ISO 14001: It's not for everyone, especially SME's.

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ISO 14001 makes it easy for large businesses to demonstrate their environmental credentials, however this heavyweight accreditation is not suitable for all businesses. Due to the cost of attaining ISO 14001, the various steps required to meet the criteria, and the year on year measurement of improvement, many SME's do not have the resources or finances to tackle and maintain it. 

Although it is credited with being the 'best' and most widely recognised environmental accreditation, the aforementioned SME's are missing out. Procurement teams will look for businesses to have some evidence of an Environmental Management System (EMS), and although ISO 14001 demonstrates this, many companies just want a certificate! 

That is why we provide Silver and Gold accreditation. It helps SME's to get a foot in the door and acts as a stepping stone for larger businesses approaching ISO 14001. We also make sure businesses keep moving forward by agreeing on actions for the future. To see a comparison between Silver/Gold and ISO 14001, click here. 

This post was inspired by an article from the Guardian 'ISO 14001: Loved by procurement, hated by SME's'.  It makes for a good read and explains the problems faced by small businesses looking to gain recognition for their environmental commitments.

If you are interested in what the Green Achiever Scheme can bring to your business, or are simply curious about environmental accreditation in general, give us a call on 01743 343 403 or e-mail info@greenachiever.co.uk 

Your Green Back to School Guide

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Where have the 6 weeks of summer gone? They've flown by in my opinion, and before we can even catch our breath, its time to sort the packed-lunches, straighten those ties and start the car up ready for the early morning run. Yes, its the dreaded back to school time! 

Whether your child is starting a new school or heading back for the new year of term I'm aiming to provide you with the perfect solutions to staying green. I was due to post this before school started back, but before I had time to finish it Septembers already sped past and we are already at the beginning of October *and breathe*! 

During my search for green, sustainable stationery, I found the following companies you many find useful:- 

Nigels Eco Store - http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/eco-office.html - I feature this website a lot on this blog, but with good reason. They supply anything from stationery for school, notepads, paper and computer products at affordable prices. 

Oxfam - http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/ethical-collection/cards-and-stationery?pscid=ps_ggl_GR_Ethical+Collection-Stationery&gclid=CNbGyoiH4rICFSTKtAodnGQAWQ Oxfam stock a range of ethical stationery items for organizing - from handy notebooks to pencil cases, calenders and diaries.

The Green Stationery Company - http://www.greenstat.co.uk/storefront/home The Green Stationery Company stock many items for back to school use such as inks, files, folders, storage solutions, stationery and organizers. 

My Eco Store - http://www.myecostore.co.uk/recycled-stationery-stationery-c-160_83.html My Eco Store stock lots of eco-friendly stationery products helping youngsters 'on their green journey', at reasonable prices.

Other back to school supplies:

Bags -

Nigels Eco Store - http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Woven_.html - Again, Nigels Eco Store store some of the best (and outrageous!) eco-friendly bags around. They may be a bit too wild to use as a school bag, but they are still very stylish. They are woven from recycled juice cartons! Go look- I want one!

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk - Amazon stock a range of different eco-friendly bags for any occasion including school bags, fashion bags and laptop bags. 

Cotton Shoppers - http://www.cottonshoppers.co.uk/?gclid=COjv5raW4rICFUbMtAodVTQASQ Cotton Shoppers stock paper, jute, canvas and plastic bags ready to be printed, branded and reused by you :-)

School Uniforms -

School uniforms are mostly passed down from sibling to sibling, from friend to friend and therefore are very widely reused in the UK. However, if you are looking for a brand-new shiny ethically sourced school uniform for your child, look no further:-

Cotton Roots - http://www.cottonroots.co.uk/new/?gclid=CNavquyX4rICFaTJtAodtVkAGw Cotton Roots have teamed up with Fairtrade to produce eco-friendly school uniforms for youngsters. 

Nigels Eco Store - http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Organic_School_Uniforms.html Nigels Eco Store stock organic cotton school uniforms for both boys and girls at reasonable prices.

They are just a taster of some online companies who stock back to school supplies, if you could recommend any others or work for a company that stocks supplies yourself, just leave a comment below and I will be sure to add them to the blog post :-) 

Thank you for reading! 
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