The Only Way Is Ethics at Christmas

It’s that time of year when you may be invited to a customer’s Christmas party, or receive a business gift from a supplier, but please beware of being compromised professionally..

RICS have mandatory rules for firms and members, but are useful for all professionals

This extract from The Bribery Act 2010 is reflected by RICS Rules of Conduct for Members (Version 4)

3. Members shall at all times act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest and avoid any actions or situations that are inconsistent with their professional obligations.

http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?downloadID=3521

and mirrored by RICS Rules of Conduct for Firms (Version 4)

3. A Firm shall at all times act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest and avoid any actions or situations that are inconsistent with its professional obligations.

http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?downloadID=593

Please, if you are in a position to receive Christmas gifts, please just think what could happen. I was told that a surveyor received a bottle whisky wrapped in Christmas paper, but around the actual bottle, inside the wrapping paper, were £50. What if that was to happen, what do you do? The surveyor in this occasion happened to returned the “gift” ASAP to the director of the firm donating and reported to his firm’s senior partner.

To protect yourself the best way is to decline gifts, but would this offend the giver?  You could look at setting up an office policy for receiving gifts so the process is transparent and if something is deemed inappropriate takes place, the correct reporting mechanism takes place.

The Bribery Act 2010 does not really complicate things as the guidance at

http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/docs/bribery-act-2010-quick-start-guide.pdf

says

So you can continue to provide tickets to sporting events, take clients to dinner, offer gifts to clients as a reflection of your good relations, or pay for reasonable travel expenses in order to demonstrate your goods or services to clients if that is reasonable and proportionate for your business.

Green Deal – The Property Perspective – Nov 11

Please click below for my slides from last night's Green Deal event in Blackburn

http://diemltd.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/slides-from-my-presentation-at-november-11s-lcbpc-greendeal-event/

Social media for environmental training and business development

Waste exemption video case studies

New video looking at waste exemption case studies

http://youtu.be/8E9rNaC1CVc

Preparing for "Preparing for Green Deal"

I'm currently preparing for a presentation called "Green Deal, the Property Perspective" for the Lancashire Construction Best Practice Club Green Deal event next week.  I'n writing it there are more questions than answers and for anyone actually preparing for Green Deal, and I'm thinking don't put all your eggs in one basket.

The business risk of relying on Green Deal may be high because of the uncertainty of future changes to Green Deal (like the recent changes to Feed in Tarifs) and just the uncertainty of the standards required and associated costs. However, you may want to be in a position to be there at the start.

I do think that the Government's stance of "let the market decide" with Green Deal is interesting as HIPS/DEAs were brought in by a meddling government, whose tinkering altered the market for providers, a product that never recovered as it had no chance to begin with.

Lets look at the positives though in that Green Deal may give possibilities for business, for premises within the golden rule and ones who fall outside it.  People who don't meet the Green Deal golden rule may still want to invest in energy saving products from either a financial, or socially related sustainability view. So if you don't go down the Green Deal path, all may not be lost as not everyone will meet the golden rule.

Nov 2011 photo examples of good site environmental practice

A link below showing some recent good practice:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diemltd/sets/72157627953045483/

Environmental priorities for motor dealers

My other half needs a new car so we’ve been looking at new ones. I thought with all the marketing selling the environmental properties of new cars, I was amazed that buying a small car not one dealer (and we went to them all!) mentioned the mpg or emissions of the car.

Some even were a little vague on the mpg and emission tax band.

Out of interest sence prevailed and she bought a low emission car with a good mpg.