As the lighting system is low energy it is no coincidence that abseilers were given the job to install them (abseiling being the greenest form of working at height)

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said:

“All hail to these plucky abseilers who are helping install a spectacular new low-energy lighting system for Tower Bridge in time for London’s historic summer. This is a great example of how hosting the Games is delivering benefits for Londoners that will continue for many years after the last medal has been given out.”

Our abseilers are enjoying the spectacular views from the bridge and are getting used to being photographed alongside one of the capitals great landmarks.

Work will be finished by May and the lights will be first seen in action in June (more information in the City of London Press release)

Click on picture to enlarge

Avalon Managing Director, Phil Boyce, was recently interviewed for a Sunday Times article on the effect the Olympics is having on local businesses.

From article:

Phil Boyce is one businessman already reaping the rewards of an Olympic contract. Turnover has quadrupled since his Essex firm, Avalon Abseiling, won a deal to help build the velodrome in 2008.
The 13-year-old company uses abseiling techniques to carry out construction and other services in difficult locations. When he heard that craftsmen were needed to install a complex lighting design in the velodrome ceiling, he was keen to get involved.
“We were put on a world stage. That sort of exposure is invaluable,” he said.
Boyce, 43, has doubled his staff since getting the Olympic contract and seen turnover shoot up. It jumped from £2.7m in 2010 to £4m last year and he predicts more than £8m in 2012.
British Gas signed up the company last November to install insulation in high-rise buildings across the country. The Olympics played a big part in that deal, Boyce believes. “Bigger businesses will put trust in you if you have a good track record.”

Click here for full article

The RSA Environment Awards Forum has announced the 12 UK Entrants chosen to be entered into the European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE). The EBAE awards recognise outstanding, new or innovative contributions to sustainable development and the UK Entrants will compete for a prize against winners from 23 other countries on the European stage.
UK Entrants for Europe are selected from the winners of RSA Accredited Award Schemes from the past two years. RSA Accreditation is only achieved by a select number of environmental and sustainable award schemes who demonstrate high quality and validity. This means that those chosen for Europe are ‘the best of the best’; the most far-sighted, responsible and innovative companies from across the country.

The UK has had an award winner in every EBAE since 1994.

The biennial EBAE is comprised of four award categories in which companies are rewarded for; outstanding new or innovative management practices, products or processes. There is also a category for international co-operation activities, which contribute to economic and social development without detriment to the environment. This year there is an additional award for biodiversity; selected from entrants to the other categories.

2012 UK Finalists:

Management
Marks and Spencer – Plan A Sustainability Programme
Robert Wiseman – Sustainability Strategy
Olympic Delivery Authority – Sustainable Development Strategy
Arcola – Green Action Plan to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre

Product
Aquamarine Power – Innovative Oyster wave power technology
Levi Strauss – Levi’s Water<Less™ jeans collection

Process
Oxford Catalyst Group – Microchannel reactors for the production of clean fuels
Hanson –Measham Brick Works, sustainable brick making
Avalon – Insulation installation using abseiling
Greenvale – Unique water recycling system developed in the potato processing industry
International Business Cooperation
Cafédirect – Adaptation for small holders to climate change scheme
Sindicatum – Partnership with the Chinese coal mining industry to bring sustainable development into underground mining

Malcolm Aickin, Chair of the RSA Environment Awards Forum, said “This year’s UK Entrants represent the UK’s wide range of diverse and vibrant sustainable companies and they cover an impressively wide spread of environmental and sustainable issues. They all deserve recognition. EBAE has an expected 160 entrants from 23 countries so they cannot all be winners there, but strength in depth is a compelling reason for the UK’s consistent performance.”
All the UK Entrants will now go forward to next stage of the EBAE Awards and will be assessed alongside the winners from other European countries by a jury who will meet in Copenhagen next month. The eventual winners of each EBAE category will be announced in Brussels during Green Week in June.
For more information please contact the RSA Secretariat rsa@imsplc.com or E: lauren.rowe@imsplc.com T: +44 (0) 117 315 5239.

RSA Accreditation
The RSA Environment Awards Accreditation Scheme has been in operation for the past 10 years, with the aim of helping to differentiate the large number of award schemes currently in existence. It does this by accrediting awards to objective standards, ensuring that there is a benchmark for those that reward real progress towards sustainability.
Currently 14 award schemes in the UK are accredited by the RSA and are the only feeder schemes that can submit entries into the European Commission’s biennial European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE). The prestigious EBAE awards play a crucial role in demonstrating progress on environmental and sustainable development issues worldwide.

EBAE Awards
The European Business Awards for the Environment are awarded by the European Commission every two years and aim to recognise and reward European companies which set an example by successfully bringing together innovation, economic viability, environmental considerations and social equity.
The scheme comprises four award categories in which companies are rewarded for outstanding new or innovative management practices, products, processes and international co-operation activities which contribute to economic and social development without detriment to the environment. In 2012 there is an additional award for biodiversity; selected from entrants to the other categories.
To be eligible for the European Business Awards for the Environment, companies first have to win a national award from amongst the schemes which are organised in individual European Union member countries every year. This means that the companies awarded the European prize are ‘the best of the best’; the most far-sighted, responsible and innovative across Europe. In the UK entries are selected from the winners of Accredited Award Schemes. Details of these can be found at
www.rsaaccreditation.org

Participation is open to companies from all EU member states and Turkey. The submission of entries to the European awards competition is managed by national coordinating bodies. In the UK the coordinator is the Royal Society of Arts for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
160 companies from 24 countries have entered this year’s EBAE.
The next round of the awards will be held in 2012 during Green Week in Brussels.

Avalon found out about the contract after being approached by the lighting manufacturer for whom they had performed previous installations.

In order to provide high-definition media coverage, the Velodrome required massive 16 metre lights to be installed. Being able to lift and fit the lights using rope access removed the cost and space associated with traditional scaffolding.

Phil Boyce, Managing Director at Avalon, says ‘The contract to work on the Velodrome was really exciting. The principal contractor created a very collaborative work environment where our expertise was well received, which was inspiring and provided great networking opportunities. A number of contractors on the park who saw our work also contracted us to finish further jobs in difficult to reach areas. As a bigger, more challenging contract for us as well, it has given us an opportunity to grow. We were able to take on ground staff through the ODA recruitment programme, which has been very useful and whom we still have on our payroll.’

See full story on London Business Network

Avalon having recently formed a joint venture with Kuwaiti based company USM, undertook the contract with USM/Turner FM.Within days a team of Abseilers and a safety officer had started the job.The full building clean was undertaken and completed by the deadline. The General Manager was very pleased with the results achieved by the Avalon Rope Access team and the Hotel Missoni which is part of the Rezidor Hotel group (also Radisson Hotels) is now looking fantastic.

Avalon are looking forward to returning to Kuwait in the next few months on further projects.

Click here to view the article

After the success of other local authorities using the ground breaking system, Avalon insulated 32 high rise blocks giving 1200 homes the benefit of warmer (and cooler) dwellings.

Click here to view the article

Rewarded for their innovative approach to insulating high rise buildings, Avalon Abseiling were among such industry leaders as Linklaters, Bank Sarasin and the Campaign for Clean Air in London in being named one of the Sustainable City Awards winners.

Avalon Abseiling were recognised for their unique project installing cavity wall insulation in high rise Camden flats whilst abseiling, a first for the building industry. Last year, the government allocated £84 million to insulate high rise council flats in London to reduce the excessively high heating costs for some of the capital’s poorest residents. To provide access, scaffolding was the obvious choice yet is the least green form of access. Thousands of tons of CO2 are generated during the production of the steel scaffold tubes and the heavy lorries required to transport the scaffolding are incredibly environmentally detrimental. It’s also incredibly expensive, dangerous and an open invitation to burglars. As a green alternative, Avalon Abseiling worked closely with the London Borough of Camden to develop an insulation system using abseiling ropes. Not only did the method appreciably reduce CO2 emissions but reduced costs by over 40% which equates to between £1m and £2m for Camden alone providing the best value for local public funds.

Simon Mills, Head of Sustainable Development at the City of London Corporation comments, “AVALON’s achievement is particularly notable as they faced very stiff competition. Despite these being hard times for businesses, we have seen unprecedented numbers coming forward for recognition in this years awards. Green technologies not only offer genuine cost savings, but offer businesses the change to diversify into new products and services that can give them a spring board for rapid growth as the economy thaws.”

Avalon Abseiling were shortlisted in both the “Tackling Climate Change” and “Environmental Management in Small and Medium Enterprises” categories.

More photos

John Newman and Philip Boyce receiving the award at the City of London Awards (3rd November 2010)

It reflects Avalon’s spirit of awareness and needs of the passing public and regard for the surrounding environment. John Newman and Phil Boyce were presented with the Gold Award when they attended the awards ceremony held at Merchants Taylors’ Hall, Threadneedle St. John Newman Said “Avalon Access are very proud to receive this award and are very happy to be recognised for the standards that we set and have exceeded, Avalon Access offers the service and support clients deserve, we value our customers, and work diligently to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget”