Boosting business resource efficiency at a regional level

Boosting business resource efficiency at a regional level: The ENWORKS business support programme in Northwest England Samantha Nicholson ENWORKS Programme Director

Introducing ENWORKS • Established in 2001; celebrating our 10 th anniversary in 2011 • Innovative ENWORKS partnership model in England’s Northwest • Award-winning environmental business support • Decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation; focus on resource efficiency • Helped over 10, 000 businesses with converting environmental pressures into competitive advantages • Embedded in Northwest regional policy – Regional Economic Strategy, Climate Change Action Partnership, Sustainable Consumption & Production (SCP)

European regional development funding • • • Economic project delivering results through environmental improvements - Support to SMEs is funded by ERDF & Northwest Regional Development Agency - Support to Non-SMEs is funded solely by NWDA (this also covers costs associated with SME support that are deemed ineligible by ERDF) Current programme total value £ 9. 3 m (€ 10. 7 m) - October 2009 to June 2013 SME support = £ 6. 99 m (€ 8 m) (50/50 ERDF & NWDA) Non-SME support = £ 2. 3 m (€ 2. 7 m) (all NWDA) Running two projects concurrently: – Enables full cost recovery for delivery organisations – Removes barriers to business engagement – Increases cost effectiveness

Challenges we face • Addressing market failure in business resource efficiency • Awareness doesn’t always lead to action - 80% of businesses believe resource efficiency is important - BUT only 20% plan to take action in 12 months - Majority are one-off, low-impact interventions • Common misconceptions – “the environment” is irrelevant / costly / requires new equipment / is time-consuming / energy only / is a threat not an opportunity

Overcoming the challenges • ENWORKS is helping businesses with annual financial and environmental savings of: - £ 144 million (€ 165 m) in business costs - 748, 000 tonnes of CO 2 e - 5. 9 million m 3 of water - 3. 1 million tonnes of materials - 450, 000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill • More than 7, 420 regional jobs created and safeguarded • £ 223 million (€ 256 m) sales contracts secured and retained

Sustained impact Annual savings pipeline Annual savings achieved Achieved accrued to date £ 111. 5 million £ 31 million £ 91 million € 128. 2 million € 35. 6 million € 104. 7 million 615, 240 124, 785 434, 689 4. 3 million 1. 6 million 4. 7 million Material savings / tonnes 688, 662 2. 4 million 17. 2 million Waste diverted from landfill / tonnes 348, 785 101, 939 233, 869 Saving type Business cost savings CO 2 e savings / tonnes Water savings / m 3

ENWORKS average savings (achieved) Average cost savings - per business: ~£ 21, 100 (€ 24, 200) per year ~£ 61, 900 (€ 71, 000) to date - per improvement: ~£ 7, 600 (€ 8, 700) per year ~£ 22, 300 (€ 25, 500) to date Average CO 2 e savings - per business: 85 tonnes per year 296 tonnes to date - per improvement: 31 tonnes per year 107 tonnes to date

Value for money • • Most cost-effective support of its kind in the UK - compared to other regional, and aggregated national, environmental support programmes From every £ 100 (€ 119) invested, ENWORKS creates annually recurring savings of: - £ 1, 200 (€ 1, 400) in businesses - 8 tonnes of CO 2 e - 55 m 3 of water - 30 tonnes of materials - 7 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill - £ 800 (€ 920) of sales contracts retained - £ 136 (€ 156) of new sales contracts won • Breaking the mould – 56% of cost savings achieved at no capital cost

Key success factors • • • Mix of public funding sources – no exclusions / all businesses eligible / more cost effective engagement process Partnership of organisations – locally embedded and trusted by beneficiaries and other stakeholders Breadth of services – no barriers, we address energy, water, materials and waste, covering eco-design, process efficiency, sustainable procurement, legal compliance, climate change adaptation. . . both risk and reward Targeted and tailored support – linked to the potential to make savings, hands-on on-site advice and off-site services, focus on cost effectiveness and impact ENWORKS Online Resource Efficiency Toolkit – data is turned into information, to catalyse both action in businesses and sharing of best practice across the project

ENWORKS Online Resource Efficiency Toolkit • • • Unique web-based software, launched by ENWORKS in 2004 Log, prioritise, manage and report on resource efficiency actions Clear audit trail, traceable to each improvement opportunity and linked to UK Government’s CO 2 e conversion factors Adopted for use by English Regional Development Agencies and the Welsh Assembly Government: Helping over 9, 000 businesses across the UK Tracking over 32, 000 efficiency improvements Recording total cost savings of over £ 356 million (€ 409 m) Generating over 883, 000 tonnes CO 2 e savings Supports understanding of skills requirements

Skills for resource efficiency • • • Understanding risks & rewards relevant to business Identification of efficiency improvements Quantification of costs & savings possible Prioritisation of actions / significance Gaining buy-in at management and shop-floor level Calculating / communicating resource efficiency benefits (change management) • • More specific knowledge & skills associated with individual improvement actions Analysing the Toolkit shows the ‘method’ for increasing efficiency – this gives an indication of the specific skills & knowledge commonly required

Skills for resource efficiency

Cost saving method: achieved versus pipeline

Cost saving method: Zero capital investment

Skills for resource efficiency: Energy

Skills for resource efficiency: Water

Skills for resource efficiency: Materials

Skills for resource efficiency: Waste

Regional support • Location map of businesses supported by ENWORKS in England’s Northwest:

Regional impact • Distribution of cost savings ENWORKS is helping businesses with, across the Northwest: • Distribution of CO 2 e savings ENWORKS is helping businesses with, across the Northwest:

Sources of further information Email us: info@enworks. com • For further information and case studies: www. enworks. com/about-us www. enworks. com/case-studies • Download free resources and documents: www. enworksinabox. com • ENWORKS Online Resource Efficiency Toolkit: www. efficiencytoolkit. net