I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. I trust that you are all now settled back in at work after the festive break. In this, the first EnviroCluster news bulletin, I would like to draw your attention to the upcoming Ambassador's Dinner in Peterborough on February 20th. We are planning on hosting an EnviroCluster table at the event to showcase the strength of the sector, but also to get involved with the excellent networking opportunities at this event. If you would like to be part of the EnviroCluster table, please contact me before Friday 16th January! Full details can be found below.

Gareth Jones
EnviroCluster Manager

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Click here to view the EnviroCluster events calendar.

The EnviroCluster will once again be represented at this years Ambassador's Dinner which is being run by Opportunity Peterborough. We have a number of spaces left on our table, so if you would like to come along, please reserve you place by Friday 16th January! The Ambassador's Dinner is a great chance to network with the business community in Peterborough, and it is hoped that the environment sector will be well represented. This years guest speaker is Pierre Yves Gerbeau, Chief Executive of X-Leisure.

Tickets are £75+VAT and the dress code is black tie.

Please contact Helen Bossett for further information or details on how to join the EnviroCluster table.

Despite the economic downturn and decline in the oil price since the peaks of the summer the Gulf region remains committed to substantial growth. As a result there are a whole host of business opportunities currently available in areas such as Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Over the course of the evening our expert speakers will give an insight into the culture and language issues associated with working in the Gulf region as well as focussing on two key areas - Bahrain and Dubai. The evening will also include practical advice from local businesses that are already active and successful in the Gulf Region through a series of case studies.

Why should I attend?
* To explore the opportunity the region offers
* To learn of the different Business Culture and how to engage successfully with it
* To understand how to enter the market at low cost and with minimum risk
* To access expertise and support for business development in the region
* To network with potential partners

This event is being held at the excellent conference facilities at Wyboston Lakes. This venue is very easily accessible, located on the junction of the A1/A428 close to St Neots.

For more information and to view the event flier, click here.

Beyond 2010 is giving businesses in the East of England access to sector specific training advice and funding for new skills to harness their full potential.

Our team of experienced specialists are working with SMEs to both identify higher level training opportunities that will provide a targeted solution to training needs and help them to access up to 50% of the cost of that training.

Beyond 2010 is funded by the European Social Fund and East of England Development Agency and managed by the Essex Development & Regeneration Agency.

Beyond 2010 includes the Response to Redundancy programme which provides information, advice and re-training opportunities to individuals facing redundancy. This programme is managed by The Consultancy Home Counties (TCHC) on behalf of ExDRA.

The project works alongside Train to Gain to ensure that businesses can get the skills training that they need. Businesses employing up to 250 staff can contact specialist sector advisors who are able to discuss training needs in detail and agree with the business which training course will best meet their needs. Up to half of the cost of training is available from EEDA and the European Social Fund.

Beyond 2010 focuses on ten key sectors of the East of England's economy:

• automotive and high-tech manufacture
• creative sector
• financial services 
• food and drink processing
• life sciences and healthcare
• low carbon and sustainable technologies
• social enterprise
• sustainable communities and the built environment
• tourism and Olympics 2012
• transport gateways

To apply for a training grant in the environment, low carbon or sustainable technologies sector, contact Gareth Jones at EnviroCluster on 01733 311644.

Beyond 2010 is managed by ExDRA and is the follow-up to the successful Towards 2010 programme which assisted nearly 2,400 businesses to train over 8,800 of their staff in areas that would make a tangible difference to business performance.

Please register for free at www.envirocluster.net

If you work for an environmental company or organisation in the Greater Peterborough area (see map) then get involved with EnviroCluster and register with the site for free. This will give you access to the entire site where you can find information on business opportunities, business and social networking events, access to your own control panel where you can submit your own news and events to the site, registration for frequent EnviroCluster email bulletins, and a listing in the members directory. If your organisation is already in the directory, then sign-up to edit your listing. Please encourage all of your colleagues to register with EnviroCluster to make us an even stronger EGS community in Peterborough.

EnviroCluster seeks to support and develop Greater Peterborough's environmental goods and services sector by identifying and exploiting business opportunities and by encouraging start-ups. EnviroCluster also attracts inward investment through networking activities and demonstration projects. EnviroCluster is privately-funded and is led by UK CEED. The initiative is also helping Peterborough to become the UK's Environment Capital.