I hope you all enjoyed the Spring Bank Holiday and a much-needed shower or two following one of the driest months on record.

Whether this is attributable to the global warming concept or not is up for debate. However, the government’s initiative to reduce our carbon footprint is real enough and is likely to affect all of us at some time. On behalf of members, we continue to build a relationship with the Carbon Trust and undertook further discussions relating to the industry at a meeting at the Carbon Trust offices this month. We will keep you updated as we progress. Keep an eye on our website Newsdesk.

This topical theme is emphasised at the Re:fresh Conference, presenting a plethora of interesting and informative speakers. It is good to see such a strong interest from the industry and the event goes from strength to strength. My thanks to all who entered the Re:fresh Awards. The standard was extremely high again this year and the judging panel and I were extremely impressed by the substantial time and effort which had clearly been given to the many entries we received. I would also like to thank the judges for their time and commitment to the challenging task of ensuring the very best entries were successful - the decision was very close in several award categories.

We recently organised an energy seminar in conjunction with the Energy Information Centre, for those members with an annual energy spend exceeding £70,000. The seminar was well attended and a proposal put forward offering substantial cost savings to members. In an effort to assist all members, we will be organising a further seminar for those members with a smaller annual spend, keep an eye out for details coming soon, this cost saving initiative could benefit your business.

Withdrawal of labour-provider licenses from the Gangmaster Licensing Authority made the headlines this month and a revealing BBC documentary provided cause for concern on irresponsible practises. It is imperative that we stamp this out, failure to do so could see the industry’s image tarnished irrevocably. It is for every one of us to play our part to ensuring that UK workers are treated fairly and within the law.