Business

Calculating your carbon footprint as an individual or household is a fairly straightforward process, but calculating the carbon footprint of an organisation can be considerably more complicated and time-consuming.  WinACC has therefore launched an Associate Membership scheme.  Associate Members are organisations that pledge and work towards joining WinACC over a six-month period and, if necessary, receive help and support from WinACC in calculating their carbon footprint and identifying significant steps for reducing their carbon emissions.   If your organization is interested in signing up to become an Associate Member, please contact Chris Holloway, membership@winacc.org.uk. 

A new online resource will assist forward-looking businesses in preparing for the effects of climate change.  In tough economic times many are already looking to reduce the future risks to their business, make the most of emerging opportunities and keep ahead of the game as the economic outlook improves.
 
‘Preparing for Change: climate-proof your tourism business’ is available at www.climateprepared.com.  It has been developed in partnership by Climate South East, South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership, South West Tourism and Tourism South East, and is structured around the impacts of severe weather.  Each section tells how businesses might be affected, suggests practical actions to reduce the risk or take a

A new film aimed at encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to seize the opportunities presented by addressing climate change has been launched.

We want to help enable more people to cycle into work by encouraging employers to sign up to the ‘Cycle to Work Guarantee.’

Employers who sign the Guarantee, pledge to implement a series of simple, low cost measures to make cycling to work easier for those who wish to do so, thereby encouraging as many people as possible to cycle to work. It is basically about removing the barriers that might stop people getting on their bikes.

To promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution, the 1999 Finance Act introduced an annual tax exemption, which allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The exemption was one of a series of measures introduced under the Government’s Green Transport Plan. The following guidelines clarify how organisations can take advantage of the exemption to implement a Cycle to Work scheme that encourages employees to cycle to work and allows employers to reap the benefits of a healthier workforce.

On 9 October, the Winchester District Strategic Partnership (WDSP) organised a seminar for public and private sector organisations to learn more about how to take carbon emissions into account in their procurement - in other words, in deciding what to buy. The presentations from the workshop are on the WDSP website at http://www.wdsp.co.uk/board/strategic_outcome_groups/high_quality_environment/carbon_sensitive_procurement_seminar/

For all organisational members of WinACC,. including Associates

Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC) is pleased to announce that Warrens Commercial Office Supplies, the well known local stationery and office supplies company, is the first business in the district to become an Associate Member of the organisation.

Following the announcement that businesses who wish to become members of WinACC but who are working toward measuring their carbon footprint can now join as Associate Members, we are delighted to announce that the first ones have now signed up.  They are Marwell Wildlife, Sarsen Press, Warrens Commercial Office Supplies, Winchester Travel Health and Design Engine Architects. Welcome to them all and we look forward to working with them to help them measure their carbon impact and decide on their actions to reduce it.  We look forward to welcoming other businesses who support WinACC but have not yet been able to calculate their carbon footprint.