Electrium are manufacturers of electrical installation equipment with offices in Wythenshawe as well as Hindley Green and Cannock.
They have worked with Groundwork’s Sustainable Business consultants for a number of years, who have supported them improve their environmental performance and focus on sustainable growth.
Last year, following their initial Sustainable Business Member Assessment, Electrium boosted their commitments to local people, supporting a number of Groundwork’s employment programs. They’ve extended their sustainability work to consider nature and biodiversity, developing their Hindley Green site.
Health and Safety Manager, Paul Wilcock, shared their journey:
After speaking with the Groundwork team about the importance of creating spaces for nature in urban areas, I engaged with a colleague who I knew had a passion for all things nature and a good level of expertise too. Georgina Weir a Senior Production Engineer was thrilled that her employer was keen to explore what could be done at our Hindley Green site and happy to support developing conversations.
Firstly, we walked the site to identify which areas would benefit from biodiversity improvements and used the opportunity to explore spaces which we could improve for the team to use during breaks too.
Georgina prepared a site plan and I spoke to the Managing Director about our vision and what was required to make it happen. He was in support of the initiative, which would boost our sustainability credentials as well as lift staff morale, so we were awarded an annual budget for the outdoor spaces.
With approval, a plan and a budget, I then engaged the wider EHS committee and began sourcing volunteers from the wider team.
The plan was very well received by our employees and we had 10 people volunteer to help develop the space in our initial startup phase.
In June 2023, we ran a volunteer day to put the plan into action, together, for nature we:
- Created a small pond
- Sowed wildflower seeds
- Dug new beds and planted lupins, daisies, snap dragons, aquilegia and geraniums
- Planted apple tree’s
- Installed bird boxes created from end of life electrical back boxes
- Installed bird feeders
In addition, to provide spaces for the team, we:
- Gave the gravel area a general clean up
- Added some new plant pots
- Painted the benches in bright colours
- Added artwork to the walls
The space is now being well used by the team and by local wildlife; we’ve seen bees, birds, squirrels and foxes on the site. Not to mention the benefits of how this has impacted on our staff.
Thank you to the Groundwork team and the membership assessment for supporting us to make these improvements.
