Sustainability for SMEs: BSP Consulting

Through the GRADS for D2N2 project, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire with a package of free and subsidised support to help them identify their skills and talent needs, and benefit from graduate talent in the region.

How we supported BSP Consulting

One element of the support on offer, which is part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), is a series of Sustainability Round Table events, which are an opportunity for SMEs to co-design their own support around the theme of sustainability.

Each round table is made up of two sessions, with the first consisting of a facilitated discussion around what approaches businesses have already taken towards sustainability, what gaps in knowledge and skills exist and where support is needed. A series of toolkits are prepared to response to the feedback and presented at a second session when they are made available to the businesses.

At a recent round table, we welcomed BSP Consulting, a local civil, structural, transportation, environmental and geotechnical engineering company that work in the construction sector. Carrie Booth, their business development manager for QA and environmental management attended both sessions and provided some feedback about how the company is already benefitting from the support provided.

She said: “The Sustainability Round Table event was an opportunity to hear from other local businesses to share ideas on how our business can become more sustainable. I was able to give advice to other attendees and take away ideas and tips from others we can implement within our business.

“The sustainability toolkits provided are very useful and give us food for thought for when we undertake a SWOT analysis and will give us a guide on how to evaluate where we are currently at and make changes and set objectives for the future.

“Hearing from other companies at the Round Table like CPMG Architects and Innes England, and what they will be doing to promote sustainability, has given me ideas that I can share internally. I am now aware of other businesses going on the same journey as we are and so have people to talk to and engage with.

“We have made a lot of office-based changes and we are now thinking of ways we can become more sustainable within our engineering design; we aim to raise more awareness within the construction industry and promote sustainable developments wherever possible.

“Having also taken the NTU SAIL sustainability course, I have also received my Carbon Literacy certificate, and I’m in a good position to implement changes both internally via our quality assurance and environmental management systems, as well as externally through our marketing and communications, client B2B relationship meetings, and within bid submissions.

“We also have plans to further implement sustainability which include achieving ISO14001 Environmental accreditation in June 2021, installing smart meters in our Nottingham and Derby Office, promoting our cycle to work scheme, implementing sustainable design solutions within our fee quote form and advertising our sustainable approach to design.

“We also want to increase knowledge of how to incorporate sustainability within design works that we undertake via “Lunch & Learn” seminar talks and to encourage environmental and sustainability champions within each office”.

2021 Sustainability Round Table Events