Bradford Chamber

A week in the life of an Eco-Fairy

Many people don’t realise that Eco-Fair is run by a team based at Bradford Chamber. We work with a range of external partners to organise the biggest environmental show in the North of England. That sounds like a big project – with Eco-Fair coming up next month (9th May at Leeds United) we thought we’d ask Sam, our resident ‘Eco-Fairy’ what a week in her life is like…

“It’s very busy at the moment as Eco-Fair is less than four weeks away. Eeek! There are still a few stalls for sale – some people leave booking right to the last minute. We wish they wouldn’t but there you go! Delegate bookings are pouring in – we’ve passed 500 and are going up towards 600… it’s great to watch the numbers keep climbing! It’s interesting to see which seminars people book on. We’re usually pretty good at knowing what people want, but there are always a few surprises. A technical briefing on ISO14001 currently has more seats committed than our high-profile keynote speaker. But I’m not calling which session will be most popular just yet - we expect 1,000 people to turn up, so the 50 who have chosen seminars so far are just the tip of the iceberg.

Two other things are on the boil this week – the first, a plan to try and use social media to drive local interest & get new people to notice us. We run on a not-for-profit basis and we can’t afford big banner adverts. People sharing info on Eco-Fair with friends is a good way to spread the word – so we’re going to do what we can to encourage this. Marketing campaigns which do well on facebook and twitter are often fun and quirky. So we’ve decided on a ‘where’s the eco-fairy?’ picture competition with some great eco prizes (we’re @ecofairy in Twitter). Look out for our posts! 

The second thing I’ve just signed off is a research report into the impact of Eco-Fair in 2012. Eight months after our last event, one of our partners wanted to commission a report into what changed as a result of the event. Eco-Fair is a one-day drop in event. People stop for a couple of hours. You might think that it wouldn’t change much. We’re really pleased that the research proved that this was not the case.

Time spent talking about green issues with peers, getting quotes, finding out about new products & services and hearing best practice case studies has a massive impact. Of the people who came in 2012, 66% of people said they felt more confident about tackling environmental issues. 44% said the event helped them to find a way to save money in their business – so we helped hundreds of businesses to make savings.

We live in an increasingly green world. Customers expect environmental credentials and businesses build leading brands on green foundations.

The questions isn’t if you can afford to come to Eco-Fair or not – it’s how can you afford not to!”

Delegate places are free – register for yours at www.eco-fair.co.uk/attend

Sam Saxby
Eco-Fair organiser

Weather or not?

It is said that if it wasn’t for the weather, British people would have nothing to talk about.  Just to reinforce that opinion, the subject of this much delayed (but I hope highly-anticipated) blog is the weather!

The current cold weather and the prolonged snow has been pretty awful. At work, the people I feel sorry for the most are receptionists. Every time a visitor or a member of staff enters our reception, nine times out of ten they give an update on the weather or enter into a debate on the same subject. How they maintain their enthusiasm when they have heard the phrase “It’s cold out there” for the twentieth time that morning is admirable! I now try to spark up conversations that don’t relate to the cold but the best I have come up with so far is: “I’m looking forward to some sun.” At which point, our receptionist politely smiles but I can read her mind: “Nice try, but zero points on originality…”

On a more serious note, I was speaking to a couple of members at a networking event this week and they were telling me how the snow has had a negative impact on their business with appointments cancelled and buying decisions delayed. A constant concern for small business is cash flow and this bad weather is definitely not helping.

Don’t forget that if you are experiencing any problems with your business finances, the Chamber is always here to help.  If we cannot help you directly, we will know someone who can!

For now though, I, like many of our members and all receptionists around the country, am looking forward to some sun. Hopefully my standard chat to receptionists will then be: “Oh it’s lovely and warm out there today.”  At which, they will politely smile, but I know that inside they will be thinking: “Thanks for the update, Michael Fish.”

Posted by Darren Precious