LCE began 2021 like many other companies in the midst of a lockdown and all of our staff working remotely. Meetings were undertaken online and the world had become a very different place from the one a mere year earlier. However, despite the difficulties many companies faced, there was a ray of sunshine on our horizon with the welcome addition of a bouncing baby boy for our Director of Operations, Andy Bennett.
We found that despite the lockdown we had a number of workstreams which could be completed remotely. Andy managed to complete several PSDS Applications on behalf of our clients, with a number of these being successful in securing, in excess, of £2million worth of funding for our clients to undertake Energy Efficiency & Decarbonisation initiatives. Our consultants also worked on meeting compliance deadlines in relation to UKETS & SECR.
As winter melted into spring, together with some of the restrictions facing the Country, LCE decided to adopt a Charity for the Year ahead. As our Group Director of Operations’ son had undergone some challenges in his first few months the Directors agreed the Charity of the Year would be Wallace and Gromits Grand Appeal. The appeal is a dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital raising funds to provide family accommodation; medical research; equipment; music, play and art therapy to name but a few. We are sure our clients will agree with us that this is a very worthy cause and LCE are happy to have adopted this Charity for the year.
During Spring we assisted a number of our clients with their PAM (Premise Assurance Model) assessments ensuring they met with requirements and assisting with Action Plans. This ensured our clients were ready to submit their PAM in time for the summer deadline and were aware of any areas that needed to be addressed over the coming year.
June started with the marriage of our Head of Finance and Compliance, Louise Jackson. Despite a few weeks of not knowing whether restrictions would be lifted for her wedding, Louise was able to go ahead and returned to us with the new title of Mrs Golding. The following month saw Louise renew her PRINCE 2 Practitioner status which had been delayed throughout the pandemic.
As the Country began to gradually open up following the long arduous months of lockdown LCE continued to support our REMS (Retained Energy Management Service) clients both remotely and onsite. This allowed us to undertake Energy Audits and a range of other projects which had been put on hold until it was possible for us to attend site.
Summer moved into autumn and with it came a new member of our team, Muhammad Umar, Energy and Sustainability Engineer. Having experience as a Waste Management Engineer and Environmental Consultant Muhammad has been a welcome addition to our team of consultants.
LCE have always been mindful of the impact upon our planet of energy waste and the need to reduce carbon emission. We have, therefore, provided sustainability support over a number of years to our clients. This support has included Behavioural Change Plans; Green Plans & Decarbonisation Plans along with other strategic documents, such as, Energy Strategies.
October began with LCE winning the South East Region Energy Efficiency Award for Energy Consultancy of the Year. However, the awards did not stop there as our apprentice, Heather Iveson, was awarded Apprentice of the Month. As a Company LCE believe in investing in our employees and assisting with their career development. We were, therefore, extremely pleased when Heather went on to pass her Apprenticeship in Business Administration Level 3 with a Distinction and Louise became a qualified ISO:9001 Lead Auditor.
The latter part of the year tends to be a busy period for Energy Compliance despite our providing compliance services all year round to our clients,. During this period we undertook a number of compliance services such as DECs, EPCs and TM44 Inspections.
November has seen another welcome addition of a beautiful little girl for our Head of Business Administration, Emma Rudd. Emma has worked for the company for 7 years and everyone is overjoyed that both mother and baby are doing well. LCE also welcomed a new member to the Admin Team, Eliza Harding, who is currently in her last year at Brighton University studying for her BSc in Marketing.
COP26 was on everyone’s lips following the summit in Edinburgh and LCE have been inundated with requests to support our clients with their Zero Carbon Plans looking at decarbonization specific technologies and optimisation of their existing building service systems. Our consultants were also very busy in the final couple of months of the year undertaking Theatre Optimisation Surveys.
As the year comes to a close we look back at all that has been achieved despite the restrictions placed upon us and are thankful for the wonderful memories we have made as a team and the support we have provided to our clients, both old and new. Happy Christmas to everyone and we hope 2022 will be a good year for you all.
