London Development Agency
28 BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITIES
London Development Agency
Website launched to help businesses www. less –
www. less – online. com go green
London Environmental Support Service( LESS) – www. less – online. com – is a new website to help businesses save money and go green at the same time. It aims to help companies who want to use less water, electricity, materials and also to emit less carbon dioxide, but don’ t know where to start, by offering them advice and support that will help them to change their business operations, so they not only become more competitive through saving money, but also protect the environment.
LESS was launched last month at the London Development Agency( LDA). The LDA are providing funding for the project to support the Mayor of London’ s vision for London as a sustainable world city – which includes helping businesses to become more environmentally sustainable – in conjunction with Defra’ s Business Resource Efficiency and Waste initiative. It is delivered by Atkins, an engineering and design consultancy, and supported by Business Link for London.
LESS aims to promote the benefits of environmental management to business, encouraging them to access the services on the website, so they can implement actions that will save them money, as well as protect the environment. Additionally, LESS will also encourage visitors to share their knowledge and experiences, so that over time the site will become an online resource, both for the providers of business support and companies.
Café Spice Ltd is an Indian restaurant company which saved a lot of money by making changes to its operating procedures. It increased its resource efficiency through the reduction of its water consumption with flush water controls and by installing a water purification and carbonisation system. The company additionally saved a further £ 7,000 pa though the installation of a grease recovery system. Its proprietor, Cyrus Rustom Todiwala, commented:
“ Not only did waste minimisation improve efficiency and reduce overheads, but it also vastly improved working conditions, which in turn improved staff morale.”
The challenge for LESS is to sign up businesses like Café Spice Ltd to become a members so that they can share the benefits of their experience with others who are thinking about using their resources more efficiently but don’ t know where to start. When they join, members are given access to the discussion section of the site, an events calendar, and will be able to add news items and contribute to the members’ list of frequently asked questions, as well as accessing the wide range of support services available.
LESS acknowledges that businesses, particularly small to medium – sized enterprises( SMEs) often have fewer resources to spend on advice and support that could help them to change their working practices and save them money. However, often simple measures like turning off lights or computers when they’ re not being used or installing water saving devices can lead to savings in the long – run. LESS should therefore make it easier for businesses to find advice and support that helps them to realise this in the future.
Project Manager, Niraj Saraf from Atkins commented:“ Today marks a big step forward in improving the accessibility of environmental support to businesses in London. The challenges for us now are to ensure that LESS represents the full range of quality services available and then to deliver those services, and be seen to deliver them.” For more information to find out how LESS can help your business visit www. less – online. com engage | uk ISSUE THREE 2007