On Friday 16th October 2015, Liz Archer and Annabel James attended the Suffolk and Norfolk Green 100 event, hosted by Archant at the Orbis Energy Centre in Lowestoft. The event was held to celebrate the achievements of the counties’ 100 greenest businesses – Woolley have been awarded this accolade for two consecutive year now, and we are very proud to have fought off very stiff competition on both occasions.
There were some fantastic speakers at the event. Anna Martin of Groundwork Suffolk and Norfolk spoke on all of the work they are doing to help make our counties greener. Whilst we have worked with Groundwork in order to achieve our Carbon Charter Gold awards, it was fascinating to hear about the work they are doing not only in Suffolk and Norfolk but around the country, with so many businesses, governments and communities. It really is truly admirable work.
We then heard from Steve Manning of EDF Energy who spoke on the measures being implemented at the controversial Sizewell C nuclear energy plant in an attempt to mitigate any negative effects on the environment that the plant’s development may have. It was fascinating to see the pictures captures of how the land and habitats are regenerating and improving over time. Whilst Woolley are neither for, nor against nuclear power, it was interesting to hear that the plant might only be able to generate energy for sixty years.
After a delightful buffet lunch, which gave us an opportunity to meet Alicia Garrad of Archant, and Tim Briscoe of Buxton Potatotes based in Norfolk. It was great to also see a number of other Carbon Charter holders who also successfully made it into the Green 100 too.
After lunch we heard from David Barker, a west Suffolk based farmer and chairman of ‘the Greenest County’. Naturally, one might presume that farmers could easily be accredited with awards such as this – after all they are the ‘guardians of the land’. It was great to hear Mr Barker speak on the measure he implements so easily to improve the wildlife and habitats on his farm.
Finally we heard from Iain Dunnett of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership on the future of initiatives, and where we go on from here to ensure that we keep on hitting our targets as a region – this definitely gave all who attended some food for thought.
After all of that, guests were provided with a great bottle of Ghost Ship beer from Adnams, who also sponsored the event. Not being beer drinkers themselves, Liz and Annabel were told these went down very well by the boys!
Please follow this link to see a brochure detailing all one hundred of the businesses who achieved the accolade this year: http://bit.ly/20xsbpm It makes for really interesting reading, and will also provide you with some tips on energy efficient measures you could perhaps implement in your own office or business.
Perhaps we will see you at a Green 100 event next year!
