On Wednesday night Will and I attended the Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards presentation in central London, and although we didn’t quite manage to walk away with one of the headline awards we were delighted to be welcomed into their exclusive list of just 60 green champion companies.

In fact we were officially ranked the 6th best manufacturing company in the UK and 45th in the overall list of winners, which I feel for a small company with a medium to high environmental impact is a fantastic achievement!

Once again our company commitment to signage recycling, and ever growing staff engagement to our environmental policy is what continues to set us apart.

We’re committed to building our ‘green’ credentials, and hope that more success and great nights like this will follow!

The judges commented that . . . . .

Employees have definitely got it. Workers give the firm positive green scores of 99% and 96% respectively for knowing where to put waste and which waste goes where. They are aware of its environmental green policy (92%, and a top 10 score) and of the implications of the work they do (85%).  All this contributes to staff believing Allsignsgroup does a lot for the environment and everything it can to minimise its impact on it (both 90% scores).

Bureau Veritas / Munro

Our status as a key supply partner to SEGRO is embedded within our own business and thus we are very proud to be featured in their 2008 Sustainability Report.

We are continuing to work with SEGRO across their portfolio and are very much looking forward to assisting them in meeting their objectives for sustainable best practice in 2009.

Attending today’s annual May Day Network event held at Billingsgate, I felt a great deal of satisfaction that our company is fast becoming a leading light in tackling environmental impact, and although small in scale the efforts we are all making really does make a difference to global climate change. 

The whole company can be proud of our collective efforts to date, and my job of making a series of environmental pledges to the Prince’s May Day Network was relatively simple.  In short out of the 6 main action points requested of the UK business community we are already taking action on the following:

1. Measuring and reporting our carbon emissions publicly - we have done this since 2005!
2. Managing our carbon emissions, developing action plans, and establishing reduction targets.
3. Taking action to reduce our emissions - our recycling ‘Eco Warriors’ have played a significant role here already!

In addition I have pledged to take the following action by May 2010

1. Encourage our employees to further reduce their own carbon emissions both at work and home.
2. Work closer with our suppliers to reduce carbon emissions.
3. And to encourage our customers to take action similar to ours!

For me the whole day was brought into perspective by HRH Prince of Wales who warned that the May Day global distress call is still going unanswered and that the ‘doomsday clock’ really is ticking. Mixed with this message of urgency, his other message was to promote the business case for environmental action and community engagement, both aspects that we are  pro-actively engaging and that are  already providing real benefits in this time of recession.

The recent February half term saw the launch of the Windows on Brentford Project, an art based activity hosted by the Brentford City Learning Centre to engage local young people through digital arts and connect them to their local environment.

Working with young people from a number of local schools including Marlborough, Isleworth Town and Isleworth & Syon we helped to critique the designs along with the Photoshop preparation and printing of 16 pieces of digital art which have now been installed in the window spaces of derelict buildings on Brentford High Street.

 Brentford Ward Councillor Ruth Cadbury, who attended the grand unveiling said:

“It’s a lovely way to brighten up Brentford.  I urge people to stop and have a good look at these fantastic images. You get a real atmosphere of the place. It was a real partnership between the schools, the council and the people who work in the area.” 

The response locally has been positive too with PrintWeek ’s Jo Francis, writing positively on the impact the project is having in her blog.

Established to drive the regeneration of Thurrock, our ongoing work with Thurrock Thames Gateway DC is one that we are particularly proud of.  Since 2006, we have supplied and installed landmark pre-development information and wayfinding signage to a series of high profile regeneration projects within the Thames Gateway area.

“The service provided by all the team, from site survey to installation, is professional, efficient, and of a high standard. Even the most complicated site installations have been completed in good time and the quality of the work contributes to the visual impact the signs make - the first signs installed in 2006 still look sharp! “

Nicola Milne - Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

From large format prints and banners down to the most intricate display detail, these projects show the versatility of Allsignsgroup and are examples of the full extent of our capabilities within the retail signage and display sector.

Allsignsgroup has a long standing relationship with Joseph, going back at least ten years and our most recent projects have had us involved in transforming their flagship store in the fashion heart of Chelsea.

Working closely with their creative team we have helped to create a variety of themed window displays that are changed approximately every four weeks, to keep the passing public engaged. Starting with “Joe’s Launderette,” a 1950’s themed laundry room, the work included wrapping a variety of washing machines in a retro light blue vinyl, and applying graphics to the window. Also included in the project was to create a few colourful, fake detergent boxes, visible in the background of the photo below.

Next was the Circus theme, which involved cladding an otherwise uninteresting cannon in bright, primary colours and a constructing a free-standing, stripy red and yellow backdrop from printed canvas to give the effect of a circus tent.

And finally, only completed at 3am this last Friday 20 March, a cityscape, based loosely on the London landmark buildings, with a large London map printed onto removable film and city skyline as a backdrop, the end result was striking!

All installations were carried out overnight to cause minimum disruption to the day to day running of the shop. The job as a whole has proved interesting and varied and we are thoroughly pleased to have been involved.

Today represented an exciting finale in our first ever project with the Creative and Media Diploma students at Brentford School for Girls, and The Business Links Team at the Hounslow Education Business Partnership.

Following our recognition as South West London’s greenest company we were keen to promote this achievment and through visits to the company and sessions at the school the students were given the opportunity to decorate one of our Luton vans as a blank canvas to create their own design.

 “This has been a steep learning curve for the students, who have only been studying the Diploma in Creative and Media for six months! The Girls have had to think on their feet, on their own, collaborate and reflect on and revise their ideas to produce the final artefact, which itself is a testament to their creative zeal and perseverance. The outcome from the team of students is outstanding!”

Kelly Dooley, Assistant Headteacher, Brentford School for Girls.

The design seeks to tell a story of  environmental impacts and aspirations as well as a need for corporate responsibility, and the newly decorated van has already prompted members of the public to declare their praise . .

“I just wanted to say that I was sitting in traffic next to one of your vans when I saw that you had won an local environmental award, so decided to look at your website. Its got more information and a better thought out strategy that some FTSE companies! I’d like to nominate Allsignsgroup for an international environmental award!” 

“This project has been a brilliant opportunity for the students to work closely with a local company on a real scenario.  For all involved, the school, the company, and the HEBP, supporting the students at Brentford School has inspired us all to explore further initiatives to ensure the relationship continues to expand and develop”.

Garth Buckle  MBE, The Business Links Team, Hounslow Education Business Partnership.

We are often asked to do some weird and wonderful things, so the call to donate old pvc banners to help protect what is believed to be the oldest surviving all-steel coach anywhere in the UK was something we simply couldn’t turn down!

Built in 1907 for the City & South London Railway (now the Northern Line), this coach now resides at the Electric Railway Museum and until recently was exposed to both the elements and local grafitti artists.  Its steel frame construction makes the coach especially prone to rust, and at 100+ years old, much of it out in the open, it has now seriously deteriorated.

So, enter our banners which were most recently used to promote U2’s new album!  We are desparate to recycle as much commercial waste as possible, and as the picture depicts they were a perfect fit, providing the much needed protection the coach requires. 

Covering it up is the first stage of a plan to arrest the rust!  Thanks to Allsignsgroup (and Bono!) for all your help! 

Dave Burbridge, Electric Railway Museum Limited.

We were presented with an interesting challenge recently in Tower Hamlets, East London.Our brief from Berkeley Homes, was to cover a 90 metre section of crumbling brick wall in silver dibond with the dual purpose of creating a space for advertising and to hide an ugly wall.

The hoarding graphics needed to stand above the uneven wall so timber battening was required along the entire length and the dibond had to be cut down in places to ensure  maximum presentation. As with all the timber we source at Allsignsgroup, the battening used here was sourced responsibly and satisfied the “chain of custody” criteria. The installation was carried out to a high specification and complied with a strict health and safety policy.

Five flags completed the finished product perfectly - each flagpole was installed at a different height on the uneven ground, to ensure they appeared the same height when viewed from the roadside.

“I have just got back from the site to inspect the hoarding installation along Violet Road. I am very pleased with the outcome and this site presentation will look first class.

I would also like to say how impressed I have been with your service throughout. The Health & Safety documentation was very good, the survey team were very thorough and the two operatives installing the works were well-presented, courteous, professional and have produced a high standard quality finish.”

Project Director, Berkeley Homes (North East London) Ltd

As part of our plan to offer regular snippets of information and advice, we are dedicating this, our first discussion piece, to the benefits of using and switching to LED lighting for illuminated lettering, signage and built up lettering.

• Energy Efficiency - LEDs can offer up to 80% energy saving compared to neon.
• Ease of Wiring - at only 12v, wiring is relatively simple and also there is no need to outsource the fitting to an electrician.
• Maintenance - most LEDs guarantee at least five years continuous usage reducing maintenance costs.
• Handling - LEDs can be shipped in roll form with minimal packaging, as opposed to neon that is all too fragile.
• Installation - “peel and stick” methods allow for quick and easy installation, potentially saving small fortunes in specialist labour and plant hire costs.
• No chance of “black out” - all out lighting failure is a thing of the past as if an LED module fails, the remainder of the LEDs simply stay on, without any noticeable deterioration of lighting coverage.
• Colour Control - is far greater with LEDs, typically allowing control over colour changing, fading and sequencing to create the ultimate effect.

So there you have it: a very brief explanation as to why LEDs are gaining more and more popularity as each day goes by.

Signage lighting and illumination is perhaps a subject that scares some on the basis of being too technical or complex, but while this may certainly have been the case with more traditional forms of illumination and neon, LEDs seem to provide an easy and cost effective solution to even the most demanding customer needs. Intricate letter designs with shallow returns, or serif style fonts are now completely achievable, together with a  raft of key, cost saving benefits, some of which are listed above.