Chequers Contract Services

Chequers Contract Services made numerous improvements to its business which both helped it save money and compete more effectively as a sustainable business following a series of free advice sessions arranged by  ENVIBE, a part of the Croydon Economic Development Company, which aims to help businesses in Croydon who want to make positive improvements to their environmental performance.

And after two years? of hard work by management and staff, Chequers is now the proud owner of an ENVIBE Gold award.

Chequers Contract Services Ltd is a contract cleaning company servicing numerous schools and housing associations and commercial businesses in and around the South London area, including local Croydon businesses. Set up in 1987 by two brothers Gary and Paul Jeal, the company has recently celebrated 22 years of successful trading. The company employees 400 staff and their turnover is set to reach £4.4 million. Commitment to sustainability encompasses their core values as they endeavour to tackle the social, economic and environmental impact of their business. This approach sees them recruiting their employees locally, supporting local charities and more recently have becoming involved in supporting local schools in their own environmental projects, and they strive to reduce their own environmental impact.

The actions recommended by ENVIBE have resulted in resource efficiency and savings of £8,546 for this past year (08/09) including:

? Switching off lights and installing energy efficient lighting.
? Turning off computers and photocopiers at night and when not in use. This along with their ?light out? policy above saved £2,304 per annum.
? Timers and temperature controls to control heating and hot water and lowering the hot water temperature has saved approximately £1,262 per annum.
? Refilling ink jet cartridges saved £206 per annum.
? Purchasing recycled copier paper.
? Using less paper through duplex printing, scrap paper for notebooks.
? Free collection of recycled waste paper. The combination of the above paper saving measures saved £1,056 per annum.
? Efficient toner saved £48 per annum.
? Installing ?save-a-flush? in all toilet cisterns (6) on site. This has saved the water use in the cistern by 60 litres per day and 15,600 litres per annum.
? Considerable fuel saving through switching to hybrid vehicles at vehicle renewal, they currently have 5 in their fleet and have already seen significant savings in excess of £300 a month on fuel bills.

Working with ENVIBE?s partner, Seltrans, Chequers produced their first travel plan, which has seen changes in staff travel habits.  They have fitted vehicles with full satellite tracking systems and managers check that drivers have not exceeded speed restrictions keeping them at the required fuel efficiency speeds.
Not only has Chequers reduced costs through improved environmental performance but going green has put Chequers in the running for more contract tenders, it has given them a competitive edge as they are recognised as a sustainable business.

Chequers are continually improving their environmental performance and are currently looking to change their factory lighting to more efficient systems and are looking into how they can get their builders to dispose of their waste more effectively. Chequers is committed to reducing their carbon footprint, and are proud to be one of Croydon?s partners in the Environment and Climate Change Partnership, pledging to reduce their Carbon Footprint by 10% by 2011, setting them apart as a carbon reduction leader, improving their company profile with both existing and potential clients as well as the local and wider community.

To find out more about ENVIBE and the guidance it can provide on waste management, recycling, energy saving, water saving, green purchasing sustainable travel and more, visit www.envibe.co.uk or call 020 8760 5536.