S A Partners were delighted to host a 1 day Lean & Green event at the Adnams Brewery, Southwold earlier this week.
Established in 1872, Adnams is best-known as a brewer of beer. Whilst beer and pubs remain at the heart of their business, they also own and run hotels, make their own hand-crafted spirits and operate nearly a dozen Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Stores as well as an online store.
Adnams company values are rooted in making great products without costing the earth. From working with local farmers and producers who supply their brewery and hotels, through to partnering with a local business to install an anaerobic digestion plant to turn brewery and food waste into biogas, they believe that doing the right thing makes great business sense.
The event was well attended and delegates found it both interesting and inspiring. The focus of the Operational Excellence Programme was Lean and green: beyond just lean. Demonstrating how to unlock the biggest opportunities in your company’s purse. And was an opportunity to learn how Adnams has become a very lean organisation by unlocking the green opportunities. Arguably these are ten times bigger than dwelling on the traditional lean wastes.
The important take aways from the day were:
· Open communications, face to face conversations
· Engagement of people is essential
· Don’t ‘do it’ for the sake of it, ‘do it’ because it makes sense
· Lean and Green aim for very similar goals, why not combine the approach
· Use the correct approach and tools to resolve the issues, not tools for the sake of it
· Correct measures are key and critical to drive the right behaviours
Nathan Bartlett, Operations Manager at Adnams said:
“It was a pleasure to host a group of like minded people that are all committed to continuous improvement and sustainability”.
