Futures Supplies and Support Services Ltd, Valley Point Industrial Estate, Croydon.

FUTURES are independent distributors of washroom, cleaning, janitorial and associated products. The company was established in 1995 and employs twelve staff. 

The Futures management team are keen to demonstrate excellent service to their clients but in a manner that is genuine and integral to the way they do business. One way they have decided to do this is actively improving their environmental performance and since ENVIBE has been involved with Futures, they have saved over £4,500 through improved environmental actions. Early on they requested energy, waste, travel and purchasing reviews from ENVIBE partners to set priorities and very quickly produced an over-arching environmental policy to drive improvement. Their policy is supported by plenty of action. Some examples include:

• energy – reduced energy use through the application of timers; use of natural light in place of unnecessary outer perimeter strip lighting; phone chargers unplugged, computer screens and warehouse lights switched off when not in use; and manual carpet sweeper used in place of a electric vacuum cleaner in the office.
• travel – substantial reduction of transport use through decommission of one vehicle.  Futures have also replaced another vehicle with a hybrid car, and successfully implemented a travel plan.
• waste reduction – recycling measures for paper and card, double sided printing, reduced paper use through direct fax and computer based (SAGE) customer record system.  Futures reached recycling levels of 73% in 2006 resulting in several tons of waste being diverted from landfill.
• water – use of cistern devices and fixed leaking taps.

One key benchmark of a Gold ENVIBE winner is involvement in the local community. Futures have whole-heartedly embraced this element of the award by linking up with Croydon’s community involvement programme called the Croydon Commitment. Through this they have provided work placements for care leavers and in once instance have created a paid position following the placement.

Future’s environmental achievements are largely down to management and staff commitment. Regular monitoring, review and action planning against the policy takes place at every management meeting and staff are involved in developing practical ideas for improvement.

Futures have received bronze, silver and gold ENVIBE awards and are now pulling all areas of activity together under an ISO14001 Environmental Management System.  Futures have also been awarded the Green Guardian, Green Business award for Croydon.

Centrale Shopping Centre, High Street, Croydon

Centrale joined the Challenge in April, 2006 - a dedicated group of businesses committed to improving their environmental performance and saving money.  When joining the Challenge, Centrale did not have a waste segregation programme and all waste was sent to landfill.

Their first step was to produce measurable data to provide evidence and benchmark information.  The results shocked Centrale, and they were determined to improve and take serious action.  Working with ENVIBE, Centrale has established a waste programme, and recycled 18 tonnes of cardboard. This will continue to increase as the benefits unfold. ENVIBE provided regular one-one meetings, access to professional advice and reviews, and information about similar organisation and case studies.

Centrale has substantially reduced costs, and reduced the amount of waste going to landfill.  Centrale has also improved their business relations with surrounding organisations and improved their public image as a result of this scheme

Jones Lang Lasalle, Central Croydon

Jones Lang Lasalle manage a central Croydon office building on behalf of one of their international clients.  One aspect of the company’s responsibility is to manage utilities efficiently, recognising the need for staff to be committed to environmental activity personally for real step change to happen.

Staff are regularly informed in company newsletters about how well they are doing.  For example, following an end of year ‘Sort, Store and Shine’ Day, staff were told that the amount they had recycled had resulted in 64 trees being planted.  Other articles in the staff newsletter include information on environmental tips for the home.

More generally, Jones Lang Lasalle have a wide range of activities underway which include:

• energy – application of movement sensors and timers and development of an Energy Strategy
• travel – clear communication of public transport options to staff and visitors, risk assessments for pedestrian access and travel plan implementation under review
• waste reduction – recycling measures for paper, card, plastic, metals, glass and residue
• water – use of cistern devices and urinal flush timers.

ENVIBE partners have particularly worked with the company in developing a travel plan and working through the BS8555 environmental management system towards ISO14001.  Through this, and linking up with activities in schools through Croydon’s community involvement programme called the Croydon Commitment, Jones Lang have achieved a Gold ENVIBE award which has been recognised by Jones Lang Lasalle’s client not just in the UK but in the US Head Office too.

GRANTS, High Street, Croydon

The GRANTS entertainment complex is a popular social venue containing, amongst others, VUE cinema, Tiger Tiger, Lloyd Bar, Edwards and Holmes Places.  The Centre Manager, responsible for running the complex for the management company x-leisure, was keen to identify ways of reducing monthly bills and sought assistance from ENVIBE.

GRANTS received review visits and advice from two ENVIBE partners.  The manager was impressed by their specialist knowledge and practical suggestions that have taken into account the particular situation and needs of GRANTS.  Consequently, Grants now recycle all their glass and cardboard, totalling about 24 tonnes a month, and saving about £9,000 per year.  They also received a free energy audit from ENVIBE's Energy Partner, Creative Environmental Networks (CEN).  This identified energy efficiency improvements that could save £12,000 per year. The investment required was less than £2,000 which pays back in less than 2 months.

GRANTS has received a Bronze and Silver ENVIBE award to reward and recognise their efforts.