Columnist

Five top tips for a green business

Newcastle’s Quorum Business Park really is “a better place to work”. It has grown at an impressive rate over the past four years and this is partly down to the investment made into its stellar onsite amenities. The park’s sustainability strategy and travel plan were recently shortlisted for a widely-recognised national award, up against the likes of Virgin Money and KPMG, and it continues to commit to making it one of the most appealing working environments in the region.

Here commuter centre manager Laura McVittie imparts some words of wisdom on how Quorum has achieved its sustainability credentials, and how other organisations can incorporate and integrate this approach into their business.

Tip – Employee engagement leads to sustainability success

Quorum is committed to achieving a sustainable environment and we are always encouraging our tenants to do whatever they can to help attain this through our onsite sustainability strategy, which focuses on creating a place where people, animals, plants and business can thrive through fostering the very best eco-friendly practices.

Tenants are invited to attend a quarterly Sustainability Forum to share ideas and best practice with each other and, work towards common goals. Volunteers from the Quorum Wildlife Group meet regularly to plant flowers, clean the stream and top up bird feeders.

Tip – Invest in public transport

Quorum believes in creating a superior working environment based around an on-site community with services and facilities – a factor which has proved invaluable for encouraging staff recruitment and employee retention on the park.

Our Commuter Centre is a central hub where park employees can learn about alternative sustainable modes of transport and get helpful advice and information, such as bus timetables as well as walking and cycling maps for the local area.

We have also developed close working relationships with Arriva to enable the provision of dedicated bus services branded as the ‘Quorum Shuttle Bus’ and the ‘Quorum Express’, both of which offer exclusive travel ticket discounts to people working on the park.

Tip – Call on the help of local students to carry out research

We have a strong partnership with Northumbria University and have enlisted the help of students to carry out Bio Diversity Audits, Travel Surveys and Energy Assessments as part of a 10 week placement on the park. The students had access to specialist research tools and provided us with high quality data free of charge, whilst giving them an invaluable experience to combine with their academic skills.

Tip – Highlight cost savings gained from sustainable practices

The Quorum Facilities Manager procured a park-wide waste management scheme so there is one company serving all tenants on the park. This has reduced the amount of vehicles travelling to/from the business park and saved tenants money on their waste management collection fees.

Tip – Find out if there is funding available to introduce sustainable measures

Tenants at Quorum installed electric vehicle charging points with match funding from the Charge Your Car Project and leased electric fleet cars at a discounted rate from Switch EV. We are also introducing a car club to the site in spring 2014 thanks to some investment from a local housing developer.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Quorum Business Park .