Sustainability diagnostic tool offers bottom line boost to Staffordshire businesses

Business leaders in Staffordshire are improving environmental efficiency and identifying opportunities for cost savings thanks to a new business analysis tool that promotes sustainable growth.

The Environmental Sustainability GROWTHmapper, which is available at no cost to eligible Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire businesses, is a comprehensive business diagnostic tool that helps identify opportunities for environmental improvement and development.

Mark Johnson, Managing Director, Johnson Tiles Ltd, Staffordshire based manufacturer designing and making ceramic tiles since 1901, said:

This is a useful tool for businesses to identify their strength and weaknesses on sustainability and develop a focussed strategy for improvement.”

Delivered by Staffordshire Business Environment Network (sben) which is hosted by Staffordshire County Council, the network is made up of 250 businesses who either work in or are interested in the green sector. The tool is being delivered via an experienced team of trained and accredited coaches.

The Environmental Sustainability GROWTHmapper poses a series of business assessment questions to each business’ senior management team. The result is a detailed report covering relative strengths and weaknesses in key areas of sustainability, allowing the business to identify priorities for further improvements. Through SBEN’s established relationships with environmental and sustainability professional bodies, support services, funding programs, mentors, and networks, “scope of support” is provided consisting regional and national support programs.

The initial questions take around 10-15 minutes to answer, and are accessible remotely via any internet connected device. Topics covered include waste minimisation, water efficiency, sustainable procurement and staff awareness, prompting constructive discussions within senior management teams.

We are fully committed to managing its environmental footprint and developing an holistic approach to ‘the circular economy.”

said Nigel Evans, Managing Director of electric vehicle charging business EVC Solutions based in Stafford.

We therefore found it very insightful to see the results coming back from the tool to benchmark how we feel we are doing and gather our thoughts on the next steps to take.”

The Environmental Sustainability tool was developed by business support specialist Oxford Innovation, which has consolidated more than 20 years’ experience of nurturing successful high growth businesses into its suite of GROWTHmapper business diagnostic tools.

The various GROWTHmapper tools cover key aspects of establishing and growing a successful business, including strategy, leadership, operations, sales and innovation. GROWTHmapper has been used by more than 30,000 businesses on national and regional business support programmes to date.

To learn more about how the Environmental Sustainability GROWTHmapper can help businesses identify opportunities for sustainable growth, visit https://sben.co.uk/funded-support/environmental-sustainability-growthmapper/