_____________________________________________________________________________ EDSB
Compliance Solutions
Alongside apprenticeships , EDSB also provides career opportunities for service leavers . “ I believe that any job role is split 80- 20 ; 20 per cent is the technical part of the role , but the other 80 per cent is motivation , values , and a willingness to work hard ,” Jonathan suggests . “ When it comes to service leavers , we can be confident that they already have that 80 per cent , and our job is to teach them the technical aspects of the role . Instead of placing service leavers on the same course as apprentices , we ’ ve partnered with Skills for Security , who will work with those with experienced backgrounds , to accelerate their learning wherever possible .
Sustainability strategies
In recent years , EDSB has also doubled down on its sustainability goals . “ We began our carbon reduction journey around five years ago , which started with tracking our carbon to identify areas of improvement ,” Mark reflects . “ We now include information of our initiatives in our tenders and prequalification questionnaires , as our clients are typically looking for such commitments .
“ We ’ re tackling sustainability via three primary groups : ethical utilities providers , the ownership of waste , and electric vehicles ( EVs ). The first group was addressed by switching to greener utilities to ensure we use renewable energy . Secondly , with the disposal of waste under inspection , we embedded a waste infrastructure into the company , where we can dissect the waste into specific groups and use ethical suppliers to provide transparency on the end location .”
On the transition from diesel to EVs , Jonathan explains : “ With 96 per cent of our carbon emitted from diesel vehicles , we recognized the need to switch to EVs . We ’ ve rolled out around 50 EVs for vehicles outside of engineering , and we ’ ve been trialling several electric vans over the last few years to ensure we balance the demand for sustainability with the need for sufficient mileage , weight , and reliability . We ’ ve recently trialled the Volkswagen ID . Buzz , which is the only electric van to do circa 270 miles on a single charge with equipment weight accounted for .
“ Based on this successful trial , we ’ ve committed to rolling out the ID . Buzz to ten per cent of the engineering fleet . We ’ ve also ordered three Volkswagen ID . 3 vehicles , with a plan to add a further 15 of these to the fleet over the next nine months . As we continue this journey , our commitment to sustainability is another reason why we ’ ve grown so quickly – we ’ re being targeted by clients looking for companies with sustainability strategies in place .”
Testament to his hard work , Jonathan was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Security and Safety Entrepreneur Awards earlier this year . With the panel commenting on his pioneering apprenticeship schemes and the ability to maintain such values while the business doubled in size , it ’ s clear that Jonathan is a worthy winner .
“ Even today , I ’ m still shocked that I won ,” he shares . “ Winning the award was an amazing moment that felt like the icing on the cake of a great couple of years . Although it ’ s in my name , this is very much a group award that reflects the amazing team I have alongside me . However , we can ’ t stand still ; we ’ re constantly identifying ways to improve and share our successes .
“ I don ’ t plan on growing EDSB beyond the current 40 or so disciplines , but instead , our future will focus on finetuning and consolidating each division ,” Jonathan concludes . “ I hope to continue to grow at a steady pace that enables us to sustain the quality and service we ’ ve become known for , as well as cope with increased demand from both new and existing customers .” ■
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