General – Survey and Test Ltd https://surveyandtest.com Sustainability Consultants for London Law Firms Thu, 04 Dec 2025 21:28:52 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://surveyandtest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cropped-siteicon-01-32x32.png General – Survey and Test Ltd https://surveyandtest.com 32 32 We’ve Moved to the City https://surveyandtest.com/we-have-moved Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:31:00 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/we-have-moved

Introducing our new London based office

We are thrilled to share with you, that we have moved, our new office is in London, near the Barbican Centre, putting us closer to many of our core clients. We’re looking forward to hosting our clients here in our new space, please update our address in your records.

London Office:
120 Aldersgate Street
Barbican
London EC1A 4JQ

Although moving opens new opportunities for business, we care about our local regular clients, our Marlowe Innovation office is still open. We want to say thank you. Because of customers like you, we have outgrown our existing office space and need to move. Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries. We look forward to seeing you at our new location.
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]]> ESOS Phase 4 Update: What it Means for Your Organisation https://surveyandtest.com/esos-phase-4-update-what-it-means-for-your-organisation Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:20:00 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/esos-phase-4-update-what-it-means-for-your-organisation Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) regarding Phase 4 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) has important implications for businesses aiming to meet regulatory requirements and contribute to the UK's broader sustainability goals.]]>

As consultants, we understand that energy efficiency and carbon reduction are essential aspects of any business strategy. The latest update from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) regarding Phase 4 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) has important implications for businesses aiming to meet regulatory requirements and contribute to the UK’s broader sustainability goals.

Mandatory Net Zero Requirements Delayed to Phase 5

One key development is the delay in the mandatory inclusion of net zero considerations in Phase 4 audits. Initially, Phase 4 (2023-2027) was expected to require businesses to integrate net zero strategies into their ESOS assessments. However, due to delays with Phase 3 legislation and guidance, the government has decided to postpone these requirements until Phase 5 (2027-2031). This decision allows businesses more time to prepare for the changes.

No Change To ESOS Qualification Criteria for Phase 4

The qualification criteria for Phase 4 will remain unchanged, with the qualification date set for 31 December 2026. Any proposed changes to thresholds, aimed at aligning with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements, will be reviewed as part of ongoing efforts to streamline business energy and emissions reporting.

Smaller Phase 4 Changes

Several changes are still planned for Phase 4, subject to parliamentary review:

  • Removal of Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and Green Deal Assessments (GDAs) as valid compliance routes.
  • Companies must now need to demonstrate progress against their action plans during the assessment.
  • Where commitments have not been met, an explanation will be required.

Voluntary net zero reporting option in phase 4

For businesses looking to show a commitment to net zero, DESNZ has partnered with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to introduce two new PAS standards, which will be published on February 7, 2025:

PAS 51215-1:2025: This standard outlines the process for conducting an energy and decarbonisation assessment, integrating both energy use and carbon emissions into a comprehensive net zero implementation plan.

PAS 51215-2:2025: This standard specifies the competencies required for lead assessors and assessment teams to handle both energy efficiency and carbon emissions within the ESOS framework.

By following PAS 51215-1:2025, organisations can voluntarily include:

  • greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to their energy use in their ESOS assessments
  • governance and risk assessments for net zero, to achieve net zero by 2050.

Looking Ahead To Phase 5

Although the mandatory net zero requirements are postponed, businesses that choose to use the PAS 51215-1:2025 process during Phase 4 will contribute valuable feedback to ESOS, especially for Phase 5. The DESNZ plans to provide more information about the implementation of these standards and opportunities for public consultation later in the year.

As consultants committed to sustainability, we encourage businesses to continue prioritising energy management strategies in anticipation of the upcoming changes.

]]> Plastic Free July https://surveyandtest.com/plastic-free-july Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:22:00 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/plastic-free-july

By Natalie Ellis

The Plastic Free July Challenge

The Plastic Free July Challenge offers ideas to help people all around the world reduce single-use plastic waste in their daily lives, whether at home, work, school or their favourite coffee shop! The goal is to encourage people to be solving the issue of plastic pollution, leading to cleaner streets, oceans and beautiful communities. By making a small change, we can collectively have a positive effect on our planet and communities. Who knows, you may discover better alternatives that become long lasting habits.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce items you buy by asking yourself before you make a purchase, ‘do I truly need it or can I use something I already own in a different way instead?’ Opt for products with less plastic packaging and look for sustainable alternatives.

Reuse plastic items as much as you can or consider donating them to a local charity shop to prevent them from ending up in landfill.

Recycle correctly and opt for purchasing products made from recycled materials to close the loop. Find out what can be recycled in your local area.

All the oil, water and other resources used to make plastic products is wasted if those products aren’t recycled.

You can make a difference in minimising landfill waste by reducing, reusing and recycling.

Just a few ideas to help reduce single-use plastic waste in your daily life...

Plastic Free Picnic

Share solutions for single-use plastic alternatives and inspire people with a fun picnic.
Bake your own picnic favourites.

Use reusable water bottles or consider cans instead of plastic bottles.

Bring your own reusable cutlery, plates & cups.

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Loose Produce

Find plastic free alternatives when buying fruit & veg or other loose produce.
Opt for loose fruit & vegetables.

Invest in a reusable product bag.

Look for items wrapped in recycled plastic.

Remember your reusable bags.

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Avoid Plastic Wrap

Store leftovers in reusable containers or use alternatives like beeswax wraps.
Opt for reusable silicone bowl toppers.

Use wax wraps.

Use containers already on hand.

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Cleaning

Choose plastic free cleaning products or use homemade alternatives where possible.
Use refillable containers.

Use eco-friendly products which often use recycled materials.

Switch to natural fibres for cleaning brushes and cloths.

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Natural Fibres

Fast fashion relies on cheap fabric and synthetic fibres that shed tiny plastic fragments.

Buy pre-loved clothes using apps such as Vinted.

Hold clothes swap events or swap clothes with friends.

Old clothing makes great cleaning cloths!

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Food Service

Be part of the move to serve food without single-use plastic.

Swap single-use condiments for bottles.

 

Use compostable containers.

 

Offer filtered water in glasses instead of plastic bottles.

hover for info

VISIT PLASTICFREEJULY.ORG
]]> ISO50001 Energy Management London https://surveyandtest.com/iso50001-energy-management Tue, 06 Aug 2019 22:12:05 +0000 http://www.surveyandtest.com/?p=2450

ISO50001 ENERGY MANAGEMENT LONDON

Energy Management

We are energy and environmental consultants and help clients comply with environmental regulation whilst at the same time, reducing their environmental impact.

How can we help you achieve success?

Organisations with an ISO50001 energy management system deliver on energy reduction, whilst so many others, having already identified sources of waste, fail to achieve benefits.

Engrained within an ISO50001 system are all the components needed to ensure a culture that will lead to success.

A commitment from senior management means that competent, trained people who understand the issues surrounding energy reduction are able to implement the organisation’s energy policy, communicate with staff and build a culture of energy reduction.

And as part of the system, a management review assesses the progress in achieving the organisation’s goals by the monitoring of energy consumption (using agreed measures).

What are the benefits?

Organisations with an ISO50001 energy management system show a real commitment to reducing energy use and in turn CO2 emissions. This is an effective method for organisations to demonstrate corporate and social responsibility as well as reduce costs.

With an ISO50001 Energy Management system in place, your organization has automatically complied with ESOS, and therefore there will be no need for your next ESOS assessment – due to be carried out by 2019.

Why use us?

ISO management standards can often be weighty and complex. We can help motivate and train staff where needed as well as implement systems that can lead to success. We expect businesses to be initially focused on their core day to day operations and we can help you integrate the ISO50001 requirements into day to day practice – without distracting too much from your main business operations.

What makes us different from other ISO50001 consultants?

From us you’ll get expert assistance in a language that relates to ordinary businesses. Our consultant will work directly with you – together we’ll get results.
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]]> ISO14001 Environmental Management London https://surveyandtest.com/iso14001-environmental-management-london Tue, 06 Aug 2019 20:49:13 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/?p=3184
ISO 14001 specialist for London Law firms

ISO14001

ISO50001

SECR

ESOS

ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT LONDON​

How can we help you achieve success?

Our approach is to help you  to use all of the components of ISO14001 to ensure a culture that will lead to success. We help you to implement your organisation’s environmental policy, understand compliance obligations and communicate with staff to achieve success.

What are the benefits?

Organisations with an ISO14001 environmental management system show a real commitment to reducing their environmental impact. This is an effective method to publicly demonstrate corporate and social responsibility as well as reduce costs.

Where an organisation also needs to comply with SECR (which requires reporting on its CO2 emissions), we are able to structure your ISO14001 system to make your annual SECR reporting and action plans easy.

Why use us?

From us you’ll get expert assistance in a language that relates to ordinary businesses. Our  consultant will work directly with you – together we’ll get results.

What makes us different from other ISO14001 consultants?

ISO management standards can often be weighty and complex and we ensure that your system is as clear, understandable and simple to use as possible. We can help motivate and train staff where needed. We expect businesses to be initially focused on their core day to day operations and we can help you integrate the ISO14001 requirements into day to day practice –  without distracting too much from your main business operations.

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]]> ESOS Phase 2 & 3 London https://surveyandtest.com/esos-lead-assessment-london Fri, 07 Jun 2019 22:10:07 +0000 http://www.surveyandtest.com/?p=2620

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) – 2025 Compliance Guide

A stack of wooden blocks spelling "how is your energy management?
As ESOS Lead Assessors, we help organisations meet their legal obligations while identifying practical, cost-effective energy savings. Every ESOS assessment we have delivered to date has uncovered meaningful “no-cost, low-cost and fast-payback” opportunities that reduce ongoing energy spend.

What Is ESOS?

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory energy assessment and energy-saving identification programme for large UK organisations. It requires qualifying businesses to measure their total energy consumption and undertake audits covering buildings, industrial processes, and transport.

ESOS operates in four-year cycles. We are currently in Phase 4 (2023–2027).

Who Needs to Comply?

You must participate in ESOS if your organisation is a large undertaking on the qualification date 31 December 2026, defined as:

  • 250 or more employees,
  • OR annual turnover > £38.93 million and annual balance sheet total > £33.486 million,
  • OR you are part of a corporate group that meets these thresholds.

These criteria remain unchanged for Phase 4.

What’s New in ESOS Phase 4?

Net Zero Requirements Delayed to Phase 5

The government has postponed mandatory net-zero elements until Phase 5 (2027–2031).
This gives organisations more time to prepare.

Several Phase 4 Changes Still Apply (pending parliamentary approval)

  • Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and Green Deal Assessments (GDAs) are no longer valid compliance routes.
  • Organisations must demonstrate progress against their ESOS action plan during their next assessment.
  • If progress is limited, an explanation must be provided.
  • Voluntary net zero reporting can now be included in Phase 4.

New PAS Net Zero Standards (from Feb 2025)

DESNZ and the British Standards Institution (BSI) have introduced two optional PAS standards for organisations wishing to integrate net zero planning into ESOS:

  • PAS 51215-1:2025 – How to conduct an integrated energy and decarbonisation assessment.
  • PAS 51215-2:2025 – Competency framework for assessors undertaking energy and carbon assessments.

Using PAS 51215-1:2025 allows businesses to voluntarily include:

  • Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to energy use
  • Net zero governance and risk assessments
  • A structured net-zero implementation plan

2025 Compliance Requirement: Initial Progress Update (PU1)

All ESOS participants must submit a Progress Update (PU1) by 5 December 2025.

What you need to know

  • This follows the Action Plan submission deadline of 5 March 2025.
  • All participants must submit a PU1 – even if no energy-saving measures were identified or implemented.
  • PU1 must be submitted through MESOS, which went live mid-June 2025.
  • All data must be manually entered.
  • Only the responsible undertaking can submit the update.

Disaggregated Undertakings

If your company has since left a parent group that originally submitted the Action Plan, you may now need to submit your own PU1.
This may require creating a new MESOS account.

Don’t Miss the Deadline

Failure to submit PU1 can lead to enforcement action from the regulator.

Our ESOS Services: Compliance + Real Savings

We don’t just help you comply – we help you reduce energy costs and build a pathway toward carbon reduction.

We Provide:

  • Full ESOS Phase 4 assessments
  • ESOS Lead Assessor sign-off
  • Energy audits for buildings and processes
  • Action Plan preparation and Progress Update support
  • Identification of low-cost and no-cost savings
  • Practical advice on implementation and payback

Every assessment we have delivered has identified actionable, financially beneficial savings.

Why Start Now?

Starting early means:

  • Lower assessment and audit costs
  • Less operational disruption
  • More time to implement easy improvements
  • Better preparation for mandatory net-zero requirements in Phase 5
  • Avoiding fines, which can be up to £50,000 for non-compliance

We support organisations through the full ESOS process – from energy data collection and auditing to final submission and progress reporting.

Contact us today to start planning your Phase 4 compliance and unlock meaningful energy savings.

REQUEST A QUOTE
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]]> SECR London: Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting https://surveyandtest.com/secr-london-streamlined-energy-and-carbon-reporting Thu, 29 Nov 2018 08:30:49 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/?p=3049
Environmental audits for the City of London

ISO14001

ISO50001

SECR

ESOS

SECR - STREAMLINED ENERGY & CARBON REPORTING​

From April 2019, large companies have a duty to prepare a mandatory energy and carbon report at the end of the reporting year.   We can help you to identify intensity metrics, provide energy audits and demonstrate the positive aspects of the organisation’s current energy performance.

How can we help you achieve success?

Where organisations ask us to identify future energy objectives, we use our experience to arrive at the most cost effective energy action plans that will deliver the required savings.

Which regulations require the carbon report?

The Energy and Carbon report will be a public document and required at the year end by ‘The Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018’

Which organisations do the regulations apply to?

The regulations apply to companies and Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) which are deemed as large under the companies act 2006 – where two or more of the following is relevant:

  • More than 250 employees
  • An annual turnover greater than £36m
  • An annual balance sheet greater than £18m

Exemptions

Large companies that consume less than 40,000 kWh of energy in the United Kingdom during the period in respect of which the directors’ report is prepared do not need to produce a carbon report. Non-disclosure may also be possible if the disclosure would, in the opinion of the directors, be seriously prejudicial to the interests of the company, and the report states that the information is not disclosed for that reason.

‘We’ll provide the report you need’

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]]> Energy audits for ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 https://surveyandtest.com/energy-audits-for-iso14001 Sun, 01 Jul 2018 13:34:42 +0000 https://www.surveyandtest.com/?p=2654
AUDITS

ISO14001

ISO50001

SECR

ESOS

ENERGY AUDITS FOR ISO 50001 AND ISO 14001​

Energy use often forms a significant environmental impact with your ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. Where this is the case we can help.

Make passing external ISO14001 & ISO 50001 audits easier.

Our energy audits and reports follow the ISO50002 procedure to give you the best value, allowing your organisations both to identify waste and reduce running costs. In addition, to being a credible document to be used in conjunction with your ISO14001 system, it can also be used for ESOS compliance (Energy Saving Obligations Scheme – next compliance deadline 2019).

How do we start?

Build Plans with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind

The first stage is to identify the level of energy use and spot trends. To do this, we use a number of established energy efficiency procedures to review previous consumption, including:

With an ISO50001 Energy Management system in place, your organization has automatically complied with ESOS, and therefore there will be no need for your next ESOS assessment – due to be carried out by 2019. 

  • Benchmarking

    by benchmarking an organisation's energy use against that of a typical office of the same type and location the potential for improvement can be gauged.

  • Consumption profiling

    should detailed energy bills be available, then periods of high energy use can be identified.

  • Degree days

    by comparing the energy use to the outside temperature over the previous year we can identify times when the heating system uses energy unnecessarily

What's next?

We carry out an energy survey to assess settings and controls for the buildings services and identify  how the building is used. We inspect:

  • Building fabric such as external walls and glazing
  • Heating System
  • Ventilation
  • Distribution losses
  • Hot water system
  • Potential for free cooling/natural ventilation
  • Control system
  • Lighting system
  • Equipment use

How does this all benefit ISO14001?

  • Reduction in non-conformities
  • Identifying where energy is an environmental aspect and impact
  • Uses real energy data to satisfy measurement and monitoring
  • Leads to meaningful objectives
  • Establishes an energy baseline as a starting point
REQUEST A QUOTE
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under floor heating test
temperature logging
ventilation airflowtest
smoke test

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]]> Contact form https://surveyandtest.com/contact-form Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:23:02 +0000 http://localhost:8080/surveyandtest/?p=93