amber energy

Team Mission Book Which one do you notice...

We increase the value of businesses and improve their operational efficiency by lowering their energy costs.

Our brands provide solutions to the complex world of energy.

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Our brand is one of our most important assets, and our ‘amber’ culture makes us different from other companies to work for. We have to stay true to ourselves as we grow, true to our mission and true to our values.

We got off the ground by ‘getting shit done’ first quoted by Aaron Levie, who founded Box, later adopted by Nick Proctor & Mark Corne at amber energy. Mark also said that ‘we stuck the finger up to the man’, which simply meant we were doing things the right way & getting customers because we’d shown them they’d been getting ripped-off, that they were getting a poor service, or we knew of a better way of doing things.

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We’ve always been optimistic, but as we evolve we have more ‘plates spinning’ and more complexity in our process, so the challenge of keeping things simple is far greater. We have to keep our focus on what’s important to continue ‘getting shit done’.

The purpose of this book is to keep us true to why we exist, what we are about, and what we want to be as we continue to grow & to help us keep GSD & being ‘very amber’.

Our Vision & Mission

...we are not energy brokers

Our Vision

Our Vision is to develop solutions to the complex world of energy.

To make it easier to manage energy, to make it possible for all businesses to achieve optimal energy efficiency, to make energy accessible to all and to pave the way to a sustainable future.

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Our Mission Our mission is to develop trusted, innovative solutions that reduce the cost of energy, reliance on energy from the grid, & propel us forward towards zero carbon intensity. It’s also to be the ‘good-different’; the difference that comes from a focus on quality of service, listening to our customers, innovation, and living on the forefront of the curve.

Working with businesses we consider all areas of energy management; considering how to buy it, how & when to use it, & how to install renewable energy. We call this our ‘cost, use, source’ model.

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We focus on specific sectors to develop a road map of ‘nips and tucks’, key partnerships that get results, & group purchasing arrangements. We call this our energy management “Blueprint”.

Achieving the highest quality is part of our DNA and we were formed to provide the best service in the energy industry. This means always taking on feedback and trying to improve again and again-there is always something that can be done better!

We’re responsible for always achieving the lowest possible ‘end energy bill’; which means keeping our ear to the ground and deploying new innovative energy management techniques.

To keep bills low & to save our clients time, we pick up all the responsibilities of bill checking, data collection, & compliance.

Our services are clearly laid out within a transparent agreement that delivers quality, performance, and a dedicated team of experts.

In a nutshell working with amber means saving money, achieving greater operational efficiency, remaining compliant with legislation, and ultimately a higher value for your business.

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The Mission of Our Brands

amber energy’s brands exist to provide solutions to the complex world of energy. From inspiring building users to use less energy, to funding renewable energy projects, to supporting those 1 Billion people without power in the world. We exist to make a real difference, to innovate, and to constantly challenge the status quo in the energy sector

Insight Insight works with you to manage your forward budgets and to make intelligent decisions on when to purchase your energy.

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20Below Solar A free solar installation is followed by low cost energy from the solar for 20 years. The price you pay is guaranteed at a good chunk below the price you normally pay for energy for 20 years.

So 20 (years) Below, improved green credentials & carbon savings to boot.

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Wales Zero Wales Zero is a collective energy purchasing scheme for Welsh businesses. Our mission is to bring more businesses into this buying group to enable lower costs for each business involved.

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The Warwickshire Buying Group In association with Edgbaston Cricket; It’s all about supporting the partners and local business community to achieve lower costs. The group achieves economies of scale and gives to the Edgbaston Foundation.

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Energy Relief Energy Relief was born to branch an arm between saving energy and giving energy/support to those who need it. Simply, Switch a light off, and somewhere else someone can switch a light on.

In the future energy relief will be the 1st not for profit energy supplier and you will be able to choose where your profit goes; whether supporting projects close to home or overseas.

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The Student Energy Project The Student Energy Project is an energy saving scheme which rewards students for being energy efficient and results in student accommodation providers reducing their energy costs.

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Ethos We are disruptive in finding solutions for our clients.

We go the extra mile.

We work exceptionally hard, but reap the rewards and play hard “when the fat lady sings” & a milestone is reached.

We try to be clinical in our execution of every task but we understand we will make mistakes as we grow as a company and as individuals; it’s how we handle these mistakes and what we learn from them that’s important.

We are a proactive high performance team.

“I’ve not failed I’ve just found 1,000 ways that don’t work”.

- Thomas Edison.

“The difference in winning & losing is, most often, NOT QUITTING”.

- Walt Disney

Our Values

CAn do attitude CoMmitted Team Players Best in class Excellent Communicators EntRepreneurial Strategists

Remember, it’s never going to be easy...

Creative Process: 1. This is going to be awesome.

2. This is hard.

3. This is terrible.

4. I’m terrible.

5. Hey, not bad.

6. That was awesome.

Kazu Kibuishi, Flight, Copper

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1

amber energy core value

Can Do Attitude At amber we don’t moan or groan at work levels, as we know being exceptionally busy means the company is doing well and in turn, this supports the mission and our own aspirations to succeed. If we’re ever not busy we take a pro-active approach towards achieving our mission.

Do, or do not... there is no try.

- Yoda

Complaining is not a strategy.

- Jezz Bezos, Amazon

amber energy core value

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Committed Team Players We know that Together Everyone Achieves More & often tight deadlines and the pace of work requires us to roll up our sleeves and to make things happen. We also understand each other, we appreciate each other, and we encourage each other to expand as people. In our free time we encourage each other to get the most from life and to find a happy, healthy, balance that allows us to love what we do.

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

- Sam Walton, Wal-Mart

Don’t be a complainer; make things better, let it go, or take action to make it better.

- Tina Roth Eisenberg, Tattly

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amber energy core value

Best in Class We must deliver a great service every time, every day without any excuses. Our service should be the best quality in the market and be better than advertised. To thrive in our competitive market place we must innovate but we must never compromise on quality. The devil is in the detail so we must hunt it out and represent it truly; our reputation is built on getting things right so 95% accurate isn’t good enough.

Quality is the best business plan.

- John Lasseter, Pixar Quality is more important that quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.

- Steve Jobs.

amber energy core value

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Excellent Communicators As we grow we won’t always make the right decisions- we’ll always try but it’s hard to get things 100% right 100% of the time. You’ll also be growing as a person in your role and will need feedback and advice to improve. Communication is our tool for this brutal honesty. It also comes in handy when trying to explain to clients solutions to complex energy issues.

We don’t always know what’s going to happen. And that’s OK. - Biz Stone, Twitter.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

- Albert Einstein.

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amber energy core value

Entrepreneurial Strategists Often we will be doing something for the first time and will need a team who see a way to work through a scenario, who solve it, improve it, & redesign it, so that it’s better (in someway), than it was before. We remember nothings impossible, it often just needs a few attempts to come up with a solution.

Entrepreneur is just French for ‘has ideas, does them’ - Alexis Ohanian, Reddit “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures you will be doing things different from everybody else”.

- Sara Blakely, Spanx.

When in doubt understand the risk you are taking if you make a decision, determine if a decision needs to be made right away, then ask yourself “if this were my business, what would I do?�

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House Rules

Clean Desk, Clear Office Policy Keeping your desk and personal belongings in order helps to maintain a professional atmosphere. It helps set you up for issues, as they arise each day, rather than having to deal with yesterdays shit today. Before going home take the time to prioritise for tomorrow today; it stops you from forgetting important things but allows you to forget them whilst you go home for the day.

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Internet Use Policy We appreciate the need to use multiple programmes and often the need to ‘google’ to find solutions. It’s impossible-and impractical-to create really strict guidelines so we offer a few recommendations; • If you don’t know the answer to something try and find it via google before asking someone; you’ll often learn more by finding an answer as your understanding deepens.

• If you’ve been getting no-where for 10 minutes and don’t think the answer is coming just ask.

• Clearly don’t use the internet for personal tasks during working hours; if you need to during a break use a break-out area or a communal computer to mark clearly to others this is what you are doing; otherwise you’ll clearly annoy your work colleagues.

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Dress Code We dress to impress (in our finest suits, shirts and ties) to meet clients. We know first impressions count, well that and converse pumps can only be carried off by the tech start-ups out there.

We dress business casual when we are not in meetings & we dress down on a Friday, as we tend to run out of crisply ironed shirts, tie’s start to get dodgy, & it’s nice to go out straight from work for a well deserved ‘Artois’.

If in doubt where a tie. You can always take it off.

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Taking Breaks & Being Flexible We like to be flexible and will often try to create new ways of working to support this. We don’t always get it right but we strive to be as flexible as possible, as well as keeping things fair for everyone.

We take meal breaks away from the desk and are self aware that if we don’t do this we create grey areas amongst the team. We follow the few house rules so we can get on with making things more flexible for everyone.

We shift slide for appointments we need to make but not for work commitments such as networking or evening events- these are part of the job and invaluable to our mission.

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An important note on what we are We are a business. So alongside our creativity we have to stay true to the business world that we operate in. We also need to make profit.

The harsh reality of business is it’s not polite and does not pardon. It doesn’t make allowances for youth, sex, or demographics. It listens to peers and judges quickly on service and quality. It gives no second chances, it takes advantage of weakness and exposes cracks in processes. It’s not sympathetic and makes no allowances or exceptions. It lives on black and white figures and is cold to the factual truth. It cares little for aspirations or ability and instead focusses on results. It’s a stickler for detail and gets hung up on inaccuracy. It’s brutal to the truth when assessing situations. But relationships matter & can almost over-ride all of the above when you get them right.

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“The path to greatness is rarely having the best technology. It is far more often having the better relationship with the customer. It is a marketing game - not a technology game.”

Joseph Barisonzi, Strategic Growth Initiative, CommunityLeader.

“Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend”.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook.

“Most people are searching for a path to success that is both easy and certain. Most paths are neither” Seth Godwin.

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We work hard We are trying to achieve something unique that’s not easy. To get there we sometimes ask ourselves to go above and beyond or to do extraordinary things!

We start each day with this in mind and have a positive, can-do, attitude. We are the ‘yes’ men & women who ‘get shit done’.

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Lead the way...

The amber 39’s scheme is a leadership talent programme exclusively for amber energy staff.

The programme has a mix of interactive training and extra curricular team building. This will include expeditions such as mountaineering, community based projects & rewarding incentives.

The scheme is to identify & develop future leaders of the company, which will give you access to higher roles at amber energy.

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The scheme will include: • Mission Performance Training • ILM (Institute of Leadership and management training) • Volunteering Events • Expedition/Leadership Challenges • Presentations & Mock Business Opportunity Assessments • A Graduation Weekend Away

The benefits...

The benefits of amber 39’s will be the personal development of the participant with real focus on their leadership skills.

The scheme is FREE but the participant will have to commit to approximately 200 hours of participation, with approximately 70% of the activities & training being extra curricula.

For more information or to request an application form please email info@amberenergy.net

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Index 04 Introduction 07-09 Mission & Vision

- Our Vision

- Our Mission 10-15

Mission of our brands Insight / 20below solar / Wales Zero The Warwickshire Buying Club / Energy Relief The Student Energy Project

16-23 Ethos

Can do attitude / Committed Team Players

Best in class / Excellent Communicators

Entrepreneurial Strategists 24-27

House Rules Clean Desk, Clear Office Policy / Internet Use Dress Code / Taking breaks

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Who We Are

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amber 39’s

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We are award winning Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur Of The Year S.East & S.West Winners Future 100, 2011, 2012 Barclays Take One Small Step Competition for £50,000 (Welsh Finalist) Risk Product & Service of the Year, The Energy Awards 2012 (Finalists) Behaviour Change Campaign of the Year, The Environment & Sustainability Awards 2012 (Finalists) G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, Moscow, 2013 Accredited high growth ‘Gazelle’ Business Most Trusted Consultancy, Energy Live News Awards 2013 (Finalists) Smarta 100 2014 (Most Innovative Business) Energy Efficiency Partnership Of The Year 2014 35 under 35

And many more...

An amber career?

As one of the fastest growing businesses in Wales amber energy is a rapidly changing, fast paced company, that relies on great people to deliver on it’s growth.

amber energy offers a great opportunity for people who: • Are self motivated self starters • Are able to prioritise on work loads • Are determined to succeed and to drive their own career forward • Don’t give up and will go ‘above and beyond’ for their clients

For its people the company will: • Support the development of their career and the direction they wish to go in (providing the company can support this and it’s in line with company objectives).

• Provide 1st class training.

• Reward you with financial incentives.

• Hold activity days and events so that you can get to know your team better.

For further information visit the careers page on our website: www.amberenergy.net/careers

“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me.

You got a dream, you gotta protect it.

When people can’t do something themselves, they’re gonna tell you that you can’t do it.

You want something, go get it.

Period.”

- Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happiness

www.amberenergy.net