Maximillion is a creative events and communications agency, employing ten people and is an exemplar for other SMEs that are wondering how they can run a sustainable business and engage their employees and wider stakeholders to support the process.
The company’s successful approach to reducing carbon follows the steadfast process outlined in the May Day Journey of measuring, managing and reducing, combined with top-level leadership from the Managing Director and employee and further stakeholder engagement.
The initial step has been monitoring of carbon emissions: utility meter readings, cross referenced with bills; logging of all vehicle mileage, and; waste (recycled and landfilled) is recyled by LEEP. This data is entered into a spreadsheet to enable tracking and meaningful comparison.
Having identified means of reduction, the office and industrial unit dating from the 1970’s was refurbished with insulation, including a warm deck roof, double glazing, and renewable technologies (56kW wood pellet boiler, 2 solar water heater panels, and rainwater harvest), fitting low energy appliances and T5 fluorescent lighting, and implementing an effective waste measurement, reduction and recycling system.
A shift in the culture of the agency, and employee behavior was facilitated by encouraging a car-share initiative, and running Energy Saving Trust training attended by all staff. This training is now embedded in new employees’ inductions.
Customers are also given the option to exercise their environmental credentials through the creation of an internal Environment Management System: Greener Event Management (GEM) that caters for three levels of delivery of sustainable events.
Furthermore, Maximilion has designed a CSR team building event called Eden. The initiative has been extended to securing ‘greener’ suppliers by running a supplier evening at which Maximillion’s carbon emission reduction position was launched, paying due attention to the introduction of carbon considerations in the supplier selection vetting form. This was supported with a green supplier handbook.
The amount of effort and resource that Maximillion has devoted to developing as an environmentally sustainable business is occasionally challenged by employees and suppliers. To ensure all involved understand the benefits and are engaged in the sustainable culture, Maximillion consistently re-engage employees and suppliers, recent initiatives include employee outings to environmental sites, appointing eco-monitors in relation to recycling and supplier evenings and vetting forms.
