Nick Nairn helps Ayrshire businesses to go green

From Our Own Correspondent

NICK NAIRN was the star of a recent Scottish Enterprise event, held to raise awareness of environmental issues among Ayrshire's tourism businesses.


The celebrity chef joined a number of top business personalities to demonstrate the benefits of a greener, more sustainable business.


[Picture shows Nick Nairn with guest speakers and members of Scottish Enterprise.]

More than 70 business people participated in the event, which was held at Turnberry Golf Club. The events highlighted the environmental and cost savings that companies can make by changing the way they work.

Nick gave a talk on green tourism and a cookery demonstration that illustrated the importance of local produce. In true 'Ready, Steady, Cook' style, he used a selection of local foodstuffs to create a number of delicious recipes that focused on quality and seasonal produce.

Scottish Enterprise tourism executive Annemarie Burns said: "The event was a real success, and all the speakers provided practical hints and tips about green tourism and the importance of sourcing quality, local ingredients and services.

"More and more visitors to Ayrshire expect tourism businesses to be aware of environmental issues and the event gave local businesses the opportunity to learn about improvements that they can make to their operations, while generating energy and cost savings. Tourism is a growing industry in Ayrshire, employing 12,000 people and worth £330 million to the economy. It is imperative that our industry moves with the times and embraces the green agenda."

"The event also raised £200 for the Ayrshire Forrest Education Initiative which provides learning resources to Ayrshire schools about trees, forests and recycling."

All of the event's attendees were encouraged to join the Green Tourism Business Scheme, a tourism certification scheme, managed by VisitScotland and supported by Scottish Enterprise.

Nick Nairn joined the event's other speakers, local B & B owner Nick Quick, Jim Eccleston from Taylor Nelson Sofres and Andrew Ford from AA Food Services.

For more information about the Green Tourism Business Scheme contact 01738 632162.

Green savings on show at Sustainable Ayrshire Business events

AYRSHIRE is to recognise its commitment to going green with a number of events to help businesses be more environmentally friendly.

The sustainable business events are managed by Scottish Enterprise and will take place in February 2008. They aim to highlight the environmental and cost savings that companies can make by changing the way they work. More than 150 companies are expected to participate in the events.


Celebrity chef Nick Nairn will join a number of top business personalities to demonstrate the benefits of a sustainable business.

Ayrshire is already home to one of the UK’s longest running efficiency networks. Now in its tenth year, the Ayrshire Environmental Management Initiative has helped Ayrshire businesses to save more than £4 million of direct savings plus immeasurable benefits to the environment.

Key events are:

Ayrshire Environmental Management Initiative -
10th Anniversary Event
5 February 2008
The Park Hotel, Kilmarnock

Representatives of local, national and Scottish based global companies are secured as speakers to share their organisations’ experiences of making environmental and financial savings.

Proven Energy: Andrew McMullan, Managing Director
Rolls Royce: Ian Martin, Environmental Manager
Spirit AeroSystems: Allan Brown, Business Assurance Compliance Director
Robert Wiseman Dairies: David Douglass, Group Environmental Manager

Sustainable tourism in Ayrshire
6 February 2008
Turnberry Golf Club - a member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme

Nick Nairn will speak on green tourism and the importance of local produce. This event will demonstrate how a sustainable future for the tourism industry brings business opportunities and benefits. Aimed at tourism businesses, it will focus on the themes of winning business, saving money and protecting the environment.

Nick will be joined by a number of entrepreneurs who have experienced success in their sustainable tourism businesses:

AA Food Services: Andrew Ford, Area Manager
Taylor Nelson Sofres: Jim Eccleson, Director Tourism and Travel
Langside Farm B&B: Nick Quick, Proprietor

Later that month, on 15 February, GlaxoSmithKline will host a Best Practice Day at its facility in Irvine. This is a rare opportunity to access and learn from a world-leading company.

Scottish Enterprise operations director Jim Reid said: “The sustainable Ayrshire business events aim to encourage local businesses to make environmental savings that will reap bottom-line benefits to ensure future growth and success. The events are an excellent opportunity for Ayrshire companies and organisations to learn from the experiences of successful, sustainable businesses. It is clear that the Ayrshire business community can play a significant role in creating a greener Scotland.”

There are still some available tickets for these free events. For more information contact Leanne Saffer on 0141 331 2991.