Members News
Sustainability Biddenden Vineyards
announces strong sales is the buzzword With the United Nations COP-26 Conference taking place in Glasgow, the word on everyone’s lips is ‘sustainability’ and nowhere more so than in the construction industry.
This sector constitutes one of the key aims of Construction 2025, a joint strategy between industry and government to put Britain at the forefront of global construction. In order for the aspirations of Construction 2025 to be realised, the construction industry must embrace the latest technological advances and developments. Building Information Modelling (BIM) helps design teams to work more collaboratively together on projects, whether the team is in the same office or dotted around the globe, and it’s only through its implementation that more sustainable building can be delivered most effectively. The team at Burns Guthrie & Partners Chartered Architects is passionate about all aspects of sustainability and designing buildings that are compatible with achieving carbon net-zero construction. This has formed the foundations of the company’s designs for many years, and it is always eager to adopt the latest technologies which assist this goal. To fully embrace digital working, Burns Guthrie has completed the implementation of cloud-based systems. The various parties involved in a project can now truly work collaboratively wherever they may be, reducing costs, both financial and environmental. This way of working means they can not only ‘design’ sustainable buildings but ‘work’ more sustainably too. www.burns-guthrie.co.uk
12 Thinking Business
Having seen three previous vintages with outstanding growing conditions through 2018-2020, the 2021 growing season has certainly come with its challenges for English wine producers. However, for Biddenden, with over 40 vintages under its belt and three generations of winemaking expertise to call upon, it’s been more of a return to the winemaking conditions in the UK that the company is used to – and can most definitely work with.
Throughout 2021, it’s been Biddenden’s unique growing methods, a keen eye and understanding of the importance of plant health and
nutrition, and the ability to react quickly that has paid dividends in producing a crop which sees a good volume of juice now in tank.
Tom Barnes, general manager, said: “Despite being one of the most challenging seasons we have ever seen, I’m excited about all of the wines we have in tank and how they will develop. We’ve seen very strong sales over the past 12 months, with more people wanting to support local producers and explore the quality wines we are producing here in the UK. The first of this year’s wines will be released early in 2022. In the meantime, we are seeing strong support for our Biddenden Ortega Late Harvest
Security training given seal of approval Kent-based Sight & Sound Security provides security services to a diverse range of clients. Recently the company’s training offer was re-approved by Skills for Security and the company is now an accredited provider. Sight & Sound Security created a training package after seeing a clear gap in the security industry.
2018, a dessert wine produced using the sweetest grape ever recorded in the UK, following what can fairly be described as a harvest of a lifetime, which allowed us to produce this very special wine.” Biddenden’s wines are available from the cellar door and online for nationwide home delivery. The company produces around 80,000 bottles of wine each year. For more information visit www.biddendenvineyards.com
A security officer can obtain a licence after only five days of training. The licence is renewable every three years with no additional training requirement unless there are amendments to the legislation. Therefore, officers may receive no further training in security or related skills for many years. Security officers’ duties are many and varied and the security aspect of their jobs may form only a small part of their everyday duties. Other duties often include customer service, facility and tenant management, administration, health and safety, manual handling, and mental health wellbeing, to name only a few.
Ecosan named “Best Newcomer” in UK awards Ecosan Services was thrilled to win the “Best Newcomer” category at this year’s Laundry and Drycleaning Awards (LADAs). Now in its seventh year, the LADAs have become the pinnacle of celebration for the laundry and drycleaning industry in the UK. The awards aim to recognise companies, individuals, services and products which stand out from the crowd, those bringing a new level of customer service and professionalism to the industry and helping it face the challenges of changing society and technology head-on. Ecosan had been shortlisted as finalists in two categories. Having
researched and identified a gap in the market for its services, Ecosan has been working with clients to deliver a fundamentally important eco-driven service that follows best practice by adhering to industry legislation and guidelines. Richard Brown, managing director of Industrial Laundry Equipment – one of the sponsors of the awards – presented Ecosan with the award. Sonja Wood, managing director of Ecosan Services, said: “To reach the finals was amazing but to be announced as a winner was absolutely the icing on the cake for us. For all of our hard work to be acknowledged in our industry is such an achievement for us.
“To know that whilst we are bringing innovation to this sector, we are also contributing to a greener planet and with the spotlight on climate change, this makes all of our efforts worthwhile.”
Ecosan Services offers fully serviced eco-friendly hygiene solutions to all types of businesses across all sectors throughout the south east of England. The company provides tailored solutions to meet client washroom or healthcare setting requirements alongside a wide range of floorcare solutions, and has been servicing every type of business sector with greener solutions for more than fourteen years. For more information visit www.ecosanservices.co.uk
