Commitment to ‘sustainability’ will bring profits to North Staffordshire manufacturers » Communities » 24dash.com

Manufacturers in North Staffordshire were today urged to make a commitment to sustainability by one of the regions leading industrial figures.

David Wright (pictured), Chief Executive of the Manufacturing Advisory Service West Midlands, believes that growing problems with rising energy costs, tighter customer pressure and burgeoning environmental legislation have to be met head-on and turned into a positive on the bottom line if firms are to succeed.

The head of the sectors dedicated business support organisation will be talking at the launch of a series of new seminars that have been tailored to provide companies with a guide to becoming sustainable to boost performance and profits.

The free breakfast seminar take place at the Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke on Tuesday October 21 and will feature keynote addresses from Action Sustainability, Envirowise, the Carbon Trust and Groundwork EBS.

There has been so much media speculation about the issue of sustainability that many manufacturers only see it as an additional cost to their business this is simply not the case, explained David Wright.

When our specialist manufacturing advisers are out visiting firms and they actually get to sit the management team down and explain the benefits, the response is completely different and this is what we are hoping to achieve with this event.

He continued: Weve got four of the leading specialists giving interactive presentations and this will hopefully eradicate the confusion amongst management teams leaving them free to focus on profitability.

The first part will be on sustainable procurement and the importance for smaller companies to employ best practice processes to fit in with larger organisations wanting to be environmentally friendly.

This will be followed by an Envirowise speech on the support available to help firms increase profits by minimising waste and then Groundwork EBS will look at the benefits of implementing an Environmental Management System as a means of securing competitive advantage.

One of the hottest topics set to be discussed will be the Energy Efficiency Loans from the Carbon Trust, which represent a truly cost effective way to replace or upgrade existing equipment, explained David.

Being more energy efficient equates to lower operating costs and ensures the business is doing its bit for carbon emissions and climate change. The fact you can access an interest free loan of up to £200,000 is just the incentive manufacturers need in these tough economic times.

The free events start at 7.30am and there are still a few places available. To register your attendance please contact 01902 838300 or email events@mas-wm.org.