At the networking event ‘Generating opportunities through the London 2012 Games and sustainability’, on November 16 at Molineux Stadium, Lloyds TSB Commercial showed its commitment to Wolverhampton businesses - by helping them gain access to opportunities surrounding the London 2012 Games.
Lloyds is the official banking and insurance partner of the Olympic Games, and is helping businesses across Britain access procurement opportunities through their website
www.lloydstsb.com/london2012business.
So far, over 60% of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) contracts have been awarded to SMEs, and over 50% of the contracts are being awarded outside London and the South East.
The event, which attracted over 100 local businesses, also discussed sustainability – a key element LOCOG is looking for in their tender process. Lloyds is helping Wolverhampton businesses reduce their carbon footprints to help them win the big contracts.
“By failing to act now, SMEs could lose ground to competitors, face hefty fines for not complying with strict new legislation and miss out on the opportunities the rapidly-growing green sector is expected to yield”, said David Garbutt, the Lloyds West Midlands Area Manager, speaking at the event.
“We are committed to helping businesses across the country implement sustainability related policies and have pledged to create a network of 200 Business and Environment Managers by the end of this year”, he said.
Alongside David’s speech, there were presentations from Alan Wood, Wolverhampton City Council’s Inward Investment Officer, Charmaine Morrell, an Environmental Consultant from Groundwork West Midlands, Sydney 2000 Gold medallist Denise Lewis and Jenny Long, the Project Manager of finditinwolverhampton.
Charmaine Morrell spoke about practical ways businesses can become more sustainable - by increasing their resource efficiency in terms of energy, waste, water and raw materials. Each resource saving opportunity was accompanied with a local case study.
“One company based in Dudley achieved electricity cost savings of £4,226 per year by replacing traditional motors with those fitted with variable speed drives", she said.
Groundwork provides environmental support for companies in the West Midlands, helping them improve their environmental performance, and become more sustainable.
Sydney 2000 Gold medallist Denise Lewis also gave an inspiring speech about how she made the dream she had at age eight - to become an Olympic champion - a reality.
“I learned to be focused every day and to be meticulous in my business – sport”, she said. “Come out of your comfort zone and push your business forward.”
Denise, who trained at Aldersley Stadium, thanked Lloyds TSB for encouraging young people into sport (Lloyds also funds school sport projects) and welcomed London 2012 hopefuls Hannah Payton and Philip Davis to the stage for a question and answer session.
After the presentations, networking took place in three zones – the Managing and Sourcing Finance Zone, the Olympic Contracts Zone and the Sustainability Zone.
Business leaders from across the city enjoyed exhibition stands from Wolverhampton City Council, Business Link, Groundwork UK – and the finditinwolverhampton team!
The event was one of 200 being held this year by Lloyds as part of its ‘2012 SME Charter’ – a pledge to encourage enterprise, make finance accessible and make pricing more clear.
Picture: L to R – Charmaine Morrell, David Garbutt, Hannah Payton, Phillip Davis, Carole Haddleton, Jenny Long, Denise Lewis and Alan Wood.