Worcester Business Conference 2022

JDP were fortunate to attend Worcester Business Conference 2022 this week, a great opportunity to meet local SME’s as well as national and international businesses based in Worcestershire.

With a full agenda of hot topics from ‘Technology to leverage your growth’ to ‘Net Zero and getting ahead of the sustainability curve’, it was both informative and engaging with a range of speakers from business leaders, technology and connectivity experts and sustainability champions.

So, what were our big takeaways from Worcester Business Conference 2022:

• As we all know an organisations technology journey has no final destination, there are always new and innovative solutions emerging, from Web 3.0, blockchain to AI, there is a lot to consider. It’s easy to focus on the here and now, but creating your digital roadmap is essential to support growth, and all solutions under consideration should make money or save money. Thanks to B.D. Dalton, Strategic Director from Rockfire Group and Ste Ashton, Connectivity Manager from Worcestershire County Council for your presentations and insights into strategy and delivery methodologies as well as tech providers.

• Many organisations have started their ‘Green journey’ with a recognition that sustainability needs to be a strategic focus. However, there is a significant difference between positioning yourself as green and actively being green, with a lot of green washing currently shrouding reality. Moving forwards there needs to be far more visibility and meaningful measurement of targets. Cultural embedding of key principles and targets is a key consideration. Worcester Warriors provided a great case study of activity to demonstrate how an organisation can make incremental changes to achieve their long-term goals.
  • Euro 6 buses for park and ride
  • Free onsite parking for electric vehicles
  • Vegan concessions around the ground, locally sourced food and beverages
  • Digital programs, team sheets and menus
  • Reduced brightness on big screens and LED lighting throughout facilities
  • Biodiversity plans for surrounding grounds
  • Bike to work scheme and salary sacrifice staff carbon offsetting

• There was also a focus on business growth with scaling up tools and guides, with some useful insights into a Supply Chain Review conducted by a local business, supported by Elevate and BizSmart, assessing insourcing versus outsourcing and opportunities to evaluate ROI on capital expenditure to create more efficient and lean production. Many thanks to Irene Graham OBE of the Scale up Institute, Lewis Styles from Styles Precision Ltd and Kevin Brent from BizSmart.

The stands and stalls dotted around the Worcester Business Conference suite demonstrated the strong focus on Sustainability, Net Zero, Biodiversity, Wellness and Staff wellbeing. Some great conversations with useful insights into the support available to help organisations grow and improve their impact in various, positive ways. Thanks to Business Energy Efficiency, Worcestershire Works Well, Business and IP centre Worcestershire, Zero Carbon Ready Worcestershire, Natural Networks, Hereford and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, BizSmart and Elevate Worcestershire.

JDP delivers Procurement efficiency and effectiveness, supply chain management and sustainability / scope 3 supply chain improvement, so please do get in touch if we can support your growth journey or strategic business targets.