Skyview triumphs at Greenest County Awards for carbon reduction efforts
We’re officially Suffolk’s Greenest Small Business!
Skyview Systems is thrilled to have been presented with the award for Suffolk’s Greenest Small Business for our carbon reduction efforts at the Greenest County Awards held at The Hold in Ipswich on November 12th, 2021.
The Awards were attended by a host of individuals and organisations making strides to make a positive environmental impact towards the shared goal of hailing Suffolk as the greenest county.
The Greenest Small Business category was by far the most popular for entrants, and we faced stiff competition from companies striving to champion their own green initiatives.
We are delighted to be a part of an ever-growing network of like-minded companies who prioritise environmental sustainability, but it is the measures that we have strived to implement, the services we provide to our wide-reaching customer-base, and our community action that sets us apart.
Leading the way since 1989
Having delivered weather monitoring solutions to organisations and individuals nationwide for over 30 years, monitoring and protecting the environment has always been at the heart of everything we do.
Since our beginning, we have consistently prioritised our green objectives by implementing a two-pronged approach: Firstly, the measures taken within our internal office environment and ecommerce operations; and secondly through our long-standing services to the industrial and commercial sectors to enable safe, energy-efficient operations.
We worked with Groundworks and Business Energy Efficiency (BEE) Anglia to consult on how to significantly reduce our carbon emissions, and devised an Energy Reduction Action Plan, which includes both short-term and long-term measurable goals.
In 2019, we appointed our first team Environmental Manager (Lori Hunt), who achieved Carbon Literacy accreditation in 2021 as part of the Carbon Literacy Project.
Our offices are run 100% on solar energy since investing in two large-scale solar panel systems on our office roofs in 2019. We regularly monitor our power generation, assess consumption against output, and promote solar by sharing our data via social media and our websites.
We have thoroughly embraced our Carbon Charter journey, and were delighted to achieve the top-tier Gold Carbon Charter award, presented to us at the 2021 Carbon Charter Summer Event. The Carbon Charter Panel noted that they were particularly impressed with “Skyview Systems’ significant emissions reductions since the installation of Solar PV” and highlighted that “communication regarding climate change initiatives both internally and externally is excellent, promoting proactive action and community engagement”. The Panel were also happy to note the various steps taken towards reducing vehicle emissions such as the installation of EV charging points and the purchase of an electric pool car with a commitment to move towards 100% electric fleet by 2028.
Based on Carbon Charter emissions calculations, we were thrilled to achieve an emissions reduction of 25% in 2020, as compared with 2018’s figures.
We purchase recycled and refurbished supplies, equipment and furniture where possible, provide staff with reusable kitchenware to avoid unnecessary plastics/paper use and have plants in place for better air quality. LED lights have also been installed throughout the building and our roof insulation ensures energy efficiency.
We encourage internal measures, for instance, double-sided printing, recycled paper, turning off lights, video conferencing to reduce mileage, and electronic correspondence and payslips.
A particularly notable achievement of 2021 was our contribution to the refusal of proposed plans to build a gas-fired power station next to our offices. As part of our research into the detrimental effects that a gas power station would have on the local area, we funded an acoustic survey, costing over £2k. We also funded a subsequent marketing campaign to support objections from the Parish council and other community organisations. Our actions included a social media campaign, leaflet drops on foot to local residents and businesses, and erecting banners around our offices and local areas, to encourage the submission of some 80+ objections.
Our prestigious award couldn’t come at a more poignant time for global climate action - coinciding with the end of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, which brought heightened attention on the response of global leaders towards taking significant action for climate change.
“In the current climate of global uncertainty, we are proud to have been able to come together as a team to achieve the Greenest Small Business award. It is a prestigious honour and we are incredibly proud of our staff and their contributions. Meteorological events are dominating the headlines on a regular basis around the world, particularly with the recent events at COP26, and we can’t ignore the impact that our individual and collective actions can have to reduce carbon emissions. I strongly feel that businesses working towards a greener outlook will be able to proposer around the world, and at Skyview, as a weather company that has been helping clients for over 30 years, we feel well placed to benefit from connecting with like-minded companies to transition to a greener future.”
- Nic Hart, Managing Director - Skyview Systems
The judges of the 2021 Greenest County Awards were impressed with our efforts to date, as well as our future plans, stating:
“Skyview Systems’ short and long-term goals were well thought through and ambitious. Their past and future efforts to reduce carbon emissions are impressive, in terms of how their business operates, their business product and their commitment to involving staff, both professionally and personally.”
