Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD MAY 2019 | 29 Customers The charity aims to repeat the success of another of its projects in Sudbury, Suffolk, which has had a positive impact on 190 people living with cancer, and created opportunities for people in long-term unemployment and those with special needs. Eden-Rose wants to help young people develop practical business skills and improve their employment prospects. For exam- ple, they have been delivering workshops that teach wood carv- ing to children from 12 to 16 years old who have been excluded from school. The idea is to help the children gain commercial under- standing by letting them decide what to create, and then how much they should charge for their products at a temporary outlet organised by the charity. With the help of the volun- teers, the charity has managed to reach targets ahead of sched- ule. Founder Rob Brook says: "It would've taken us five years to get where we have in 18 months; [Haven Power] accelerated the whole project." From 1 January 2017 to 5 Sep- tember 2018, employees from Haven Power volunteered for 1,492 hours. Without this help, much of this physical labour would have had to be performed by the founders themselves, while they still had a charity to run. Many Haven employees gave up more of their own time to help repair damage to their work caused by vandals. Most of these hours were spent working at the wood, with some delivering careers talks at local schools or lessons on using electricity more efficiently at the Stone Foundation, a charity that provides housing and tenancy support for vulnerable people. The charity's environmental stance complements Haven's own – both are committed to encouraging change in energy use and supporting sustain- ability. This is especially the case with Eden-Rose's 2018 sustain- ability drive, which focused on the installation of solar panels. Haven Power credit manage- ment adviser, David Daniels, Haven Power on Awards night at London's Grosvenor House Hotel with guest host Sue Perkins (left)  The 2019 Utility Week Awards will be opening soon. Sponsorship opportunities are available – contact Utility Week business development manager Ben Hammond on benhammond@ fav-house.com or 01342 332116 for more information. Other shortlisted companies in this category were: • SSEN for its Resilient Communities Fund • National Grid for its London Power Tunnels Project • Wave for Don't Waste a Drop • Severn Trent Water for Community Champions (Severn Trent & Hafren Dyfrdwy) • United Utilities for its Youth Employment Programme • SP Energy Networks for Safety Central • Northumbrian Water Group for its South Tyne Sculpture Trail says: "I believe people will find volunteering to help others in our local community a very rewarding and humbling experi- ence. Also, they'll get a sense of satisfaction seeing the results of their efforts." In 2017, Haven Power found that 90 per cent of employees thought the company was socially responsible, an increase of 32 per cent from the year before. Charity co-leader Jo Brooks said: "Haven Power's support is making a huge difference [that] goes way beyond fundraising. We've never seen this much commitment from a company – the continual volunteering has transformed the project." Eden-Rose has re-shaped its corporate volunteering pro- gramme since the company became involved, citing Haven Power as the benchmark for reg- ular participation, positive pub- licity and fundraising. In 2017, Haven Power raised £9,700 for the trust, breezing past its original target of £8,500. Also, it donated £5,000 towards the cost of security and surveil- lance equipment a£er a series of vandalism incidents. With the support Haven Power has provided to Eden- Rose, Brooks says they are "benefit stacking" by support- ing more than one cause. "It's not just about changing the lives of those with cancer, dis- advantaged children and the vulnerable. It's also about the wildlife benefits, the trees taking in CO2 – the whole environmen- tal impact." The company estimates that the total hours volunteered at the average daily rate of the par- ticipants (£84) equals £9,492 to date. Haven Power's target for average monthly total of volun- teer hours is 75. Haven Power's volunteering work – at schools, the university and the Stone Foundation – has indirectly benefited 1,477 adults and children in the Ipswich area. Since 2016, it has volunteered 1,372 hours in the community, and raised £31,052.79 for various local and national charities. Winner's comments "We were so excited to win Utility Week's Community Initiative of the Year award 2018 with local charity Eden-Rose Coppice Trust. "Its Brickmakers' Wood project is very close to our heart, and we love working with the co-founders, Rob Brooks and his daughter Jo. As a large local employer, it's important to get involved in the community. "Our volunteering and fundraising work for the trust gives our people a purpose away from their daily roles at work and elsewhere." PAUL SHEFFIELD, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, HAVEN POWER

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