Summer is the Perfect Time for Change
It’s high summer. And we’re having a heatwave.
Never mind frying an egg. It’s so hot you could cook a whole mixed grill on the back doorstep.
Pretty much everyone is either on holiday or wants to be on holiday. No one is in the mood for faffing, so we won’t.
We’re keeping it short and sweet with a couple of news updates, gentle reminders and tips n tricks.
Across the best part of the Irish business landscape, Summer is pretty much a time for empty desks and silent open floor spaces as employees head off on holidays, plump for working from home, or take advantage of the warmer weather by mixing peer-to-peer meet-ups with new business networking.
Summer also tends to be a time when many Irish businesses are at their least frantic, with many sectors, such as local and national government bodies downing new projects, procurement and tender tools until the Autumn.
Which pretty much makes Summer the ideal time to review, renew and improve.
TIME TO MAKE THE CHANGE
Under the requirements of ISO, businesses must commit to continuous improvement.
Typically, this is done via regular reviews and no better time than mid-Summer to hold a deep-drive review of your ops, processes, objectives and teams.
• Are all of your processes still streamlined, or have some new operational add-ons or commercial changes taken things a bit off-grid?
• Is the same Quality Management, Ergonomics/OSH or Environmental team still in place or have some of its members been redeployed, resulting in a shortfall in capacity?
• Have there been changes to any national or EU health and safety or environmental laws which might require awareness training for your team?
Now is the perfect time to take stock.
To both look back at the past year, its passes and fails, and face forward to the future.
How can you, your team and your operations be improved? Is your customer service optimal, or is it time for a new strategy or way of looking at things? If there is room for improvement, then now is the time to make the change.
HOW THE WAY WE TREAT THE ENVIRONMENT IS HITTING US WHERE IT HURTS
Fuel rationing, burgeoning energy costs, extensive wildfires and life-threatening heatwaves. It’s all beginning to kick off.
Alarm bells are going off around the globe, but have we left it too late to stop the rot? Not according to the experts. If we change the way we do things, seek to become more sustainable and do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint significantly, we can help turn both the environmental and economic tides.
How we have treated the environment, combined with back-to-back global crises, has hit us below the financial belt. Call it karma, if you will, but our reluctance to listen to climate experts when they warned us to move away from fossil fuels to green energy is costing us and then some. Our stubborn reliance on oil, gas and coal to produce electricity has exposed us to the negative impact of the Russian war on Ukraine.
Now comes news this week that the Irish government is looking at potentially introducing fuel rationing.
With the biggest impact to hit us across the winter months, this is not good news both for big businesses and the more vulnerable in society alike. Big consumers of energy, such as Data Centres, stand in the firing line, while those driving petrol and diesel cars could find themselves being overseen by the Army, currently being mooted to keep the peace at filling stations.
While we can’t do much about the price of heating or petrol, we can offer some sage advice on how to manage usage and reduce costs.
Adopting the requirements of ISO 14001 Environmental Management and ISO 50001 Energy Management Standards could be a viable option if your business is being severely impacted by changes to climate and energy.
For more information on how adopting ISO Standards and availing of CG Business Consulting’s Sustainability Services can lessen the financial impact of the current cost of living/business crisis, go to our website – https://www.cgbusinessconsulting.com/services/cgbc-sustainability-services/
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND – IRELAND’S ENERGY CHANGES TACK WITH A SURGE IN WIND FARMS
Speaking of clean energy!
We recently brought you news of the plan to build a mega-watt floating wind farm in Donegal.
Now, it would seem that Donegal isn’t on its own when it comes to wind energy exploration.
With the demand for renewable energy growing exponentially, the wind development sector has officially become a thing. And with it, a host of spin-off businesses.
Currently, Ireland has just one offshore wind farm, but with the government’s target set at achieving 80% production via clean means by 2030, the pressure is on to up our wind game. So, it’s good news indeed that there are now six coastal wind farms in the planning.
Against a backdrop of 65 new renewable energy-related businesses, this is progress towards net zero in the making and proof that an eco-friendly strategy does not have to be at odds with market expansion and driving profitable business.
STAY SAFE
We wanted to keep this short and summer-snappy. Enjoy the fine weather. Stay safe in the heat.
Keep the fluids flowing and the air-con blowing.
For general tips and tricks on workplace health and safety and evaluating the working environment, see ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Standard.
