Business Efficiency and Sustainable Technology

Contribution to sustainable development and people’s quality of life:

BEST network aims to assist businesses in the East Midlands improve their resource efficiency and carbon footprint. We help businesses work towards implementing an environmental management system (EMS) in line with the British standard BS8555 and International standard ISO 14001, which will lead businesses to beome more sustianable whilst improving their bottom line.

Organisation:

The BEST Network is based at The Nottingham Trent University and it’s key partners include Loreus Ltd, a company specialising in software development, training and consultancy; Experian, the Nottingham-based information solutions company, and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda).

Sector: Public and Partnership

Location: Office in Nottingham, service across the East Midlands.

Start Date and expected duration: Our project first began in 2002 and has secured funding to continue assisting business in the East Midlands through to December 2007.

Summary: The BEST Network holds regular practical workshops and seminars for SMEs (Small to Medium Sized Enterprises), where innovative IT Tools are used to develop an EMS. These IT tools are free to eligible businesses, and assist in conducting a baseline environmental review, assessing the risk of business activities using a significance calculator and providing a method to train staff in EMS implementation.  Businesses are handholded to at least Phase 1 of the British Standard BS8555 guidelines; however, the IT tools enable businesses to progress further down the EMS route, if they so wish.

Background: The BEST Network project began in 2002, after academics from the Nottingham Trent University had run other smaller environmental management programmes in the region.  They had recognised a need for SMEs to have access to information on environmental management and environmental best practice.   The BEST Network initially assisted 110 businesses over its first two years and then secured an additional £3 million funding package in January of 2004 to expand the services offered to businesses, and expects to work with 425 businesses in the East Midlands before December 2007.

Project results: During the last four years, BEST network has assisted more than 400 companies in the implementation of an EMS programme, which includes writing an environmental policy and identifying areas for improvement, such as reducing waste production, conserving energy and streamlining transport.

BEST Netowrk has also won a Green Apple Environment Award in 2004, beating off competition form more than 1,000 entries. Green Apple Awards, run by The Green Organisation, are intended to recognise and publicise companies,corporations and individuals who are taking steps to preserve and protect the environment. BEST Network won both the Organisations and Individual Categories. 

A range of business case studies can be seen on the NEST website www.best-network.co.uk .

 Keywords: Resource Efficiency, Business Efficiency, Sustainability, EMS , BS8555, ISO 14001

Contact Details:

Sara Macey, Project Manager, BEST Network

The Nottingham Trent University

Clifton Lane

Nottingham 

NG11 8NU
E-mail: sara.macey@ntu.ac.uk

Web: www.best-network.co.uk

Updated: 11 April 2006