Here, at last, is the latest edition of NBTN News! Many apologies for the time lapse between the last newsletter and this one – it’s been a busy time with transferring over to Business in the Community (BITC) from the Campaign for Better Transport and then, unfortunately, I was out of action for a couple of months (just in case you wondered why I’d been so quiet!) but we’re getting back on track now.
Firstly I’d like to introduce you to Ana Svab (pronounced Schwab) who has joined NBTN to help out for a while. Ana has recently completed her Master’s degree and has some very relevant experience so she will be a great asset to us. Ana’s email address is Ana.svab@bitc.org.uk and her telephone number is 0207 566 8719, so please contact either Ana or myself should you need any help or further information on anything NBTN related.
As you know, we joined BITC on 1 October 2009 and whilst we’ve been quiet since then, a lot has been going on. There’s been the Cycle to Work Guarantee Scheme (C2WGS) for a start – thanks to all of you who have already signed up, and I hope many more will continue to do so. In the newsletter you will find links to two new C2WGS toolkits which have been produced and which we hope you’ll find very useful.
You’ll read in the newsletter about the new BITC Regional Sustainable Commuting and Business Travel Awards which are sponsored and supported by DfT/NBTN – I urge you to consider seriously applying for these awards, as NBTN members have been leading the way in this work for years. You’ll also see that we are starting a series of regional roadshows focusing on sustainable travel and on the Cycle to Work Guarantee in particular, beginning this week in Birmingham and currently going through until 30 March with an event in Crewe – although more events may well be added. Another highlight is the BITC Health and Work Summit on 11 May – full details are in the newsletter. It is going to be a great event and I’d love to see as many NBTN members there as possible. As NBTN is co-sponsoring the event along with the Food and Drink Federation, there is a reduced delegate rate for NBTN members.
Most of you will know about BITC but for those of you who don’t, BITC ‘mobilises business for good’. Its power is the unique platform it creates for collaborative action. It works across the four areas of expertise in the Workplace, Marketplace, Environment and Community. Although one of the core Prince’s Charities, it is a business-led movement with over 800 members committed to improving the way in which they manage their resources, be that their people or their energy consumption. Many NBTN members may already be members of BITC (actually Ana is just doing an analysis of this). However, if you are not, and would like further information on how else the organisation can support you on other environmental issues and healthy workplace issues, as well as sustainable active travel, please go to www.bitc.org.uk/environment and www.bitc.org.uk/workplace/health_and_wellbeing for more details.
Part of the partnership with BITC has meant that the work of NBTN will be complemented by The Prince’s Mayday Network on climate change. This is an existing Network of over 1,700 businesses committed to taking action on climate change and all businesses in NBTN are invited to join this Network at no cost and make use of its free online support tool on carbon reduction the Mayday Journey. You can join by signing up at www.maydaynetwork.com. If you’d like to talk to one of our BITC colleagues please let us know and we’ll arrange that.
Finally, I’d be very grateful if you could update your NBTN details if you haven’t already done so. We sent you an email at the end of last week and many of you have already done just that – so thank you. It’s important to keep our database up to date to ensure that you receive relevant information.
Thank you for your continued support and it’s good to be back in touch. As mentioned, please contact either Ana or me should you require any help or information.
Best wishes
Heather
Heather McInroy Programme Director National Business Travel Network
Heather.mcinroy@bitc.org.uk 07912 274 169
