Business and the environment

Woking Borough Council recognises the important role that the local business community can play in both mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The Council has sought to develop partnerships with local service providers, experts and business networks in order to provide Woking's businesses with access to support and information to address climate change.

The Council signposts local businesses to these information sources through the Council's contact centre, and through Council publications such as `Woking Magazine'. The current review of the Climate Change Strategy has accounted for the need to involve local businesses in the strategy, so will include a new 'business' theme.

A representative from Woking Chamber of Trade and Commerce was invited to join the Climate Change Working Group in 2007, in order to represent Woking's business community in discussions regarding the development and implementation of the strategy.

An innovative partnership with Woking Chamber of Trade and Commerce

Woking Borough Council has supported an exciting partnership led by Woking Chamber of Trade and Commerce, also involving Surrey County Council, Business Link Surrey and Woking Local Agenda 21. The partnership set out to develop a programme to raise awareness of sustainability, climate change and environmental management issues amongst local businesses during 2006 and 2007. The partnership established a sub-group which has met monthly to take these objectives forward.

The programme commenced in November 2006 with a Breakfast Meeting for local businesses regarding environmental management systems, involving a presentation from Envirowise. This was followed by a second Breakfast Meeting in May 2007 when the Environment Agency spoke to delegates regarding sustainable waste management and environmental regulations. Both meetings attracted more than 40 delegates from local businesses.

The partnership has recently celebrated the launch of 'Making Woking a More Sustainable and Profitable Place to do Business'. This guide provides Woking's business community with an introduction to running a green business and a reference outline to current environmental legislation and responsibilities for the future. The guide was sponsored by Woking Borough Council, Surrey County Council and Envirowise. The publication was launched in October 2007 at the 'Woking Means Business' exhibition. The guide has been posted to members of the Chamber and placed on the Woking Chamber website. The partnership intends to meet again in January 2008 to consider how to build on this success.

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Woking Borough Council supports Business Link Surrey by signposting local businesses to the Sustainable Business Service. The Council is in regular contact with Business Link's Sustainable Business Adviser, and promotes relevant activities and events through the contact centre and the www.woking.gov.uk website. One upcoming example is Business Link's free 'Marketing your Green Credentials' seminar in Woking on 18 December 2007. The service provides local businesses with access to assistance which can help them to address mitigation and adaptation to climate change and other sustainability issues.

Business Link's Sustainable Business Service can help businesses become more sustainable by assisting them to reduce costs, see how operating in a more sustainable manner will help them find more customers, and understand how environmental legislation affects their business.

The service is delivered on the ground by a Sustainable Business Adviser located at Business Link Surrey's headquarters in Woking. Business Link's brokerage role is to refer customers to specialist partners, suppliers and support providers. The Sustainable Business Service is free and many of its brokerage partners' services are also free.

The service also includes proactive campaigns to reach key sectors such as care, tourism, and construction and to assist start up companies providing environmental goods and services. Broader reach campaigns focus on issues such as resource efficiency, social responsibility and climate change.

The service focuses on two main areas - resource efficiency and social responsibility. Businesses are encouraged to tackle these issues for sustainability and profitability reasons.

  • By addressing resource efficiency, customers can find ways to save money and increase profits.

  • By addressing social responsibility, companies can improve staff retention, raise their profile in the community, and support the local economy.

  • The Sustainable Business Service can also help companies comply with legislation that stems from both Resource Efficiency and Social Responsibility issues.

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Business in the Community

In March 2007, the Council hosted an event for Business in the Community (BITC). The event, which was attended by HRH The Prince of Wales the President of BITC, sought to showcase local authority and business examples of climate change action, and included a seminar which used local authority and business case studies from Woking Borough Council, Shropshire County Council, Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership and Marks and Spencer.

The visit also saw the launch of a touring exhibition by the British Council of Shopping Centres and BITC at the Peacocks Shopping Centre in Woking. 'The Exhibition', sponsored by BSkyB and in association with The Climate Group, is now touring shopping centres up and down the country and uses a series of interactive and information displays on various climate change and sustainability themes.

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