tc would like to wish everyone a happy New Year. 2009 promises to be an exciting year for us here at tc, and we are looking forward to some interesting and challenging projects over the coming months. As always, we will keep you up to date with new developments and hopefully supply you with some thought provoking and insightful posts. We hope that you all had a great time over the festive season, and that it hasn’t been too difficult returning to work!

December 10 is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Stand up with people all over the world who want to make human rights a reality for everyone. Join the celebrations and let’s keep working together for dignity and justice for us all.

Voice, the largest UK conference for social enterprise, will stage its fifth annual conference at the International Conference Centre, Birmingham, on 10 and 11 February 2009.The Social Enterprise Coalition say the programme is shaping up to be the best and most interactive yet and over 1000 people are expected to attend the two-day event.
High-profile speakers from Government and the sector are expected to speak alongside an agenda of workshops and seminars to help further the sector.
Visit www.socialenterprise.org.uk for more details.

The Human Rights Awards are held jointly in December by Liberty, JUSTICE and the Law Society to commemorate Human Rights Day. Total Coverage is honoured to have been invited to the Law Society for the presentation of The Human Rights Awards 2008. The ceremony, this evening, aims to recognise and encourage individuals and organisations whose work is dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of others. Too often, this dedication goes unrecognised. The event aims to provide an opportunity to celebrate these exceptional organisations and individuals.

Graham Mitchell, one of the founder members of Total Coverage recently sent us his congratulations after hearing about our winning at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainable Business Awards.

Dear Linda

Hi, and thanks for the message. In fact I had seen a report of this double win - I think in the RISE newsletter - and was going to write to congratulate everyone. I would be grateful if you could pass this on to all the other members and employees.
I’m really impressed, not just with the awards, but with the ability of the Total Coverage folks to keep at it.
As a former member of the co-op I can only hope that my modest contribution went some way towards establishing the foundation on which the current success is built.

Well done to every one of you!

All the best
Graham

Graham now is involved in MC3, a co-operative partnership, providing services and products for cost-effective communications in the internet age.

This year, the global theme of World AIDS Day is leadership within the slogan Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.

World AIDS Day is a day when people from around the world come together within a single effort to raise awareness about HIV and to express global solidarity with people living with HIV. But World AIDS Day is not just about raising awareness. It also provides a global opportunity to urge governments and leaders for all promises on AIDS to be kept as well as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and action on AIDS.

Total Coverage left the Sustainable Business Awards ceremony at the De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton last Friday clutching both the Micro Business and Sustainable Business of the Year trophies. Singling them out for the highest honour, the judges praised the Southampton-based design company for its all-round commitment to each of the three pillars of sustainability; the way that social, environmental and economic impacts were considered in every aspect of the business’s operation.

Their ongoing action to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, close involvement with customers and suppliers to help them reduce their own impacts, waste minimisation activities and support for local charities all speak of a company which has fully embraced the principles of sustainable business.

Earlier in the evening, when they had been named as winners in the fiercely contested Micro Business Category, sponsored by the SBP, ceremony host Dr Alan Knight had also singled out Total Coverage’s success over 20 years operating as an ethical company. In the same category, Alresford salad producers Cresson Creative were commended for “their very forward looking approach to using and promoting local produce” which had contributed greatly to the strengthening of the local food economy.

This ceremony was in fact a new addition, created in response to the overwhelming number of entries received this year, and is a testament to the rapidly growing number of businesses not only recognising the merits of adopting a sustainable approach to business, but actually taking meaningful action.

Courtesy of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainable Business Partnership

SOUTHAMPTON-based graphic design company Total Coverage has been crowned Sustainable Business of the Year for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the competition’s most closely-fought finals yet.
Having secured the title of Micro Business of the Year earlier in the ceremony, they were called back at the end to receive the highest honour.
Judges praised the winner for its “holistic approach” to sustainability. Operating as a co-operative, the six-worker firm has made significant savings in its energy consumption, through use of technologies and reducing waste. Its commitment to tackling carbon emissions secured its position as environmental champions, but it was its dedication to staff and its consideration of social impact which made it stand out.
Four other outstanding category winners were named alongside Total Coverage at the Daily Echo-backed awards, which took place at Southampton’s De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel.
The Mill at Gordleton, a New Forest hotel, won the Small Business category after being unanimously named victors for an impressive commitment to the environment in a way which judges said “noticeably benefits both the business itself and the local economy”.
Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Southampton office won the closely fought Large Business award, going beyond the already high standards set by its parent company, particularly through encouraging staff to participate in improving the company’s performance. Test Valley salad producers Vitacress, following its success in the large business category last year, won the Leadership Award.
Unique ‘soil-less turf’ producers Wildflower Turf from Basingstoke won the Innovation and Technology section. Two further businesses – the Marwell Preservation Trust near Winchester and Southampton-based legal firm Paris Smith, were jointly highly commended in the medium business category.
Alan Stevens, chairman of the Sustainable Business Partnership which organises the awards said: “Without a doubt these were the most tightly contested Awards yet – we witnessed a huge increase both in the number of applicants and in the quality. Local firms really are leading the way when it comes to sustainable business.”

Courtesy of Daily Echo

Celebrations all round last Friday night as Total Coverage fought off stiff competition to win the Micro Business Award at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainable Business Awards ceremony. Finalists in our category included Bedford Lodge, Cresson Creative, Harvest House, Rapanui and The Real Island Food Company. Each finalist has shown commitment to sustainable business practices and they all serve as an inspiration to others. Total Coverage is proud to have won the award and we are thrilled that our continued efforts across all sustainability issues have been recognised.

In addition to winning the award in our category, we also won the overall title of Sustainable Business of the Year Award 2008.

The Social Enterprise Coalition and the Department of Health Social Enterprise Unit have developed guidance to support NHS staff who are thinking of taking up the ‘right to request’ - setting up a social enterprise to deliver healthcare services to NHS patients. Total Coverage designed and produced two accessible publications for the initiative.

Social Enterprise - Making a Difference, a guide to the ‘right to request’ and the supporting leaflet can be viewed on-line at www.socialenterprise.org.uk