The Drinking Water Inspectorate, Ofwat and the Environment Agency have launched ‘StreamLine’ – a new joint service to improve advice and slash response times for water innovators. The new collaborative service, will function as a one stop shop, making it easier for business and innovators to obtain informal regulatory advice and help them navigate regulations and get the advice they need when developing new goods and services. Innovation is vital to tacking the challenges, such as climate change, to secure reliable water services, safe drinking water and a healthy water environment. Before StreamLine, water innovators would need to contact each…

Earth Day has come and gone, and with it came promises of sustainability from businesses of all sizes. However, many of those promises fell on uncertain ears. According to a recent study from the British Chamber of Commerce, only one in ten small businesses report carbon emissions, and 30 percent of those businesses cite cost as the largest barrier to implementation.   As energy prices and global temperatures soar, sustainability has never been more important – but as a small business owner, where should you begin? While ‘sustainability’ encompasses a wide range of activities, business could focus on reducing their…

Virgin Media O2 Business has today announced that it has appointed commercial specialist Catherine Amran as Director of its SMB (Small & Medium Business) division – as part of its commitment to offering reliable, flexible and secure connectivity to support growth for the UK’s 5.5 million SMBs. Amran brings with her more than 15 years of experience across commercial, strategic delivery, M&A and consultancy, with a rich career history that includes roles at HSBC and Worldpay, where she led the UK SMB division. Reporting directly into Jo Bertram, Managing Director at Virgin Media O2 Business, Amran will now be responsible…

Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox OBE, is to appear at the inaugural MS Brain Health Awards later this month – The international awards, being held virtually on Thursday May 26, will acknowledge and showcase the work of organisations and healthcare professionals who work towards better research, care and understanding of multiple sclerosis, especially in maximizing brain health throughout life to improve outcomes for those living with MS.  The event has been organized and created by Oxford Health Policy Forum which is a community interest company set up six years ago to bring together medical, academic and policy experts to drive change in…

Marketing expert Denise O’Leary, founder of Purpol Marketing recently attended the first Investiture to be held at Buckingham Palace since the Pandemic, and was presented with the MBE – Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – by HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Denise of Chippenham, Wiltshire, was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List for services to the Construction sector and Entrepreneurs. She received the honour for the work she has carried out to demystify the world of construction and marketing. As a construction specialist, Denise is trusted with confidential company information and uses her…

Our relationship with the world around us continues to change on a daily basis. People care a lot more about the impact we’re having on the environment than they did a couple of decades ago, with green schemes, sustainability drives and heightened social pressure to take care of the world we share. For all businesses, including SMEs, there’s a sense of expectancy to ensure you’re doing everything you can to keep your carbon emissions and other harmful environmental outputs to a minimum. If you run an SME and are unsure exactly how to do that, whether it’s understanding exactly what…

With The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations fast approaching, brands all over Britain are racing to get a slice of the royal pie. But, playing into current Royal Family events in your products and marketing is a dangerous game – one which several well-known brands have fallen foul of in the past. Here are the the five regulations you’ll need to watch out for as a company when referencing Her Majesty’s 70-year reign. Don’t mention the Royals in your marketing In celebration of the Jubilee occasion, The Queen has approved a temporary relaxation of the usual stringent rules regarding mentioning the…

The latest data from employee engagement experts Sodexo Engage, reveals that 76% of employees are more likely to apply for a role if there is an option to work flexible hours, highlighting that flexibility is no longer a nice-to-have but an expectation for today’s workers.  According to the research, many employees do not believe that SMEs offer sufficient flexibility. Of the 52% of employees who would rather work for a big corporation, 45% said they were put off by SMEs due to the lack of flexibility. Similarly, 44% of the female employees surveyed cited the lack of flexibility as a…

A Featherstone-based property developer has created a new social hub featuring an artisan coffee shop and sandwich bar, as well as a high-specification hair and beauty salon, in a project that has breathed new life into a redundant site in Castleford. The new Livelihub on Methley Road, close to the town centre, is the brainchild of local entrepreneur Craig Mitchell, owner of Carter & Co. Property Solutions. The new venture, which has created four new jobs, was brought to fruition through funding of £100,000 arranged by Reward Finance Group. The new business aims to provide a contemporary setting for eating,…

Research amongst business decision-makers suggests staff who volunteer as magistrates can be ‘good for business’, as the Ministry of Justice calls upon employers across all sectors to support the search for 4,000 new magistrates in England and Wales.  As part of the national recruitment drive, research from the Ministry of Justice has found the top qualities HR and business leaders see in people who volunteer as magistrates are sound judgement (89%) and effective decision-making (81%). Magistrates are trained to develop transferrable skills such as critical analysis, complex problem solving, mediation, influencing and decision making. Employers agreed the potential business benefits…