Events at this location

ACA’s February café focuses on businesses that commit to meet verifiable social and environmental standards, public transparency and accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Bob Pringle, ACA volunteer, will introduce the session to review the range of business ethical and environmental standards that exist worldwide. These include Fairtrade, B Corps, ISO 26000, Rainbow Alliance, One Planet Prosperity, etc.

Archie Gibson, Executive Director, Agrico UK Ltd, Forfar, will recount his company’s journey to ISO 26000 accreditation and review its impact on his business.

Grant Keenan, CEO Keenan Recycling, Aberdeen, will, on hearing Mr Gibson’s pitch, respond with his views as to whether B Corps or ISO 26000 accreditation would be something that he would consider for his company.

Q&A session. Questions and views from the floor will be sought, with a popular vote at the end as to whether a move to accreditation would be in Keenan’s best interest.

While the café has a serious purpose, the intention is to have a lively debate which will draw out the benefits and disadvantages of these accreditation schemes.

For those who wish to pursue the issue after the 9 pm deadline, the Stag Bar, 100 m down the road in Crown St, is a pleasant venue for further discussion.

Adam Price will host the event where we have several short talks on the subject of the circular economy. Speakers:

Terri Vogt, Circular Economy consultant, Aberdeen, will describe the concept of the circular economy and the need to move away from the outdated mine-manufacture-use-and-dispose linear economy used in the past.

Rachel Maurice, ACA communications manager, will describe how the Fairphone mobile phone exemplifies circular-economy principles, and illustrates future product manufacture, repair and refurbishment.

Ellen Delph, project manager of KR BON Reduction, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, will show how her company refurbishes and markets insulated panels for building refurbishment.

Rory Leigh, managing director of Ghillied Ltd Edinburgh, will explain how they reprocess old clothing into new.

Lucy Smith, Splosh Ltd, Wales, talks about their returnable sachets of concentrated cleaning agents, used for refilling their reusable plastic bottle dispensers, reducing waste by about 95%.

Q&A session. Questions and views from the floor will be sought. Of particular interest will be examples of other established and developing circular economy companies and products.

For those who wish to pursue the issue after the 9 pm deadline, the Stag Bar, 100 m down the road in Crown St, is a pleasant venue for further discussion.