The Assessor’s Curse.

As I sit writing this, I can see on first glance, two immediate cost savings and I’m not even one sip into my latte. This is the assessor’s curse…

No matter where I go, I’m always looking for the savings, the solution or identifying areas that could be improved. I spend more time in restaurants, shops and other places looking at the lights than what I’m there to enjoy and leave with dazzled eyes and an ache in my neck.

Right now, I’m asking myself why the front door of the café is open with the heating system working. Does the owner know they are paying to heat the street outside? A simple air curtain would do the trick, or better still SHUT THE DOOR! The amount of heat that is wasted by premises trying to catch passing trade and look ‘open’ when a friendly sign that says you’re ‘open and just keeping warm’ would do the trick.

The second thing I notice is the lighting. It is completely unnecessary to recreate Blackpool Illuminations indoors when only half of the room is being occupied. Investing in controllable lighting will save a fortune. Lighting sensors are reasonably cheap and can be controlled by motion, time or daylight.

I think a combination works best depending on the setting and please don’t forget to change the settings with the seasons. For those people that think being a homing beacon for passing aircraft is a necessity to look inviting please think again. You are basically setting money on fire!

Use motion-controlled lighting in bathrooms and low occupancy corridors, timer controls on window/entrance lights and daylight controls on external lighting. Make sure lighting is LED and more importantly the correct lumen level and colour for the task below it. There is no point having attractive mood lighting over a reception desk if the receptionists have to squint to see their computers and then get regular headaches.

These issues are typical of many premises I step into and they are not limited to the hospitality sector, nor am I making an example of that industry in particular. Simply, that no matter where I go, I am immediately drawn to the opportunities to save money and improve the working environment for all.

Whether the improvement comes from the physical, the infrastructure or design of the building or the procedural, the way that systems work and the operations that go into them. It is my curse but one that I will be forever grateful for as it gives me the opportunity to work with fantastic people and their businesses.

People who are seeking change and want to have a positive impact, no matter how big or small. Because making your business sustainable means still being in business in 12 months’ time and there is a journey we can take together to get there. It is called Green at Heart.

Virtual Audits are a hit!

We have all had to change the way we work during the recent COVID-19 pandemic and Green at Heart Group has been no different.

Having only established itself as an independent company a month before lockdown we have had to adapt quickly but are pleased to be able to offer members a virtual audit assessment.

The audit works in exactly the same way as before and we cover all the same criteria for assessment but over a virtual on-line platform. Members are free to walk around their premises to demonstrate compliance using their electronic device and we can still chat about all the excellent environmental improvements that are being made as well as opportunities for further development.

Members have commented that it has been just as effective as the face to face meetings. Although a few questionable pairs of slippers have been seen during the walk arounds!

New Green at Heart website launch

The brand-new Green at Heart Group website has been launched and is proud to be hosted on a carbon neutral web server at UKFast. The website was created by BY Design who use UKFast as their server provider.

Green at Heart Group is committed to using suppliers and having associations with like-minded companies and BY Design meets that criteria. They are a local company who strive to achieve the best for their clients. Green at Heart Group will always use local suppliers to minimize its own carbon footprint.

You can read more about the UK’s first carbon neutral web server here.