Sustainable Meet the Buyer Event – Helping businesses achieve sustainability and supporting wider connectivity
Stevenage Borough Council has recently partnered with Sustainable X to deliver a fully funded Sustainable Support Programme for local businesses to support key learning of Sustainable practices and opportunities for businesses. The programme includes skills and training support on sustainable supply chain management and wider stakeholder engagement.
The programme launches on 28 September with the Sustainable Meet the Buyer event, providing unique collaboration opportunities for both Buyers and Suppliers.
The event is a great opportunity to find out more about key innovative sustainable programmes and practices to encourage wider learning. It also offers participants the chance to grow their network with potential supply chain connections too.
What are the benefits for my business?
There are lots of benefits for programme participants, including first-hand knowledge of tender opportunities amongst larger businesses, help available to support companies develop and strengthen local supply chains through the council and other local Buyers and the chance to gain valuable insights into Buyers’ sustainable needs and requirements in forthcoming tenders. Alongside all this key knowledge, you’ll also find out how to access these opportunities and learn of specialised initiatives and support specifically targeting micro and SME’s.
The event will also assist attendees with training and development in risk and opportunity management, carbon footprint analysis, and sustainability reporting and communication to help them grow and increase their resilience to the constantly changing economic climate.
Wider contract readiness support will also be on offer to ensure overall competitiveness and attractiveness to a broader group of buyers in a range of sectors. The event will also feature lots of opportunities to network with key Buyers and like-minded peers.
Cllr Lloyd Briscoe, Portfolio Holder for Economy and Transport stated, “We are delighted to be working with Sustainable X to extend the Sustainability Business Support we currently offer to local businesses. The Meet the Buyer event and future programmes will provide an excellent platform for businesses who have invested in the town by delivering key projects and opportunities to showcase their wider sustainable practices.
“It will also ensure that businesses across the town can benefit from the wider regeneration and development taking place, and also learn how to reduce their overall environmental impact and carbon footprint, whilst increasing their overall competitiveness in the market.
“The Sustainable Meet the Buyer event is aimed at all business, small, medium or large, and I would encourage Stevenage companies to take up the prospect to meet with key decision makers and access the unique opportunities open to their business, to ensure economic growth and success of the wider community.”
Rondi Allan, Director at Sustainable X:
“At Sustainable X, we are delighted to join forces with Stevenage Borough Council in advancing business sustainability through this fully funded Sustainable Support Programme. We’re proud to be part of this important work for Stevenage Borough and local businesses and we are sure it will provide many opportunities to showcase business achievements and collaborations.”
The Sustainable Meet the Buyer will be held at the Business Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage on Thursday 28 September 2023. Businesses in Stevenage can register for FREE. For further information and register your place by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stevenage-sustainable-meet-the-buyer-event-tickets-705930596417
Stevenage Borough Council
In its Climate Change Strategy in 2020, Stevenage Borough Council has identified Businesses as one of the key themes to lead climate action across the town. The Council has committed to use shared knowledge to support SMEs to adapt to climate change opportunities and to share knowledge and improved ways of working to reduce carbon emissions. By supporting businesses to decarbonise, SBC is also supporting value chain emissions reductions for its own operations and for other Stevenage-based organisations. These emissions often represent the majority of an organization’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so their reductions are critical.
Since the Council’s climate emergency declaration in June 2019, Stevenage Borough Council has collectively worked on a range of initiatives to support its business community, including a county wide led Climate Change conference to help businesses grow through sustainability, with access to specialised business support and funding. More recently the council has partnered with Wenta to support the Action Zero programme, to ensure our smaller businesses have access to unlock net zero opportunities including, funding support and green grants.
Stevenage Borough Council are firmly committed to Social Value and Ethical Procurement and recognise the need to address the social, economic, and environmental benefits to the wider community in all contracts commissioned. The council has recently embedded the Social Value Portal to measure social value in tendered procurements above £75K where the Council have the opportunity to do so. We understand social value benefits in procurement will bring together positive sustainable and economic solutions to drive down our own carbon usage.
Sustainable X
Sustainable X support clients to accelerate their sustainability to address client demands, investor interest, employee pressure and cost reduction challenges. Providing a structured process they enable clients to identify and prioritise their impact areas, benchmark performance and drive improvements. They have worked with hundreds of SME businesses, identifying thousands of areas of opportunities for them collectively and driving their business forward at an accelerated pace.