Making one of your employees an energy champion can be a very effective way of controlling energy costs and the Carbon Trust has published a number of tips for how to make the best of such a role. They include: Reporting energy waste they notice, such as equipment left on unnecessarily. Ensuring equipment and machinery are well-maintained and working efficiently. Contributing and gathering ideas for improving the way things are done. Testing and implementing new processes. Communicating good practice and being an ambassador for change.   It’s also vital that your energy champion has the visible support of top management and all the necessary resources they need to be effective. According to the Carbon Trust approach, the energy champion should: Be the eyes and ears for energy wastage. Be responsible for reading meters and checking fuel bills. Develop a weekly or monthly checklist of duties. Consider forming an action team to report on progress and encourage further action. A good way of identifying waste initially is to stage an energy walkabout.  Because your energy usage patterns will vary throughout the day, the walkabout times should be varied to match, for example, when the cleaners are in, at lunch, and at night or over weekends. From these walks, your energy champion can identify where energy is being wasted and the possible reasons.  Is it a lack understanding, are procedures being overlooked, is repair or necessary to reduce energy costs, or there is a need for capital investment. We’re proud business energy suppliers with a passion for supporting companies of various sizes, whether with competitive gas tariffs, electricity or 100% UK wind power. Contact our team today to learn more. We’re proud business energy suppliers with a passion for supporting companies of various sizes, whether with competitive gas tariffs, electricity or 100% UK wind power.  Contact our team today to learn more.

Almost two thirds of travellers in Asia, Europe, North America and South America would be comfortable with robots being used in the travel industry, a new study has found. Travelzoo conducted the research as part of its Future of Travel project, a study of consumer acceptance of robots in the travel and tourism sector.  It found that nearly 80% of the 6,000+ travellers surveyed expect robots to play a big part in their lives by 2020. The main advantages respondents saw in robots were related to general efficiency, data retention and recall.  More than three-quarters thought robots would be better than humans at handling data (81%) and dealing with different languages (79%), and 76% believed robots would have better memories.  81% of respondents selected their untiring energy as an advantage. “Right now is a very exciting moment in the history of the travel industry – groundbreaking technology is revolutionising what is possible from the perspective of customer service, entertainment and personalisation,” Richard Singer, Travelzoo’s European President, said. “Robots and artificial intelligence are making their debut on the tourism stage, and our research into global acceptance of robots working in the travel industry is largely positive.” However, he added:  “While the advent of technology such as robot butlers and bartenders is hugely exciting, it’s also very clear from our research that consumers see the combination of robots and humans working in tandem in customer-facing roles as the ideal solution. “Consumers still want humans in the picture, as otherwise there is a genuine fear that cultural nuances, humour and irony will be missed and the holiday experience could become too impersonal.  If we don’t respect the desire for the human touch, we risk ‘robophobia’ setting in, when in fact technology can significantly improve the holiday experience when used appropriately.”

What is P272? P27what? You aren’t alone in the dark about P272.  P272 is regarded as one of the biggest shakeups to the business electricity market since deregulation. Sounds more like a character out of star wars,  but here are some facts on P272,  which we have put together hopefully jargon free. If you unsure on how P272 affects your business please do not hesitate to contact us for free on 0800 781 7626, we will be delighted to help you further. You may also like to view our infographic and visit our support page dedicated to the P272 OFGEM legislation. The Facts – What Is P272 P272 is a new regulation which has been implemented by OFGEM. It affects the way suppliers settle electricity consumption for businesses with a specified energy use. Resulting in sites being changed to half hourly. Remember, remember the 5th November… “Guy Fawkes?”. No, no… this is when the P272 migration began! The deadline for all sites to be settled to Half-Hourly is 1st April 2017. Don’t be fooled by the date, it really is 1st April! Also, don’t be put off by the 2017 threat – it’ll be here before you know it! The settlement is being put in place in order for suppliers to balance the amount of energy being purchased from the Generators. The aim for P272 is to make the readings more accurate via the half hourly consumption. This will provide distributors with more understanding on electricity use. This results in networks ensuring they are sufficiently developed and maintained. Ultimately, P272 helps you and your business manage and also use the energy smartly. It gives you the opportunity to see where and when you are consuming energy. Also, a more accurate settlement which could lead to better tariff rates… something nobody would say no to, agreed? Now you (hopefully) have a little more understanding of P272 here is how to prepare: Learn if your portfolio is affected. Speak to your supplier, they will be more than happy to explore your options with you. Select your Half-Hourly Meter and Data Collector. If your business has a maximum demand electricity supply categorised by profile classes: 05 06 07 08 And you have an Automated Meter Reading meter of which is capable of HH data collection and remote programming. Just to let you know… 160,000 sites are affected so it is definitely worth double, maybe even triple checking! “How do I check?!” I hear you say? Simple… you just check the S number at the top of your electricity bill to find out your sites profile class.   Believe it or not, P272 can be very beneficial for you and here’s why: You receive accurate billing It offers you the ability to avoid peak times of electricity use It gives you an insight on your energy usage It allows you to make room for an opportunity of improvement and efficiency REMEMBER… This is an OFGEM regulation affecting ALL maximum demand meters and ALL electricity suppliers equally. If you’re being advised P272 does not affect your business, please let us double check this for you.  

Everyday thousands of elderly patients are unable to leave due to a lack of care available in the community. A solution for this has risen, see what you think… A recent debate has come around regarding the NHS to fund for Care Homes to give beds to elderly patients who have been in hospital for a substantial amount of time in a result of a lack of care available for the vulnerable patients when they leave the hospital. Therefore, the NHS are keeping these patients in their beds which is also resulting in newly arrived patients to be on trolleys in the hospital corridors. This new campaign has been classed as a ‘win-win’ by the Government as it will be freeing up hospital beds while bringing ‘vital investment’ to the care sector. It seems to be almost unbelievable that the change hasn’t been discussed or arranged earlier as no serious issues have been brought to light. Overall in the NHS in England, 4 300 patients are stuck in hospital because of discharging issues. This is taking up what looks like the small percentage of 4% of general hospital beds, yet when you take into consideration the 4% of newly arrived patients that could be given a proper hospital bed when they are most in need, it puts into perspective how this arrangement should be escalated to begin as quickly as possible. If these underlying issues continue the way they are, the number of patients stuck in hospitals could increase by 1 000 in the short time of 5 years. If the changes were to be made, the NHS would benefit just as much as the patients as they would save themselves a grand total of £3.3bn by preventing the costs of having to increase hospital space and provide more hospital beds. Whereas, the more appropriate way to spend £3.3bn would be to cover the cost of the following: all patients suffering delay, Care Home staff and the facilities needed in the Care Home to attend to specific needs of the patients. If these changes were to take place, the patients that would be moved into the funded Care Homes would receive temporary 24-hour round the clock care from the staff at the Care Home. This would be until a more permanent provision of care can be arranged. ResPublica director, Phillip Blond, said that “the bed blocking crisis in the NHS is only getting worse… leaving newly arrived patients on trolleys in hospital corridors”. The term crisis is vaguely used yet it gives an insight of the severity of the issue and the lack of attention this has been given in the past as it is ‘only getting worse’. In other words, we need to cure this problem before it’s too late. Furthermore, we all know that prevention is better than cure so therefore the question “why are we only thinking about acting now?” is being raised in many people’s minds. The extra money from this project will help Care Homes stay afloat in comparison to last years’ threats of potentially losing around 37 000 beds which could be lost due to the minute percentage of fees paid by the council. If this new arrangement were to take place and the health and care sectors “worked better together” it would be aided by Better Care Fund. Better Care Fund was launched last year it was announced by Government in June 2013. The purpose of the fund is to ensure a transformation in integrated health and social care. The trust has been labelled as one of the most ambitious programmes across the NHS and the local government. The idea is that Better Care Fund creates a single pooled budget to focus specifically on the NHS and government to work more closely together placing their well-being as the focus of health and care services. This fund involves an astounding £5.3bn annual pot to be pooled within these sectors. It seems almost bizarre that we, as a country, are not already undergoing these procedures to help those who are in need of the support that is quite clearly available to be provided to these patients who are trapped in a world in which they have no vision of escape for the foreseeable.