| News for Peterborough's Environment Capital Community | |
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Dear members,
Welcome to the last EnviroCluster Bulletin of 2008. I hope you are all looking forward to the festive break and have fun with whatever you are planning on doing. However, before you dash off to get the mince pies, take a moment to read some of the news stories below from the Environment Capital Community and take a look at some of the new funds and grants that are available for environmental businesses and organisations in Peterborough. The news bulletins will be back in 2009 along with a new programme of breakfast meetings in the Eco Innovation Centre, E5xpo 2009 and an array of projects from EnviroCluster that support organisations working in the environment sector. Kind regards, Gareth Jones Please forward this email on to anyone who you think would be interested in receiving it. |
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| New Funding Opportunities | |
Here is a list of the latest funding opportunities available to companies and organisations in the Peterborough EnviroCluster community. If you are looking to make an application for funding, please contact us and we will check through your application before you submit it to give it a better chance of being approved. Beyond 2010 Training Grants 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. To find out more click here. Bio-energy Capital Grants The purpose of the Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme is to promote the efficient use of biomass for energy, by stimulating the early deployment of biomass fuelled heat and biomass combined heat and power projects. It will do this by awarding capital grants towards the cost of equipment in complete installations. This round will be funded by DECC and is for England only. It is aimed at businesses, organisations and charities in the commercial, industrial and community sectors that are considering investing in biomass-fuelled heat and/or combined heat and power projects, including anaerobic digestion. There is no minimum grant aid in any one application and the maximum is £500,000 per installation. To find out more click here. £1k Low Carbon Vouchers No matter what kind of business you're in, low carbon issues are going to affect it; supply chain, operations and customers are all part of the challenge. The opportunities are huge to develop cheaper, faster and better solutions and the East of England is leading the way. The purpose of the £1k low carbon voucher scheme is to stimulate low carbon economic growth by helping SMEs connect with the East of England universities. To find out more click here. The Ixion Challenege Ixion Holdings Ltd is a successful non-profit making business support organisation which wants to help other businesses in the region be equally successful. We play a significant role in helping businesses to grow and thrive. In today's challenging and sometimes uncertain markets, our relationships with government funding bodies, government agencies and non government organisations (NGO), allows us to influence public spend and help ensure that the support goes where it is needed most in the UK employer base. To find out more click here. |
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| Improve Your Environmental Management | |
Whether you want to maintain custom from key clients, save money or reduce your carbon footprint, good environmental management can help. Here are some of our success stories:
Why choose Business Envestors?
The way Business Envestors help a company achieve their environmental management objectives varies from organisation to organisation, and can be made up of on-site support, training, networking with other companies or the provision of information and templates to fast-track your company’s environmental management. If you can spare half an hour, the team would be happy to meet with you and discuss the best way that Business Envestors can cater for your needs. To find out more click here. |
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| Indesit Include Recycled Content In High-Value Items | |
Pelletised recycled plastic has been successfully incorporated into Indesit washing machines. The Italian-owned company, which has its UK headquarters in Peterborough, has produced a back panel for two its washing machine models using 100% recycled content, following trials funded by the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP). Undertaken in conjunction with Manchester-based plastic recycling company Axion Recycling, the trial was intended to research the potential to extract recycled plastic material from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and use it in manufacturing new products. Robert Shaw, design manager at Indesit Company, said: "Having successfully completed the trial, we now plan to roll out the innovation to some models of our Hotpoint Aquarius and Ultima washing machine range. "We are now considering how further savings can be made by using recycled content within other component parts, throughout our manufacturing operations," he added. Working with its sub-contract plastic moulding company RGE, Indesit produced an access panel made from recovered fridge waste, which had been shredded and made into high grade polymer pellet, to fit on the back of washing machines. Indesit is hopeful that the use of recycled plastic would allow it to reduce the CO2 generated in using virgin plastics, and claimed to have achieved the same production costs by achieving the same cycle time in the moulding process. To read more click here. |
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| Cunnington Clark Display New Show Room | |
Not only has the showcase building had to comply with Honda's own environmental commitment, but with the local Council's requirement that a minimum 10% or energy needs are produced using on-site renewable energy. Cunnington Clark were contracted at an early stage to design and model a low carbon building that has achieved a stringent BREEAM accreditation standard of ‘very good'. They not only met the Council's 10% target using ground source heat pumps, but have also worked closely with Honda to reduce the energy demands in all areas of the building design. The overall scheme is designed to lower energy use and carbon emission below those of equivalent showroom buildings. The building design and materials used exceed building regulation requirements. Showroom glazing, for example, incorporates external solar shading to reduce the effect of high temperatures during summer months while giving the building a distinctive appearance. Conventional air conditioning in the showroom and customer services areas has been replaced by a natural ventilation system that maintains a comfortable environment while using very little energy. The system works by using wind pressure and differences in temperatures to draw air through the showroom, creating a comfortable environment. It is fully automated, with the vents opening slightly during the evenings of the warmer summer months to pre-cool the building. The vents then open or close, depending on the temperature and air quality both inside and outside the building. Heating for the building is provided by a ground source heat pump, which extracts heat from the ground through a series of deep bore holes and channels it through underfloor pipework. In summer months this same system can also provide chilled water through the pipework, helping to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors. Other environmentally-friendly design features include a solar hot water heating system and a rainwater harvesting tank that pumps water from the roof of the building for its grey water supplies. The rainwater is filtered and treated for use in the showroom's car washing facility. What do all these energy-saving eco-friendly measures add up to? The overall model shows an overall energy saving of 31% and carbon emission reduction of 17.9%, both considerably more than the current baseline planning requirement. To find out more about Cunnington Clark click here. |
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| Enviroment Capital Campaign Officially Launched | |
At an event on Wednesday 19th November the city's movers and shakers gathered to pledge their support to creating the UK's Environment Capital right here in Peterborough. The event was organised by Peterborough Environment City Trust, the environmental charity which has been working for a greener city for fifteen years, and sponsored by the Peterborough Property Network. Peterborough City Council, Opportunity Peterborough and the Greater Peterborough Partnership are all backing the city's ambition. Chief executive of PECT, Hugh Cripps commended the significant achievements that Peterborough has already accomplished in the 15 years since Peterborough was designated one of four UK Environment Cities. "Together, we have been working hard to make Peterborough a cleaner, greener, healthier and happier place for all residents. We have achieved a great deal, including one of the highest recycling rates of any unitary authority, one of the highest ratios of green space per person in the country, and the largest cluster of environmental businesses and organisations in the UK. Now Peterborough wants to build on this success and become a truly sustainable city - the UK's Environment Capital." A talk was also given by Dick Strawbridge from Channel 4's Scrapheap Challenge, and BBC2's It's not easy being Green. Dick explained that in his experience, the most sustainable option was often not the easiest or quickest option, but it was the option which delivered lasting, positive impact. City leaders visited Defra earlier this year to seek government feedback on Peterborough's ambition to create the UK's Environment Capital. Defra officials were positive about Peterborough's achievements to date. Peter Unwin is Director General of the Natural Environment Group at Defra, he said, "Having met with representatives from Peterborough earlier this year we got a sense of achievement, momentum and purpose from the city. The ambition to create the UK's Environment Capital is both challenging and exciting; and I wish them all the best in taking this forward." To read the full story click here. |
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| Register with the EnviroCluster Website | |
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. |
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| About EnviroCluster | |
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. |
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| Contact Details | |
Gareth Jones, EnviroCluster Manager |
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To change your email preferences, please register or sign in to the EnviroCluster website or reply to this email. |
Why improve your environmental management? 
Energy efficiency, carbon reduction and a sustainable environment are attributes not normally associated with the motor trade, yet a new 600m² Honda showroom, designed by Peterborough-based Cunnington Clark, is achieving just that.