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Joining with our fellow BCorp members, we have declared a climate emergency. We strongly believe that businesses n… https://t.co/DccUvBUfoO

17h

Get your year off to a winning start by joining our short webinar on 29th January. We will reflect on the changes… https://t.co/WYvZb3tQ1a

20h

Why are we committing to net zero carbon by 2020? Find out here: https://t.co/9UTnkz4qfD #ZeroCarbon… https://t.co/aj9nO6HPqb

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Why we are committing to Net Zero Carbon by 2020

On 11th December, we declared a climate emergency with our fellow BCorp members. Along with this declaration, we have also committed to achieve Net Zero Carbon by the end of this year.We strongly believe that there is indeed an emergency which needs to be urgently addressed. This declaration is strongly aligned to our company vision: To provide solutions for a zero carbon world. Part of our mission statement is to make a material difference to global carbon targets and so it is important to us that we lead by example. We are ‘here to help you achieve zero’ and we strongly believe in doing this ourselves.Verco is a passionate team of sustainability professionals, committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our clients and within our own business and personal lives. Our commitment is also part of a much wider CSR initiative in Verco. We are extremely proud of our BCorp status and have also been ISO 14001 compliant since 2011. We have a dedicated CSR team across the business, with representatives in each of our three offices. Our team is continuously improving business practices aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals including “Climate Action”, “Responsible Consumption and Production” and “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, which were chosen through employee surveys. The goals are formally included in our company CSR and Environmental strategy. Performance against these is monitored annually . Read

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STEM: Volunteering for Our Future

When putting together Verco’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Policy and Strategy it was important for the CSR team to consider both the personal and professional growth of the company’s employees, and ways in which Verco can contribute meaningfully to our local community. One way in which we have chosen to try and combine these by “providing dedicated volunteering opportunities for all employees” and encouraging employees to become STEM Ambassadors.STEM AmbassidorsSTEM is an acronym used to group together the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. At Verco these disciplines are familiar to a significant proportion of our workforce and make STEM an interesting and attractive prospect for volunteering opportunities. Ambassadors are asked to offer their time, enthusiasm and knowledge of a subject to help engage young people with STEM and the value of STEM subjects in life and their future careers. Read

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Maximise your GRESB potential: Webinar and Points Hunter

The new GRESB Real Estate assessment guidance has been published and it includes some significant changes for 2020.It includes an increased weighting on development activities and less weight on some of the policy and strategy elements within the Management component. The assessment continues to evolve towards a focus on improvement in performance of the assets within portfolios. Read

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How we are going to achieve net zero carbon by 2020

Joining with our fellow BCorp members, we have declared a climate emergency. We strongly believe that businesses need to act now. Therefore, we have also committed to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2020.A planned approachWe have taken a planned approach, we have a Verco CSR team with CSR champions in each of our 3 offices. Spearheaded by our CSR lead, Craig Morey, our CSR team have been working hard to develop and implement an achievable strategy that works for our business. Many of our milestones have already been achieved: Read

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ESOS is finished- now what? Free action packs for site engineering managers.

As an engineering manager of a large industrial business, to meet your ESOS requirements you have almost certainly had some experts in to tell your senior management how much energy can be saved and how easy it will be. There is likely to now be an expectation for you to deliver these savings (on top of the day job) and our ESOS action pack will help you to do it: Read

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Immediate savings of >£30k/y with zero capital investment from ESOS recommendations and use of Carbon Desktop

The Carbon Desktop ‘Spotlight’ is a showcase of the impressive results that Carbon Desktop users have achieved.This month we are pleased to be sharing the work of Kurt Foy and Neil Duthie at Saputo Dairy UK’s site in Davidstow. Saputo Dairy UK produces and sells some of the best-loved food brands in the UK, including Cathedral City cheddar and Clover spread, as well as specialised ingredients used in infant formula. Read

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Verco partners with Envizi

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Envizi to deliver major projects for our global Real Estate clients.Envizi is one of the world’s leading energy, sustainability and building optimisation software providers. They have a proven track record across more than 160 enterprise clients whose operations span over 160,000 locations in 112 countries. Read

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Celebrating 30 years of Verco; An interview with Jeff Kenna

As part of our 30 year anniversary we are reflecting on the history of Verco. Jeff Kenna who founded ESD back in 1989 talks to us about the company's early years, how it was formed, the projects it was involved with and the 'work hard' ethos that was established from the start.So how did the company originate and develop over the last 30 years?In the 1980s there was nothing renewable energy-wise in Europe. So we thought we’d set up a company and came up with the name ESD (Energy for Sustainable Development), not just doing consultancy work, but looking for new ideas to create new businesses, which would provide renewable energy services, technologies, and products. Read

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Tom Adeyoola joins the Verco board

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Adeyoola to the Verco board as a Non-Executive Director. Tom is an experienced tech entrepreneur and founder of Metail, an innovative visualisation and fit solution for the clothing industry. Tom was named amongst the “Ones to Watch” in the Telegraph’s Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders in 2018. Other Non-Executive positions include Do Nation, an environmental behaviour change platform and formerly Elvie, a women's personal wellness technology company. Tom joins us at an exciting time as we develop the tools to deliver on our vision to provide solutions for a zero carbon world. Read

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Verco celebrates 30 years!

October 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of Verco’s founding – a period which has seen the company expand, diversify and shift through multiple incarnations, before, as Dave Worthington (Managing Director) remarks, emerging “back out the other side as an independent consultancy again”. Sustainability has remained at the heart of the company’s collective ethos however, leading to many successful projects and partnerships across the globe.The company now known as Verco, was originally established in Ethiopia in 1989. Jeff Kenna, one of its founders, recalls “In the 1980s there was nothing renewable energy-wise in Europe. So we thought we’d set up a company, and came up with the name ESD (Energy for Sustainable Development) – not just doing consultancy work, but looking for new ideas to create new businesses, which would provide renewable energy services, technologies and products”. Read

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Woodland conservation day in Bath

On Thursday 5th September, our Overmoor office donated a day of time to help maintain the 24-acre community woodland on the western edge of Bath.Primrose Hill Community Woodland is maintained and enhanced by Primrose Hill Community Woodland Trust. The trust bought the woodland in 2012 and has been maintaining and enhancing it ever since. The Trust works with others in the community including ‘Grow Yourself’, a local Community Interest Company which offers unemployed 18-25 year olds the opportunity to work in the community. Read

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Carbon reporting has evolved from CRC to SECR

The requirements for GHG reporting have changed with the arrival of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR).SECR is the UK government's new energy and carbon reporting scheme. The purpose of SECR is to: Read

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Verco's Chorley office donates time to the Wildlife Trust

Based on the site of an old quarry, Brockholes Nature Reserve is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. The Trust has used their expertise to create habitats for lots of different wildlife in 250 acres of reserve and Verco Chorley visited for the third year running on Wednesday to carry out their annual team volunteering afternoon.In past years they have helped with the removal of Himalayan Balsam and created some dead hedges along one of the many trails the site has. This year however they assisted in removing dock and ragwort plants from one of the meadows. Read