< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.netRENEWABLESdropping 27% year-on-year. Gas power generation also decreased by 4.6% while renewables output jumped 19.5% to make up 29.3% of all power generation in 2017. Wind power made up a significant share of renewables contribution to power generation, and is certainly recognised as the leading light in the sector, with an 8.6% contribution from onshore wind farms and 6.2% from offshore wind farms respectively - together providing almost half of renewables contribution to power. Though fossil fuels remained the primary source of energy supply for the UK, it was at a record low in 2017. 2018 continued the rise of renewable energy with renewables generating 30.1% of UK power in Q1, with onshore wind farms generating 10.6% and offshore supplying 8.5% of UK’s power, accounting for almost a fifth of the UK’s entire electricity in the quarter. This positive momentum extended into Q2 where the renewables industry’s share of electricity generation reached a record 31.7%, while coal fell to a new record low, highlighting a welcome step forward in the UK’s plans to phase out coal power by 2025. Though onshore wind generation decreased by 12% in the period, due to lower wind speeds, offshore wind increased by 19%, offsetting this. Other stand-out increases noted in government data came from bioenergy, with generation up 8.9%, and plant biomass (wood) in particular which grew by 12%. The growth in the period has also been accredited to the success of the solar sector in the summer heatwave, which generated enough solar power to fuel over 1 million homes. Despite the contribution of solar, and it being voted the most popular source of energy in the UK, concerns are strong in the sector after new solar power installations were revealed to have more than halved in 2017, attributed in part to subsidy cuts. With this decrease, UK solar growth is anticipated to decelerate, and according to predictions from SolarPowerEurope, the UK will only add 2.1GW of solar by 2022, making it the slowest growing market amongst the world’s top 20. However, solar farm cost reductions have passed expectations this year, with solar now anticipated to become the lowest cost form of new generating capacity in the next decade, which has led the Solar Trade Association (STA) to predict a rise in solar farm development in 2019. Solar is now recognised as cost competitive with fossil fuels and the STA state that with the right policy framework for solar and storage, the government will allow © Shutterstock/imacoconut29-31.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:22 Page 2www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 31 RENEWABLESthe technology to realise its potential as an affordable low-carbon energy system. 2018 also marked the first instance in which the UK’s total renewable energy capacity overtook fossil fuels, according to the latest ‘Drax Electric Insights’ report. While a third of fossil fuel generating capacity retired in the past five years, capacity from wind, solar, hydro, biomass and other renewables has tripled, with total renewable capacity available on the system reaching 42GW, overtaking the 40.6GW capacity available from fossil fuels. Broken down, wind farms offer the largest share of renewable capacity with more than 20GW available, followed by solar with 13GW and biomass with 3.2GW. Despite the increasing contribution renewable energy is making to power, the UK is still not on course to meet its emission targets for the late 2020s and early 2030s. In response to this, those in the renewables industry have called for the government to improve domestic and industrial energy efficiency and better allow for development of cost effective solar and wind farms. Additionally, with the contribution onshore wind farms make to the UK’s energy, the lack of support for new onshore wind projects is causing frustration, with opinion polls showing that two-thirds of people think current policy, which has placed planning restrictions on onshore wind farm construction, should be altered to allow onshore wind to proceed wherever it has local support. Since 2015 onshore wind projects have also been banned from competing in the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) framework - the government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation - and will continue to be so for the next auctions in 2019. The 2019 auctions have received further negative reactions as the £60m assigned for them is lower than the level of support expected. This has been critiqued for jeopardising UK climate goals and hindering the expansion of the renewables industry, though a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has said that the £60m is a reflection of “the fall in costs of renewable electricity” which “means that we should be able to secure more generation than the last auction at a lower cost for consumers.” Further negative news for the wider renewables sector arose in research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which indicated a major drop in investment in wind and solar power in 2017, with investment in the renewable sources of energy declining by 57%, the second year of reduced investment, but growing independent capacity is stated to be pushing the sector forwards, and the declining cost for electricity from solar panels and wind turbines is to put subsidy free renewables in reach.The St James Hotel hosts Grimsby Renewables Partnership event As the nexus of the nation’s renewable energy industry, it’s no surprise that a recent networking event hosted by the Grimsby Renewables Partnership drew an eager crowd keen to hear from its key speakers and engage in important industry discussions. The event was held at the popular The St James Hotel located conveniently in the heart of the town in close proximity to the train station, making it ideally suited for any industry event. The networking event brings people together to discuss, explore and discover what’s going in the industry and helping interested parties stay abreast of developments across our region. Offering several versatile function rooms, with capacity to accommodate up to 70 delegates, The St James Hotel’s venues are ideal for conferences, training seminars, celebration dinners, workshops or interviews. For more information, visit www.corushotels.com/grimsby. 29-31.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:22 Page 332 Business Link www.blmforum.netTRANSPORT AND LOGISTICSCentral to the UK, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are prime locations for the logistics industry. The region’s excellent road connections are strong allowing, for example, Lincolnshire firms to reach 75% of the UK population, and Doncaster firms to reach almost 90%, in 4 hours. The region also has solid rail links with dedicated freight only lines and, perhaps what makes the region stand out the most to logistics firms, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire host several ports that are essential to UK trade, such as the Port of Grimsby and Immingham, which is the A key location of choice for the UK’s logistics firms, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire provide access to major roads, rail links and ports. But what does the future hold for goods transport?A PRIME LOCATION UK’s largest port by tonnage, handling approximately 12% of the UK’s cargo. With its ports the region offers direct access to Europe’s busy trade routes, as well as routes to America, Africa, the Middle East and Far East. Yorkshire’s place as a major UK multimodal logistics hub was emphasised in 2018 by Doncaster Council’s approval for the expansion of Aero Centre Yorkshire - which will add 600,000 sq ft of office industry and storage and distribution space in response to the growth of the cargo and logistics market at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) - and the submission of plans for a 3.5 million sq ft logistics and advanced manufacturing hub adjacent to DSA, as well as the opening of the iPort Rail strategic freight terminal which will allow better national and international freight transport movement in Yorkshire. Placed next to the M18 and DSA, iPort is two hours drive from deepwater ports on the East Coast. Additionally, Network Rail, North Lincolnshire Council and Humber LEP announced a £15m investment in rail freight growth to boost the region’s 32-34.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:25 Page 1www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 33 TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICSheavy good vehicles (HGVs) accounting for a significant amount of the UK’s air quality impacts from transport, producing 17% of UK GHG emissions and 21% of road transport NOx emissions despite only accounting for 5% of vehicle miles, there is a real need that has been recognised in the logistics industry for change. Rail freight is becoming a much cleaner option for transporting goods as UK rail switches to an electric approach, which will see rail freight emissions drop. With the announcement of £24.3bn funding for the maintenance and refurbishment of Britain’s railways, the future for rail freight is bright. Spending used to improve the work of Network Rail’s System Operator will allow it to develop and release faster train paths for freight which will, according to the FTA, increase productivity. In addition funding used for renewal works will reduce infrastructure failures that delay freight. However, news of higher charges to use the rail network has put a damper on this, discouraging those considering rail as an alternative to the road. Water freight options are also now receiving significant attention in multimodal logistics strategies with a push from the Canal & River Trust and the Freight Transport Association, as a way of reducing costs, environmental impact, and congested roads, though significant investment in infrastructure is required if the UK’s waterways are to reach their potential for moving goods. Due to Yorkshire’s large-scale waterways, which were once much busier with freight barges, our region has been highlighted as one with potential for moving goods in this manner, emphasised by a commitment from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for funding for an inland port on the outskirts of Leeds at Stourton and the Canal & River Trust’s work to modify bridges and improve locks to increase cargo capacity on our waterways to ultimately better connect the region to the Humber ports. The Aire and Calder Navigation in particular - flowing from the Humber Estuary to Leeds - is a priority waterway to be redeveloped into a more used freight route. Of course rail and water are not the only solutions to the industry’s HGV pollution problem, as firms are considering electric trucks - the adoption of which is sure to be boosted with the governments influx of funding for electric vehicle charging points - and alternative fuels from biomethane and biodiesel from waste feedstocks to liquified and compressed natural gas. The use of alternative fuels is currently limited © Shutterstock/Travel mania34 Áconnectivity, allowing high cube shipping containers to run on standard height wagons from Immingham to Doncaster, removing the requirement of expensive to run low floor wagons. The growth and investment into rail freight in the region reflects an industry trend which involves firms moving away from the road in search of a faster, more reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly method that will help in the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) aim to achieve zero atmospheric emissions from freight movement by 2050. With 32-34.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:25 Page 234 Business Link www.blmforum.netTRANSPORT AND LOGISTICShowever, and despite increasing demand for biomethane, for example, it is supplied only in small quantities to the sector. Another trend in the transport logistics sector is the use of autonomous HGVs, which are predicted to be an option for 76% of transport companies in the next decade. A DHL Trend Research report, ‘Self-Driving Vehicles in Logistics’, from 2018, notes that existing driver assistance systems will be gradually upgraded to make vehicles adhere to speed limits, keep in lane, and to automate overtaking, ahead of the reality of completely driverless trucks. Perhaps the main attractions of automated HGVs are improved fuel efficiency and safety. Automated HGVs are programmed to be constantly vigilant while humans cannot always react fast enough to hazards - 90% of road accidents are caused by driver error, and HGVs are responsible for over 8,000 collision casualties. Further benefits include their ability to adapt smoothly to varying traffic, weather, and obstacles in the road, along with how they can use GPS and road and terrain mapping, as well as sensors and cameras to choose the best engine speeds and gear changes, saving fuel and reducing wear. Autonomous systems can also be programmed to limit environmental impact and with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, autonomous vehicles will be able to improve traffic flow and avoid busy roads. The development of fully autonomous freight trucks will eventually beat the time restraints human workers place on the industry, allowing products to be transported 24 hours a day. The idea of adopting autonomous vehicles is useful for the UK as driver shortages continue to loom, in fact 51% of logistics firms named driver shortages, along with skills shortages, as the biggest issue facing their business, according to Moore Stephens’ ‘Annual Logistics Confidence Index’. While completely autonomous HGVs are a way off in the UK, DfT are trialling Cooperative ACC (CACC), which is regarded as a step up on the semi-autonomous technology of adaptive cruise control that most new vehicles have. With CACC several vehicles travel together and communicate constantly to coordinate braking, acceleration and cruising, allowing them to travel at closer distances, which will increase potential fuel economy gains, though with CACC, drivers will still be in control of their vehicles. Platooning is said to be next step towards full autonomous HGV development in the UK, where a lead vehicle is driven by a driver followed by vehicles that do not require a driver to constantly control them. Concerns in using fully automated vehicles in the UK have arisen, however, due to our congested road network which is harder to implement automated vehicles on than say the USA’s straight roads. In the development of driverless lorries in the UK though, our region does, according to INRIX, have a place, with the A1 (Sheffield-Edinburgh) - a familiar route to many of those based in Yorkshire - being named amongst the five “most suitable corridors” for autonomous freighting.© Shutterstock/Miklos MullerEUROPA WAY, STALLINGBOROUGH, N. E. LINCSTelephone: 01469 574239 Mobile: 07711 496138 Email: glcommercials@btinternet.com • www.glcommercials.co.ukGLC REPAIRS LTDGLC REPAIRS LTDGLGLGLCommercialsGLC REPAIRS LTD32-34.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:25 Page 3www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 35 CORPORATE HOSPITALITYTo kick off the New Year, Business Link has put together this helpful piece exploring the ins and outs of securing new business and safeguarding existing contracts with the fine art of corporate hospitality. Businesses have at their disposal an entire arsenal of tools to secure new trade, contacts and contracts. Of all these tools – from social media marketing, exhibitions and networking events – one of the most important is corporate hospitality. Unlike the other aforementioned forms, businesses that have a bad experience and get burned by corporate hospitality so often don’t return to give it another shot. But this New Year, Business Link aims to show that corporate hospitality can be a powerful tool within reach of any and all businesses, from SMEs right through to national powerhouses. The first thing to understand is cost. Ultimately, corporate hospitality is about securing new business or, at the very least, ensuring loyal customers and clients want to continue spending their cash with you. This pretence isn’t lost on anyone attending, so don’t try and dance around the financial side of the equation. It’s important to consider both the cost and one’s aims The art of wooing clients © Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com36 Á35-37.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:27 Page 136 Business Link www.blmforum.netCORPORATE HOSPITALITYin the early planning stages of any planned corporate hospitality event – be that wining and dining or taking a slew of clients out to the races or the opera. The budget for any corporate hospitality event should be directly proportional to the amount of new business and contracts a company is hoping to generate. For example, if a company is looking to generate £10 million in new business, then spending £100,000 on an event (or events) is a decent ball park figure. Likewise, if a company is looking to generate £1 million in new business, a budget of £10,000 can be set aside. As the old adage goes, it takes money to make money. Once a budget has been established, a business must then decide on what event or activity it wants to utilise. It’s important not to pick something for the sake of it, or risk using a pin in a catalogue approach. It’s far too scattershot by half and presents an element of risk that threatens to undo all a company’s careful planning. Instead, think of the people you’re looking to invite, whether it’s existing customers or prospective new clients (or a mix of both) and take a view. Of course, you could always come right out and ask, though that does run the risk of feeling too much like a box ticking exercise. With the rise of social media, it’s now easier than ever to find out what a person is interested in, making organising corporate hospitality events easier now than it’s ever been. So if the majority of the people you’re looking to invite have a penchant for football, it’s worth hiring a private corporate box at stadium. Although sporting events are the old faithful when it comes to corporate hospitality – from football right through to horse racing – it’s far from the only event or experience at a company’s disposal. Our region is blessed with all manner of cultural events and world-class © Shutterstock/iYulia Mayorova35-37.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:27 Page 2www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 37 CORPORATE HOSPITALITYvenues putting on opera, stage productions and art galleries. All of these are great choices to woo and impress clients and customers, prospective or otherwise. It’s can be especially advantageous for winning clients from outside of the region, as they’re not only getting to know you and your offering better, but the town or city itself. After all, our region has a lot worth shouting about. The important thing to bear in mind when booking any event is to go through official channels. In a bid to find a cheaper rate of tickets, it can be tempting to utilise some questionable looking websites. Not only can you end up with counterfeit or even non-existent tickets, but should they prove legitimate, might be terrible seats or standing to an event and risk having the opposite effect on customers. A prospective client will hardly look kindly on loosing a day of work for a stressful, time-wasting outing. So always use trusted websites and suppliers, even if it means doing a bit of research first. Planning well in advance will help to ease some of the stress and ensure that every eventually can be catered for should issues arise. That way, when the day of the event comes around, there’s nothing left but to turn up the charm and show clients a good time. © Shutterstock/StokketeOur region is blessed with all manner of cultural events and world-class venues putting on opera, stage productions and art galleries.35-37.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 10:27 Page 338 Business Link www.blmforum.netNEW YEAR, NEW SUPPLIERSThe start of a new calendar year traditionally brings with it a chance for individuals to pause, take stock of their lives, make goals towards betterment and put steps into place to achieve those aims. It’s the kind of proactive thinking that could well put businesses in good stead for the coming twelve months, especially when it comes to suppliers. It’s no exaggeration to say that businesses are dependent on their suppliers. Indeed, a recipe is only as good as its ingredients, and a company is only as good as its suppliers. It serves to follow, then, that if a company is relying on mediocre suppliers, then they will be cordoned off from achieving their full potential. This can arise when companies are looking to trim back supply chain costs and run a tighter leaner operation. But using cheap suppliers for the sake of cheapness can be counterproductive and, Shake up your suppliers Business Link is calling on businesses to make examining and – if needed – changing their suppliers a New Year’s resolution. © Shutterstock/nd300038-39.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 11:49 Page 1www.blmforum.netBusiness Link 39 NEW YEAR, NEW SUPPLIERSAre you ready for the Making Tax Digital switch? Compulsory changes to the way we submit VAT returns are being implemented by HMRC as of April 2019 and many businesses are still unprepared for the Making Tax Digital switch. Pink Pig is your new financial friend for Cloud-based business solutions, assisting you in making the move to digital accounting. Upload expenses instantaneously, invoice on-the-go and manage your bank transactions quickly and efficiently, all from the Cloud. Fully trained on various platforms including QuickBooks, Sage One and Xero, Pink Pig is here to find the platform that best suits your business and provide you with the services you need from software set-up to tailored training and on-going support. Ensure you are ready for MTD and let Pink Pig relieve you of any accounting stress so you can focus on what’s really important - bringing home the bacon! Call Pink Pig today on 01482 646440 or email hello@pinkpig.co.uk to find out how we can help you.Visit our website WRƂQGRXWPRUHDW www.pinkpig.co.uk1RXULVKHGE\ Harris Lacey and Swainconversely, end up costing a company in the long run. So this year, Business Link is calling on companies to inspect their supply chain, examine each and every supplier and asks themselves: am I getting the absolutely best? If not, then now’s the time to change. Relationships between companies and their suppliers can be sacred, stretching back for generations, especially where family-run businesses are concerned. Although a company won’t enjoy a relationship of this kind with every supplier, it does highlight the importance of building connections based on mutual goals, gains and interaction. Yes, bottom lines are, ultimately, the name of the game, but there’s no reason that these connections need not be born from a place of understanding and friendship. It only takes a visit to one of the major trade shows to see this first-hand. So if a company feels they’re getting the cold shoulder or poor treatment from any given supplier, it’s definitely worth considering finding another. Finding a new supplier can be transformative to a company, whether it’s raw ingredients of machinery, the difference from supplier to supplier can be startling. For example, one supplier of machinery and equipment might just want to squeeze a company for all they’ve got and supplier a top end piece of equipment for the sake of it. However, a supplier you want on your side will take the time to get to know a company and its operations and offer a machine that’s best suited for a company’s production and processing needs, rather than what will make them the most profit. They might also offer a bespoke option, ensuring a company gets a solution tailor-made to meet their needs. This is the effect a quality supplier can have. It can literally mean the difference between hitting profits and not, of using the very best ingredients and something mediocre. The importance of suppliers cannot be overstated, but it’s important not to lose sight of how bad – or even middling – suppliers can affect a business. So this New Year, make it your resolution to find the right suppliers for you. © Shutterstock/Pormezz38-39.qxp_Layout 1 04/01/2019 11:49 Page 2Next >