#enterprise supplier development programme

[yahoosg-investinyourself]

Why ‘green’ stocks are here to stay

The Trump administration’s seemingly sceptical attitude towards climate change was a key feature of the new United States President’s electoral campaign. However, even though the White House may not be prioritising environmental concerns, investors shouldn’t write-off pro-environment enterprises just yet.

In fact, even oil and gas companies are becoming greener. For one, Shell is increasing its investment in renewable energy to US$1 billion a year by 2030 as part of their contributions to the transition towards a low-carbon energy system.

And with large firms like this paving the way for renewable energy, the future of alternative energy stocks could grow. In fact, one renewable energy stock that has strengthened recently is Atlantica Yield, a portfolio of contracted renewable energy, power generation, electric transmission and water assets. According to investment websites, the “green” stock has been gaining for four consecutive years, and indications are that 2017 will be another good year for it.

Besides investing in outright green stocks, below are four other socially-conscious firms that could be worth investing in due to their sustainable approaches to commerce. How many businesses like these do you already have in your portfolio?

Microsoft

With a market share that until recently stood in excess of 90 per cent of the computer operating systems out there, Microsoft has huge influence. The company’s commitment to the environment includes charging a carbon fee internally, and since mid-2012, the company has been carbon-neutral. It is also claimed to be 100-per-cent powered by renewable energy, purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours a year from sustainable suppliers.

Hasbro

One of the world’s largest producers of toys and board games, Hasbro is constantly evaluating ways to minimise their impact on the environment. The company has made great strides in reducing its carbon footprint by developing innovative ways to reduce packaging, maximising the use of recycled materials, and being committed to sustainable sourcing. Notably, the company has completely eliminated PVC plastic from all toy and game packaging, switching to the more environmentally-friendly PET.

IBM

Since the 1960s, IBM has made a conscious effort to create sustainable business practices and manage resources in order to meet environmental challenges. For example, their Smarter Cities campaign took a comprehensive approach to helping cities run more efficiently and save resources, improving citizens’ lives and the business environment in the process.

Ecolab

Since the 1920s, Ecolab has been providing water, hygiene solutions, energy technologies and services to various industries around the world. Through partnerships with customers, non-governmental organisations and communities, Ecolab has helped to mitigate risks and reduce environmental impact. In 2014, the company also launched the Solutions for Life programme with the aim to help water conservation efforts around the world.  

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Opinions expressed in the article are for reference only and do not represent that of the sponsor.

[beerandpresentdanger]

It Takes a Village

There’s a pub in Deptford called the Job Centre. When it opened, a couple of years ago, it was the subject of lots of hand wringing and letter writing, and rightly so. Built in the empty carcass of what once was an actual, useful  job centre that was shuttered by the Coalition government (remember them?), it stands as a stark, shabby-chic monument to the spectre of gentrification that is haunting the capital. Lewisham, the borough which Deptford is in, is one of the most impoverished areas in London. According to statistics published by the New Policy Institute, male life expectancy is 1.3 years lower than the London average. 44% of 19-year-olds have no qualifications. 12% of the working-age population of Lewisham are in receipt of out-of-work benefits - the fourth-highest rate in London. In short, it is an area in which a job centre served a vital purpose, and while I think pubs can serve a vital purpose themselves, I’m not sure if this was the way to do it.

If this makes it sound like I’m talking down Deptford, I’m not. Lewisham is the place I call home, the place I go shopping and get my hair cut, the place where my first child will be born. I walked down to Deptford last weekend when the high street market was in full force - not the sanitised, guidebook-approved market of Portobello or Camden or Borough, but a real market, with stalls piled high with saltfish and batteries, jeans and lightbulbs, fruit, veg, even an enterprising guy with a no-win no-fee “Have you been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault?” stall.

At the top end of the high street, by the station, there’s Deptford Market Yard - a new development, built into the arches of the listed carriage ramp, which stands both as contrast and complement to the traditional market in the street beyond. Here, there’s a cocktail bar that serves drinks in teapots, an artisan coffee shop, and a place that sells nothing but cheese toasties and accompaniments (to be fair, they’re incredible cheese toasties). It’s old and new Deptford living cheek by jowl, like one of those images made up of two photographs taken from the same spot decades apart; slide your cursor over to see the present slip into the past.

A few arches down the line from the cheese place, you find exactly what you expect to find in a London railway arch - a brewery. Villages to be precise, a new operation that opened its doors in December last year. Currently producing a core range of three session beers, the brewery has a strong pedigree beyond its archway home. The brothers who set it up, Louis and Archie, have brewing backgrounds, at south London strongholds Gipsy Hill and Fourpure respectively, while the kit itself comes from Gipsy Hill - the names of their beers, Hepcat and Southpaw, can still faintly be seen in ghostly whiteboard marker pen, etched on the fermentation vessels.

There are strains of both the other breweries here at Villages. Gipsy Hill built its reputation on well-made, sessionable ales in traditional styles, and there’s no deviation from that here. The three starter beers, Whistle, Rodeo and Pontoon, are all comfortably under 5%, and each is a thoughtful take on a stock character. The Fourpure references come through in the forward-thinking decision to can the beers, the colour-coded artwork, and the clear ambition the brothers have - future-proofing the space with room to add six more fermenters to the four already in place, plans to add a whirlpool for extracting more hop flavour and aroma, and a smart attitude to waste and recycling. Instead of plastic keykegs, used by most small brewers, Villages is using traditional kegs, tracked with a QR code system to process their movement through from supplier, to brewery, to bar.

This thoughtfulness applies to the beers too. Dropping in to sample the offerings, Louis gave us an impromptu tour, and spoke of how the beers were an iterative process, with the recipes being tweaked through trial and error. Considering the strength of the first wave, it bodes well for what’s to come. The pale ale, Rodeo, veers away from the aggressively bitter or super juicy brews that have come to dominate the style, retaining a more sedate English character, with a touch of sweetness and an earthy hop bustle, with just a fringe of citrus from the use of Cascade. Pontoon, a red ale, makes use of its robust malt bill, it’s richer and fruitier than its pale cousin, with a hint of caramelised sugar balanced by a subtle but spicy New World hop bitterness. But for me, the initial standout is Whistle, the pilsner. It’s not afraid to embrace the rich, mouth-coating diacetyl butteriness that you find in authentic Czech pilsners, while the Saaz and Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops impart a refreshing, minty grassiness. It’s the kind of beer you can drink by the gallon, and at 4.4%, you can - as well as the fact that the brewery is selling pints for £4 and cans for £2, making it as cheap, if not cheaper, than many local pubs.

As well as expanding their volume, their range will be growing too, with plans for seasonal releases and barrel-aging programmes all in the pipeline. They’ve already got their first collaboration under their belts, a sour cherry-infused dubbel called Les Gilles with Gipsy Hill that bodes well for future innovation. It might not be what Deptford is used to. But it’s the kind of change I can get behind.

[esd3sixty]

https://esd3sixty.co.za/platform-benefits/

ESD Platform Benefits, Supplier Diagnostic Platform - ESD3Sixty

If you are looking for the benefits of the ESD platform. ESD3SIXTY provides the best enterprise and supplier development services. Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) is critical to the economic future of South Africa. One of the main benefits of the new enterprise and supplier development framework is the inclusion of successful enterprises in our supply chain. ESD contributions result in an improved B-BBEE scorecard rating.

[esd3sixty]

Enterprise Supplier Development Programmer | ESD3Sixty

At ESD3Sixty providing unmatched services in strategy, consulting, enterprise development programs and supplier development.

Enterprise Supplier Development Programme - ESD3Sixty

Find the best enterprise supplier development programme in South Africa. At ESD3Sixty provides unmatched services in strategy, consulting, enterprise development programs, and supplier development. Our Enterprise and Supplier Development programmes reach small businesses, to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. We create customized programmes for each SME, enabling us to create tangible and sustainable impact.

We place great emphasis on job creation, revenue and profit growth, and the overall skilling of selected entrepreneurs and their teams. Our ESD programmes are tailored to the needs of small businesses to tackle relevant issues related to scalability, whether related to their operations, cash flow, or sales. We also place great emphasis on optimizing supplier delivery to ensure efficiency and overall quality improvement.

At ESD3SIXTY we deploy the right resources to assist ESD beneficiaries, whether this involves a warehouse management company optimizing space or a civil engineer assisting a construction company with costing systems. In addition, we offer access to funding, whether through our own funding opportunities or other institutions. Ensuring that entrepreneurs have access to new markets and business opportunities is another very strong cornerstone of our programmes.