This is a place for your Frequently Asked Questions to be answered. If you have more that have not been answered below, please feel free to comment more.
- Who can join the forum?
- Only sben members can join, this is checked by the sben team against our membership database. Click here to join sben.
- Why join the forum?
- It’s a place where members can interact with each other and share best practices and knowledge, find answers to questions, ask members with specialisms direct questions.
- How do I join the forum?
- You can register on this forum by clicking on the link on ‘register’ in the top-right of the screen.
- I have registered to join the forum but can’t access it?
- Our sben team are checking each registration against our membership, we will do this as soon as possible but it may take a couple of days and if you registered over the weekend it will not be processed until Monday – but if you still have not heard from us within 2 working days please contact us
- Who else is on the forum?
- Only sben members can join the forum.
- Are my contact details safe?
- This is a private sben members forum, only those registered can view contact details of other registered on the forum. Administrators and Moderators will be able to see additional information members provide in order to comply with GDPR law. You must agree to the forum Terms and Conditions before your application can be accepted.
- Is sben membership free to join?
- Yes, if your organisation is based in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent.
- How do I join sben?
- Through our sben website. You click on ‘Members’ on the navigation bar, the select ‘Join Us’ and complete the online Registration Form.
- What would my business get out of joining sben?
- You will be joining a thriving network and get insight and inspiration to increase your business competitiveness and profitability, while improving environmental performance and reducing environmental impacts.
- What sort of events do you run?
- We run a variety of sben and sben member free events throughout the year, usually at least one per month. Members will be prioritised for sben events. Each year we hold an Environmental Legislation event and our Annual Networking event that’s attended by c50-60 businesses.
- What is an Envirovisit?
- This is where we provide an opportunity for members to attend the premises of another sben member and take a behind the scenes look at what they do, share knowledge and learn from how they adopt environmental practices.
- Can you give me more information about the quarterly legal updates?
- Yes. These are news bulletins to keep members informed of existing and upcoming legislation and laws. It’s always useful to know as you could end up with a large fine or imprisonment if you don’t conform!
- What is Carbon Tracker?
- Carbon Tracker is a free online carbon foot printing and reporting tool which your business can use. Our team will help you through the process and will offer you a free demonstration and support throughout. You can update your information annually so that you can track your progress towards your net zero goal.
- Can I opt out of receiving your monthly newsletter?
- When you join sben, you will be automatically signed up to receive our monthly newsletters, but you can opt out at any time by emailing us. These cover events, funding and news. So, please let us know about your environmental-related events and news, and we’ll include them in our newsletter.
- How can I be included in the members listing?
- When you join sben, you will be given the option to be included in the members listing on our website. The list provides details of our members and a link to their website.
- What is the Procurement Opportunity all about?
- Our website advertises opportunities where you can either advertise your tender opportunity or respond to advertised tenders. This is to help sben members and local businesses to secure contracts and support the local economy.
- Who runs sben?
- sben is run by the Organisers Group, which is made up of sben members, and chaired by Adam Whitehouse of TMT First Ltd. As a sben member you can join the Organisers Group at any time. The group meets on a quarterly basis and Staffordshire County Council provide a secretariate function to sben.
- What funding is available to help my business improve its environmental impact?
- Up until March 2025, funding is available through Staffordshire County Council’s Green Solutions programme. You can express your interest through the Green Solutions webpage and one of the team will get back to you.
- As a sben member, am I automatically eligible for Green Solutions Energy Assessment and Grant?
- Green Solutions is separate to sben so different criteria apply for an Energy Assessment and Grant. Your business can access these if it:
- Is registered on Companies House.
- Trades from premises in a Staffordshire or Stoke Local Authority area, but not where the premises is a domestic property or new building.
- Has been trading for at least 12 months.
- Has not received over £315,000 in subsidies in the current and previous two financial years (financial year being 1 April to 31 March).
- Green Solutions is separate to sben so different criteria apply for an Energy Assessment and Grant. Your business can access these if it:
- As a sben member, can I book on a Carbon Literacy Training course you offer?
- Yes. We offer each Staffordshire business, 2 free places on any of our Carbon Literacy training. Unfortunately, we cannot support businesses in Stoke-on-Trent but know that Staffordshire University are offering the course free to residents of Stoke-on-Trent.
- What if I still have a question or enquiry about the forum or sben?
- You can contact us at sben info@sben.co.uk or if you are already a member you can use the forum to post your question, and someone will get back to you.
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