Telford & Wolverhampton branch presented with certificate for promoting greener working practices.
The Telford & Wolverhampton branch of UK-wide franchise ChipsAway are celebrating a major milestone in the company’s history. Jointly owned by Darren and Matthew Fielding, the Telford & Wolverhampton Car Care Centre was recently granted Carbon Neutral status by ECA Business Energy.
This significant announcement means Telford & Wolverhampton has become the first ChipsAway franchise to earn this prestigious award. ECA Business Energy is currently helping around 300 car care body shops, across the UK, to reduce their carbon emissions. Their mission is to encourage and generate greener working practices that will protect the environment.
This is achieved by reducing energy and travel costs, and will ultimately assist companies by reducing their carbon tax bills. And having assessed Telford & Wolverhampton’s working practices and operation over many months, ECA rewarded the ChipsAway franchise with a PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality certificate.
The Telford & Wolverhampton branch, which is based at Queensway Business Park in Telford, has been set a target of reducing its net carbon usage by 2% year-on-year. To accomplish this, any new product, energy supply, vehicle or process must be fully assessed before being implemented by the franchise.
When assessing premises, ECA will examine expenditure on gas, electric, petrol and diesel, as well as car repair parts. The company’s total carbon usage is then calculated and offset against a renewable project taking place somewhere else in the world. This will give ECA a better understanding of a company’s current carbon footprint.
A delighted Darren Fielding said: “This is acknowledgement of the steps we are taking to reduce our carbon expenditure. It is also testament to the hard work of our team to create a greener operation. We know this is important to our customers, and it’s important to us too. We’ve always cared passionately about protecting the environment.
“The fact that our expenditure is offset against a renewable project, which may be taking place thousands of miles away, makes us feel like we are having an impact at a global level, as well as locally. The application and assessment process was simple, and we encourage other car care centres to go through the same process. It is important to demonstrate that you’re helping to create a more sustainable future.”
Simon Kings, the technical director of ChipsAway, said: “As a franchise network, we have a responsibility and a willingness to encourage all of our business owners to make their businesses greener. But, in many cases, they go way beyond our support and take measures into their own hands. Such is the case for Darren and Matthew whose enterprise has become our first carbon neutral car care centre. They are taking lots of small steps today, in order to make a huge difference in the future.
“We hope many more of our car care centres and mobile repair workers will follow in the footsteps of our Telford & Wolverhampton branch which is truly setting the standard for the rest of our industry.”
About: ChipsAway Car Care Centres are local workshops that offer a convenient and cost-effective service. They provide high quality car body repairs to minor automotive paintwork damage and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional body repair shop. ChipsAway was launched in the UK 27 years ago and is a full member of the British Franchise Association. With a rapidly expanding network of over 200 UK franchisees, the company’s international arm is the originator and dominant player in the rapidly growing SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Technology) automotive repair market.
