a business case together to support the move towards an electric vehicle.
It was vital to create a clear strategic position and to make sure we were clear as to why we were making that decision was just as important. Applying for external funding allowed us to form a business case for our plans, and asked us useful questions about how we were going to make our plans work from a financial perspective.
Our Solution
Replacing the diesel vehicle with the electric one acted as a ‘quick win’ for the council in helping achieve it’s wider climate ambitions. As a result, the Council noticed it was paying less on fuel bills, thus saving money for the Council, lower emissions and also achieving the same millage as the diesel vehicle.
Once the electric vehicle was obtained, the Council were able to sell the existing diesel vehicle to a third party at a modest profit which was useful in terms of the constant financial challenges faced by all local authorities.
As a result, the Peugeot electric van supplied to us by Drive Electric works excellently for the Council and its staff. They have responded very well to the introduction of the new van and the benefit for the town has been felt in terms of event management and also in terms of park management. As a zero-emission vehicle, we are reducing our own carbon emissions into the town.
This is just one of the steps taken by the Council in relation to tackling climate change. We are currently undertaking a project that will transform the Guildhall, which includes installing heat pumps and extensive insulation of the building to conserve energy use.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
Procure Plus
Our Story
The creation of Procure Plus Holdings (PP) and a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) was born out of a need for a bespoke, product targeted framework for goods and materials for the emerging retrofit market. This enabled the DPS to embed a social value target.
The Local Authority Delivery Phase 2 (LAD2) was a major £300 million programme to fund home retrofit in England, a partnership with the Local Energy North West Hub (hub) also helped deliver a £52 million regional programme in March 2022.
The project funded energy-saving improvements to the homes of people throughout the North West region, helping tack fuel poverty, deliver cost-effective carbon savings, support clean growth, and ensure homes are thermally comfortable, efficient, and well-adapted to climate change.
The hub supported the creation of Procure Plus, providing a scalable, compliant route to market for authorities across the North West to access goods and services. Procure Plus was able to help the DPS deliver excellent value for money, a managed service, and meaningful and quantifiable social value.
Working with the companies, sub-contractors, and construction related supply chains, Procure Plus identifies entry level job opportunities in the area, then work with the local community to ensure these go to the right people in the right areas.
The challenge
Being able to deliver real social value whilst also delivering an excellent procurement and management service is what sets the partnerships apart, and meant the Hub has been able to deliver even more value for local communities, but it didn’t go without its challenges.
Before striking this partnership, we had to make sure that we both understood one another’s requirements and skill set, meaning effective communication was critical initially, and throughout the project. We also had to make sure the partner had the experience and know-how to deliver and manage procurements at this scale and complexity.
The multi-faceted nature of the project and the procurement process meant that a partner must be able to provide an end-to-end solution and support in the delivery and integrating real social value.
Given we were working on a one-year funding cycle, it presented a challenge for the programme to provide sufficient funding for a typical apprenticeship, which lasted two years in length.
Our solution
Procure Plus’s model enabled short courses to be offered to individuals within the community, moving people swiftly into employment. Typically for this programme, training included carbon literacy, working at heights, asbestos awareness and health and safety certificates.
Support is offered throughout the first six months of employment, identifying opportunities for candidates to undertake further training and gain trade-based qualifications. to develop careers within construction. Procure Plus seeks to work with those organisations who support people from many backgrounds including; the long term unemployed; ex-offenders; BAME; NEET young people; disabled people; over 50’s; people with a history of homelessness; and, people leaving the care system.
One of our proudest stories is 19 year old Declan who, since he was 11, has been in and out of care. Having attended a community programme as part of the partnership between Procure Plus and the Hub, Declan was able to gain his CSCS Green Card, Health and Safety level 1, and Environmental Ambassador Accreditation.
This gave him an opportunity to apply for a job with a local business completing retrofit works on residential properties locally. Fast forward to now, and Declan has remained in employment and has been offered funding for further training and qualifications from his employer, as well as moving out of temporary accommodation and start a new life!
In total, the project has enabled 30 people to find employment, 44 trained in retrofit jobs, and also create a housing retrofit supply chain and carbon literacy across the Liverpool City Region.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
What More UK’s Circular Economy Success
Our Story
The journey to reduce our carbon and environmental impact started when we began recycling 100% post-industrial plastic and products that didn’t meet QC standards. Transferring out waste to a recycling centre, it is processed (along with material from other companies) to create our Wham Barn material, which we then mould to manufacture boxes. By repeating this process, we realised the true potential value in our waste.
Our initiative to manufacture and introduce upcycled products to our range started in early 2018. Following a ban on importing plastic from China, the UK had a void in terms of a sustainable solution to single-use plastic waste, with most either being sent to landfill or the incinerator. Responding to this change in policy, we worked directly with recyclers and material scientists to trial and develop a process which was commercially viable.
Using more upcycled and recycled materials has allowed us to offer an ever-expanding range of products to our customers that have a much lower carbon and environmental impact. With the help of our suppliers and team we can continue to expand our production and contribute towards a circular plastics economy with a smaller carbon footprint.
The Challenge
Engaging with local communities and business groups was paramount to the projects success. This gave us a valuable insight into what works, what people want and how we could achieve our goals. Moreover, it helped spread a positive message and gained traction and support for our project by engaging with local groups. There is often a misconception among communities about plastic so it was important for us to educate people on this, and it proved to be a successful way of mobilising support for our wide range of upcycled and recycled products.
Many people simply didn’t understand the difference between our plastic and a throwaway plastic bottle. By engaging people on the difference between the lifecycles of the two groups of plastics, we have gained enormous traction which is partly demonstrated by our huge increase in production of recycled and upcycled products.
Research is another key thing to consider with a project like this; specifically what’s been done before, what’s been unsuccessful, and what hasn’t been tried before helped direct our project. Once our concept was nailed down, finding the best people for the job to refine and streamline the process was key and helped achieve the best result for our products.
By understanding the true extent of the problem we were aiming to address, it helped us find the best solution. We measured every parameter possible, and enabled us to gain a better pictured of the issue we were tackling. In our case it was measuring scrap output, supply of external recyclables, GHG emissions, production capacity of recyclers, and our own manufacturing processes.
Our Solution
The need to develop this project was twofold. Firstly, we wanted to innovate by transforming what others consider waste into valuable products, contributing towards the circular economy and putting less pressure on limited resources. Every tonne of up/recycled material we process into durable, long lasting boxes is a tonne of plastic not dumped on a landfill site or incinerated.
We estimate that the CO2 emissions from producing up/recycled material are between 6 – 7.5 times less than virgin material – which is a huge positive. By using these materials, we effectively eliminate 63% of the CO2 emissions related to the entire plastic value chain – from the initial production phase of plastic. Secondly we understand the growing concern around sustainability and we felt it was our responsibility as a plastics manufacturer to provide our customers a solution made out of the problem.
In total, we reckon that 4,068 tonnes of CO2 in the global plastic value chain could be offset by using recycled material. We are proud that our range or products has now expanded to over 100 products. With help from our suppliers and our team, we can continue to expand our production and contribute towards a circular plastics economy with a smaller carbon footprint.