Grapevine

18 September 2020

Welcome to this week’s Grapevine, the place to get your bitesize FM updates in one place, in a handy five-minute read.

Got a story for us? Please send news stories & press releases to: grapevine@twinfm.com.

Foodbuy Scoops a Coveted CIPS Award

Foodbuy UK, a food procurement business, has won the title of Best Initiative to Deliver Social Value through Procurement at the 2020 CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards.

Run by the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supply (CIPS), the CIPS Awards recognise outstanding projects, people and teams across the entire procurement and supply chain profession.

Foodbuy won for its work pioneering sustainable causes throughout its supply chains, most notably with social enterprises. In the last year alone, Foodbuy had spent more than £2.1 million with over 20 different social enterprises, as well as helping clients to source more sustainably and socially through a number of different social value initiatives.

In 2019, Foodbuy also became the first company in the food and drink sector to join the Buy Social Corporate Challenge. The Challenge brings together corporate partners from a broad range of industries with a collective ambition to spend £1 billion with social enterprises.

The CIPS judging panel commented: “The project showed that Foodbuy UK is clearly a business whose clients expect them to source responsibly, and within the communities they serve. They are clearly going beyond expectations and pushing into new areas of social procurement. Well done.”

Ian Murphy, Managing Director, Foodbuy said: “At Foodbuy, we are all about sustainable procurement and it’s great to see our efforts recognised on a global scale. We truly believe social enterprises are essential for a successful future which is why we’ve committed over £5million spend to supporting social causes across the UK. Winning a CIPS Award really is the true pinnacle for anyone in our profession, and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every member of the Foodbuy team, they really deserve this fantastic recognition.”

The winners were announced at a virtual awards ceremony and the other finalists in this category included Nationwide Building Society and Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs.

Anabas Implements “Brilliance” Training to Support Employee Wellbeing and Optimise Service Delivery

Boutique full-service facilities management company Anabas has launched ‘The Art of Brilliance’ training to support its workforce in weathering the COVID-19 storm.

Anabas has recognised that a new way of thinking and a new way of being is vital for employees to be able to improve resilience and positivity and overcome the significant emotional impact of COVID-19. Over the next 18 months, all Anabas staff, irrespective of their role or contracted hours, will receive the "The Art of Being Brilliant" training via interactive workshops either virtually or face-to-face, delivered by the team at The Art of Brilliance.

The Art of Brilliance is a not-for-profit training organisation specialising in training and development to make people more positive, motivated, and brilliant, and become the best version of themselves. By introducing positive psychology and resilience training, Anabas will equip each member of staff with the tools they need to personally feel their best every day, cultivate a positive, can-do attitude and thrive in a world that is currently fraught with uncertainty. Identifying the connection between feeling great, always seeking to improve and productivity, this training also supports the company’s aims for optimising service standards and delivering customer service that is consistently world-class. All Anabas staff will also have access to a "Be Brilliant" library of resources to support them on their journey to brilliance.

Alistair Craig, Managing Director of Anabas said: “Purely ‘Returning to work safely’ is not enough. 2020 has been a year like no other and our employees have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. For us it is key to equip them with the tools they need to flourish and lead a more positive, balanced life, both personally and professionally.

“At a time when many businesses are cutting staff training and development budgets, we are investing more. We want our workforce to feel their best and become the most positive and resilient version of themselves. This new level of reframed thought and behaviour will also elevate our relationships with our customers. If our staff feel great, they will deliver a great service allowing Anabas to consistently have the wow-factor.”

Commenting on Anabas’ implementation of the "Art of Being Brilliant" training Andy Cope, Founder of The Art of Brilliance, said “It’s pivotal that companies like Anabas really step up and take this opportunity to support their workforce. Giving everyone more reasons to be positive and make a difference to themselves and everyone around them is critical to wellbeing, especially in the current climate. We’re all moving into a ‘new normal’ and it is up to all of us to define what that is – we’re pleased Anabas’ ‘new normal’ will be brilliant!”

Julius Rutherfoord & Co Awarded Cleaning Contract at The House of St Barnabas

JR&Co has announced that they are now the cleaning contractor for The House of St Barnabas, a social members club and employment academy based in a Grade I listed Georgian townhouse in the heart of Soho.

They began mobilising the contract in August and their team (who have all been trained in enhanced sanitisation during COVID-19) started cleaning on 17 August.

The company began with a thorough deep clean, followed by a sanitisation clean using the Clorox 360 system to ensure a COVID-19 secure environment.

JR&Co have previous experience of cleaning grade listed buildings, including The Honourable Society of the Inner and Middle Temple Estates. This included a full specialist chandelier clean and using the right procedures and methodologies to preserve the delicate fixtures and fittings.

Remember the law around gatherings and social distancing. Please, please adhere to these and keep everyone safe.

11 September 2020

Welcome to this week’s Grapevine, the place to get your bitesize FM updates in one place, in a handy five-minute read.

Got a story for us? Please send news stories & press releases to: grapevine@twinfm.com.

Sodexo Goes Digital With Dynamify Partnership

Sodexo has announced a new partnership with food technology expert Dynamify to support the implementation of digital retail and hospitality across its sites in the UK.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted people’s behaviours, particularly with regards to foodservice, retail and hospitality. Over the next 12-18 months the foodservice industry needs to change in order to provide consumers and clients with more flexible solutions, both to manage the post-COVID environment and to build future solutions.

Dynamify works with foodservice partners to deliver a mobile-first experience, developed with the consumer and their smartphone in mind. Sodexo will work with Dynamify on an app-based digital retail platform to support activities such as scan-and-go, pre-order and pre-pay, delivery, table service, reservations and loyalty.

Sodexo’s new app will enable consumers to buy from its restaurants and retail outlets, or to access delivered-in options at the touch of a button, as well as ordering hospitality for meetings. Already successfully deployed in Sodexo’s Asian operations, the app is adaptable to different environments. Sodexo is rolling out the app across corporate sites and universities over the next 12 months.

The app allows personalised content and tailored promotions and will enable Sodexo to further support offer development and build loyalty. Crucially, it removes shared touchpoints and eliminates physical queuing as companies manage social distancing.

Julie Ennis, CEO of Corporate Services, Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “Strategic deployment of digital technology is critical for creating the best consumer experiences in the workplace, so we are delighted to partner with Dynamify to deliver this. The powerful combination of Sodexo’s food offers with Dynamify’s market-leading technology platform makes a compelling proposition to both clients and consumers.”

GreenZone Scoops Two Bronze Awards at the International Global Good Awards

GreenZone, an already award-winning commercial cleaning company has just scooped bronze at the international Global Good Awards for both Company of the Year and Employee Engagement and Wellbeing categories. No mean feat considering the prestigious, corporate company it found itself in.

The Global Good Awards were set up to recognise the work that organisations are doing in their communities, for their people and for the planet. They reward all aspects of sustainability and social impact in businesses of all types and in all industries, not just commercial cleaning.

Entries are from across the globe and range from small independent business through to global multi-national companies. Judging was delivered by a broad independent panel of experts across all industries, specialising in sustainability and social value.

To achieve bronze in the Company of the Year category is a recognition of the overall success GreenZone have achieved in developing and growing the business into the successful, dynamic, economically, socially and environmentally responsible company it is today.

The Employee Engagement and Wellbeing bronze award acknowledges the activities and practices developed within GreenZone to enhance employee engagement and wellbeing both in and out of the workplace.

Steve Trew Managing Director at GreenZone Cleaning and Support Services Ltd, said of the awards: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved bronze in both the Company of the Year and Employee Engagement and Wellbeing categories at the international Global Good Awards. It’s an amazing testament to our people, who are at the centre of our business, and independently verifies how ten years into our journey, we continue to keep sustainability at the core of everything we do.”

Top Scots Whisky Brand and Northants Sanitiser Manufacturer Link up to Make Golf Tour Safer

Loch Lomond Whiskies has donated more than 1,000 litres of Shield Guard hand sanitiser, made with alcohol produced at The Loch Lomond Distillery, to the European Tour UK Swing.

It all began in February when Loch Lomond Whiskies took a decision to manufacture hand sanitiser to protect their own distillery staff. It soon became apparent that there was a huge need, and the distillery donated 32,000 bottles to nearby organisations for their frontline staff.

When Nick Winstone, CEO of Healthguard Hygiene Ltd – which is based at Pury Hill Business Park, Towcester - saw an update from Loch Lomond CEO Colin Matthews on LinkedIn, he contacted their production team with a request to help keep Healthguard’s supply chain going. “We did some due diligence on the enquiries and selected Healthguard Hygiene as the partner we’d most like to work with and support,” explains Tony Brewerton, Operations Director of the Loch Lomond Group. “A call was set up, a relationship quickly formed and within two weeks the first load of alcohol bound for Healthguard Hygiene was leaving the distillery.”

This alcohol is loaded into 1,000 litre containers and trucked to Healthguard Hygiene. There it is used to manufacture the Shield Guard range of sanitisers to the highest ISO9001 standards. In May 2020, Shield Guard products were tested and found to be compliant with EN 1276, 1500 and 14476A:2019, which means that they are effective at killing a range of pathogens.

With the European Tour beginning again with the newly launched UK Swing and in the wake of lockdowns across many countries, and the need to protect golfers and support staff, the opportunity was obvious. The Loch Lomond Group is donating over 1,000 litres of Shield Guard hand sanitiser to the tour. This will help keep the golfers, their caddies and other support staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflects Tony Brewerton: “My hope would be, between the Loch Lomond Group and Healthguard Hygiene, that we would have played a part in keeping front line workers and the public safe when they needed to be kept safe the most and that we continue to do so for years after. Shield Guard would be seen as the market leader and a brand of safety for everyone.”

Adds Winstone, “What began as a partnership to meet frontline demand has evolved into a long term business partnership between both groups, for Healthguard Hygiene knowing the providence of our raw material alcohol and ensuring our supply chain is completely UK-based.”

Got a story for us? Please send news stories & press releases to: grapevine@twinfm.com