Energy Saving Week 2009

Energy Saving Week is an annual event hosted by the Energy Saving Trust. This year the event runs from 19th – 25th October and will be important for our pockets as well as the planet.

In the spirit of the event, the EcoSearch team brings you their top tips for saving energy;

Debby Lloyd, Managing Director

“for all those with teenagers - outsource them to university and watch your electricity bills halve! If you have latch-key kids - when you arrive home from work to find they have used the "advance" heating button on the boiler and the thermostat is set on 30 degrees! Open your wall thermostats and set the stopper at 18 degrees - force them to use jumpers! Oh, and turn off the gas on the gas fire so they can't use that either. Use a slow cooker in the winter instead of the oven - Lakeland has a great little gadget called a Remoska that literally uses the energy from a light bulb to effectively cook food!”

Phillip Clement, Director

“Work longer hours - this has numerous energy saving benefits. You use the lights and heating at work not at home. Your drive into the office and home will be in less traffic so you will use less petrol. When you get home you're so knackered you'll want to go to bed without any dinner which means you won't use the cooker and you won't need to put the lights on and you have to get up so early you won't feel like breakfast and you can wait till you get to the office to have a cup of tea so you won't need to boil the kettle.”

Mark Sawyer, Senior Partner

I recommend taking the Home Energy Check questionnaire via the Energy Saving Trust website. Considering my home working, mother and child at home all day every day with the heating on, I was surprised to get the results back and find that on an A-G rating I am currently a C. I have currently done everything possible that they suggest in their report email to reduce my carbon footprint except for getting thicker loft insulation and changing some more light bulbs... A worthwhile use of 5 minutes, especially if you are very new to thinking about saving energy.”

Clare Buxton, Wind Energy Sector Lead

“Don’t leave appliances on Standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobiles phones on charge unnecessarily. I always find myself going around the house behind the rest of the family turning off the things they’re finished with like computers, the TV and games consoles.”

Katharine Robinson, Research Associate

“Don’t put on any laundry unless you have a full load – one full load uses a lot less energy that two half loads – it’s better to wait. I have never used a tumble dryer either. I try to dry as much clothes as possible outside on the washing line, or if it’s just too rainy use an indoor airer.”

We did a series of blog posts last year for Energy Saving Week – you may find there interesting too;

• Energy Saving Week - Saving energy around the office and at home
• Energy Saving Week - Greener Driving
• Energy Saving Week - Greener Shopping
• And as the end of October approaches, check out this post on Greening your Halloween.

We hope you save lots of pennies this week

The EcoSearch team

Two Week Countdown to All-Energy

In just two weeks the EcoSearch team will be heading off to Aberdeen to exhibit at their third All-Energy show.

The team reflect on why it’s such a great events and so valuable to our business.

Clare Buxton: 

“All-Energy is a great opportunity to learn more about the latest developments and projects in the UK Wind Energy space. I'm hoping to catch some of the seminars focused on the Offshore Wind sector. As well, of course, as meet up with some familiar faces!”

Martin Grady:

“I am looking forward to being able to launch EcoSearch Interim and Contracting Limited. I would like to talk to any potential clients and contractors who may be interested in our services in the future.”

Debby Lloyd:

“As always All-Energy affords a chance to catch up with businesses operating across the whole spectrum of the renewable space and their operating challenges, especially given the current climate - and a chance to assess the future contenders from a ‘whose ripe for M&A activity’".

Mark Sawyer:

“Wow - All Energy 09 looks to be a belter, bigger and better than before, more technologies, more companies, better opportunities to network. I really am excited about this year's show. Having sent out invitations to a number of key industry figures/leaders who have/are seeking Ecosearch's expertise and who have responded positively, we really are going to be busy. I just hope we have time to meet new faces and contacts.”

Katharine Robinson:

“This year, I am running All-Energy’s presence on the social network Twitter. I am excited about talking to the conference goers about the service and find out who is ‘following’ the show online. I am also looking forward to using the medium to raise awareness of the conference and the exciting world of Renewable Energy.”

Steven Rogers:

“All Energy offers the opportunity for us to raise our heads, get out hands on technology and understand what the trends are in our industry. I'm looking forward to finding out what is happening within built environment and what is next for increasing energy efficiency. Also, there is a lot a noise around Carbon Capture and Storage - I'm keen to learn what is going on and if this is a viable solution for our carbon emissions. I'll be at stand E15 and always keen to talk - please feel free to come and say hello”

What are you looking forward to at All-Energy this year?

Our hopes as Barack Obama takes office

As the world waits with baited breath - there has been a little brain storming in the EcoSearch office today...

Photo by dcJohn

Debby Lloyd
I'm hopeful that the USA positioning will change. Look at the Scots and how they see their in-country resources ... they could easily close the borders when the lights go out elsewhere in the country and their energy supply will be secure. If the USA invests in the natural resources available in their own country it equals less of a reliance on Oil and perhaps they will no longer have to be so aggressive around the protection of Oil resources (some may say flimsy excuses for entry into countries that have oil resources). So I hope the emphasis moves to one of "in country self sufficiency on energy supply". Let's phrase it ... Mobilised in a more positive way they can achieve and lead the world. Perhaps in a more positive way than they are seen by the rest of the world today. Good luck Obama, yes you can is my opinion.

Steven Rogers
I was pleased to see the news on Thursday that the US Senate will allow Obama to sign a UN pact to fight global warming late in '09, even if US climate laws are not in place by then.

Mark Sawyer
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has turned down the request to regulate carbon by the most populous state. Obama, however, can direct the agency to reverse course.

Clare Buxton
Obama will double wind power capacity in the next three years, which will mean continued growth in the US onshore market for wind turbine manufacturers, but will that mean that the European offshore market will lose out? Will the Turbine Manufacturers have the same incentive to develop new offshore technologies?

Katharine Robinson
I was impressed by how Obama has approached communication with the public during his campaign by using new media and embracing tools like Facebook and Twitter. I think his attitude has pushed many others to embrace new ways of communicating. I was pleased this week to notice some British MPs using these tools too – Our leaders need to be brought into the 21^st century and encouraged to use the communication tools that have become mainstream in the last five years. I hope that as President we see more of this from Barack Obama.

You can follow the inauguration tomorrow on the BBC News website, with live text updates from 1500 GMT and streaming video from 1600 GMT.

Energy Solutions Expo!!

Steven Rogers gives his thoughts on Energy Solutions Expo, which starts tomorrow. He and Mark Sawyer will be there to see what is happening in the world of Energy on behalf of EcoSearch.

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The renewable energy and energy efficiency market has a plethora of shows, exhibitions and conferences spread across the globe. One of the largest and most varied shows on the circuit is the Energy Solutions Expo based in London’s Olympia, which is where we will be tomorrow and Thursday.

Energy Expo is “the event where you can find out how to make your organisation efficient, sustainable and renewable.” The event is split into three industry sections:

1) M&E The building services
2) Total Workplace Management
3) Working Buildings

Our reason for attending is to keep the team as informed and up to date as possible with the technologies and industry advancements. Of particular interest to me are the engineering companies and the energy companies (e.g. E.ON Energy Services, Ener.G and ITI Energy). They are pushing the market forward and regularly have interesting and new offerings. From a personal stand point, I find the technology incredibly interesting in this sector so cannot help being drawn to all technology ‘things’ that are new and shiny so they are always top on my list!

You can let us know you are going by visiting the event on Facebook via the EcoSearch page.

Look forward to seeing you all there and feel free to stop me and say “hello!”.

Word of mouth recruiting: Is it working?

Today, Mark Sawyer takes a look at ‘Word of mouth recruiting’. How does your company get to potential employees that have those hard-to-find skills, and is it working? We would love to hear your thoughts.

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To me that comes under the banner of employee referral schemes! Many companies say they have a scheme and that it is highly thought of within their firm. They suggest that the financial rewards for doing so is more than generous. However, it is widely recognised within the head hunter community that these schemes are little more than a token gesture to tick the corporate box. In reality and in my experience of delivering recruitment process management (RPM), companies should be able to hire between 35-40% of their staff through existing employees networks, but only if created, managed and supported appropriately.

There are several advantages to employee referral schemes, the first being that new recruits are likely to settle in at the company quickly and stay for longer because they have an instant circle of acquaintances through the friend that suggested him or her. The association with a member of staff also means the new employee may already have some understanding of how the business operates, and he or she will be motivated not to put in a poor performance that will reflect badly on the friend that made the recommendation. From a company’s perspective I can see how they feel it is a cost effective route to market, especially in a tight market where talent is scarce like that of the Renewable Energy vertical. So why do companies struggle to hire more than 15% of new recruits through an employee referral programme?

1. Current employees are not aware of the scheme. It is in the employee handbook – but when was the last time you read your handbook?

2. They don’t see those in their sphere of influence acting on it. Good behaviour breeds better behaviour and poor behaviour breeds….well you know!

3. The reward is always weighted in favour of the company and is typically £250-400. Although I have seen some as high as £1000, but only after the employee has completed 12 months service. (a perceived slap in the face when recruiter fees are a minimum of £5k and at the more senior end £50k)

4. People are not buying into actually improving the company – they have apathy with the culture.

However, there are concerns that employee referral schemes can stifle fresh ideas and limit the influx of new blood to a business because existing employees tend to suggest candidates in their own image. I have also heard that this situation has also led to worries that a need for fairness and diversity may not be satisfied.

A final potential problem with using employees as a source of new staff is the hit and miss nature of the method. There is no guarantee that the right candidates will be suggested at the appropriate time. And for this reason, the role of the professional recruiter is still a valid one.