Morning all,


Feeling very autumnal today and the tree leaves are definitely well on the turn. We have lit the wood-burner most evenings just to take the chill off the longer evenings but hoping to save up the central heating for a few more months yet. I’m a bit nervous about our current wood stock it is not as big as it should be, just haven’t found the time to get it sorted out. The next couple of weeks already look busy with figures to prepare for the bank and training projects to get through for the Lean Management we are all doing. It’s all go.

Caroline is just about to depart for Southampton’s next Premiership game so figures crossed for that. I meanwhile plan to be tucked up in front of the wood-burner with toasted fruit loaf and a mug of tea. It’s a tough life.

This week saw a large number of trays gathered in for the winter which was great, and a very worthwhile trip down to the Eden Project for me for a breakfast gathering of suppliers and Cornish businesses to hear the latest on all things sustainable. I managed to combine the meeting with a delivery there but it was a bit of an early start for me, I don’t see 3.00am very often !

The seminar was hosted by Lloyds TSB as part of their efforts to spread the word about sustainability and some of its benefits to smaller and medium sized businesses. The message from the bank seemed to be very largely based around the cost savings which can be made by more efficient use of materials and energy which is a nice easy sell to those businesses not particularly interested in the greener side of life. Most of the things promoted were valuable if you hadn’t considered these things before but there was nothing too exciting. Eden were promoting their Green Foundation training packages that they run. These aim to empower individuals and teams to innovate, collaborate and lead positive change within and beyond their organisations. There is of course a large dollop of sustainability involved but packaged in a positive and exciting way. It seems to be attracting a lot
of interest from some pretty big corporates who are sending people to partake which is very encouraging for all. One of their key messages on the day was that sustainability should be at the centre of any business not just tacked on as an afterthought which is the usual knee jerk response to sorting out a new business pressure.

I have had a quick look at the Eden website to see what other info I could pick up and found a nice video clip of the experiences of a group from Eli-Lilly (big drugs company) who did the two day course. On the video, about 2mins 50 secs in, is a lovely snippet from Tim Smit about conversations around the kitchen table where common sense, conviviality and a lack of vanity can be seen. Perhaps the boardroom table should be replaced by a kitchen table and we might get some more balanced decisions made around the world. Take a look;
http://www.edenproject.com/blog/index.php/2012/07/eli-lilly-business-leadership-programme-at-the-eden-project/

I believe some of the staff from Lloyds TSB have been on the Eden course but at the moment it looks like they are still going through the ‘tacked-on’ stage. Firstly I have to say that I think it is great that some of the big boys are making some very positive moves on the sustainability front, we need some encouragement that we tiddlers are not battling alone, but I did do a little bit of research on their own sustainability claims which on close inspection look a bit shallow in places. In 2011 they lent a market leading £413m to renewable energy schemes which sounds great, but that was to just 13 schemes (averaging £32m each) and was spread across the UK, Germany and America. They spent £2.5m on improving their own property portfolio with energy saving stuff which is good. Meanwhile they gave away £375m in bonus payments. I think there are a few more conversations needed around the kitchen table. To be fair you have to start somewhere and they have now started lending to smaller solar and wind installations just in time for the big falls in feed in tariffs and they are thinking about supporting renewable heating installations sometime soon, maybe. A lot of these installations are quite major investments for SME’s and slow bank support doesn’t exactly encourage a positive take up. Anyway, particularly well done to Eden for the wake-up call you appear to be delivering and for just using one staple to hold your brochure together. It all adds up.

Have a good week, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries