This has been a really big week for us at Acorn Analytical Services – with award wins, award nominations and a nationwide event to raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos.

We started the week on a high when we won the Silver Award in the Business Innovation category at the Northamptonshire SME Business Awards. We were thrilled to receive this award because it recognises organisations which are working in smarter and better ways to make a positive difference to their clients.

The judges were impressed by the innovative ways we educate people about the dangers of asbestos, the regulations and what people need to do to comply with the law.

We have come up with three innovative ways of doing this that, for an asbestos company, really put us ahead of the game – a book, a podcast and video brochures!

We created a video card, which is an A5 card that opens out like a brochure to reveal a TV screen automatically playing a video. This came about after we met a company that produced them and realised this would be a good way to get what can be a quite boring subject matter across effectively. They help bring proposals or quotes to life and are useful for tenders as we can change the video in them over and over.

We also produce regular podcasts, called the Asbestos Knowledge Empire, which has made the Top 20 in the list of business podcasts! The idea behind the podcasts is to encourage people to talk openly about asbestos. Historically, and we’re not sure why, asbestos has been a bit of a taboo and we want to encourage conversations.

Both these innovations support our number one best-selling book ‘Asbestos, The Dark Arts’.

It was fantastic to be recognized for our innovative work at the awards on Monday and to be able to spend time in the company of other leading businesses from across Northamptonshire at the first face-to-face awards ceremony we’ve attended since the pandemic began.

Even more enjoyable was coming into work the following day and sharing our success with the rest of our dedicated, hard-working team.

Just as news of our award win was beginning to sink in, we learned that we’d made it through to the finals of another prestigious set of awards. We’re thrilled to announce we’ve been shortlisted for the Excellence in People Development award at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce annual awards.

These awards are hugely popular so to have been selected as a finalist is an incredible achievement and we cannot wait to watch the online awards ceremony on Tuesday, July 27.

Talking about awards we’d also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has voted so far for our sister company, Acorn Safety Services, in the Best Customer Service category at the 2021 Northamptonshire SME Business Awards. The team there are thrilled to have been nominated for the award and we wish them all the best of luck!

As we approach the end of a busy week we are proud to support a cause which is incredibly close to our hearts. Today is the first ever Action Mesothelioma Day – or Action Meso Day – which has been organized by campaign group ActionMeso.

ActionMeso launched last year to raise awareness about the incurable cancer mesothelioma which is often caused by exposure to asbestos. This year’s event is being held virtually and has been designed to capture the public’s imagination and reach a significant number of people outside of the mesothelioma community.

ActionMeso have put together an inspirational programme of events to raise awareness and are encouraging everyone to take action to eradicate this terrible disease.

It will include a special event hosted by broadcaster, academic and peritoneal mesothelioma patient, Kate Williams, panel discussions, clinical trials updates and interesting facts and insights for anyone who is new to mesothelioma.

We have registered to take part in the day and our director Neil Munro was honoured to be interviewed for the event by Mary Mulhall who is an ActionMeso campaigner and chair of the Mavis Nye Foundation which was created to give hope to victims of mesothelioma.

The reason we are keen to take part is simple. Every year around 2,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with mesothelioma. Life expectancy for those diagnosed with stage 1 mesothelioma is around 20 months whilst those diagnosed later may have a life expectancy of just 15 months or less.

The most frightening aspect of this is that today – more than two decades after the use of asbestos was banned in our country – people are still being exposed to the lethal legacy of asbestos in our nation’s buildings.

There are millions of people working and living in buildings in the UK that contain asbestos. Sadly, there are still too many businesses that don’t realise that they have a legal duty to manage asbestos in their properties to keep people safe from harm. It’s probably even harder to estimate just how many people are unaware that they are living in homes containing asbestos that needs to be looked after to ensure their safety.

So, as part of our efforts to eradicate mesothelioma we want to get across this one simple message – if you live or work in a building that was built before 2000 you need to be aware that it may contain asbestos. If you work in, or are using, a commercial or public building ask the duty holder if they are aware if there is asbestos in the building and if it is being managed properly. You have the right to know that you and others are being protected.

If you own a business and you’re not sure if you’re compliant with asbestos law, take advantage of our free asbestos review surgery. This provides you with a free 30-minute call with our team to discuss and diagnose your current asbestos compliance status and can be booked online by clicking here

If you’re a homeowner and want to find out if there is asbestos in your property and what you may need to do about it, get in touch with us on 01604 648928 or 0121 369 1105.

No one should turn a blind eye to asbestos. Hoping it’s going to go away is sadly not going to work. We all need to take responsibility to make sure that the legacy of asbestos that is present in our daily lives is safely managed by experts. If we fail to do this, we’re condemning more people to the risk of being exposed to asbestos and developing terrible illnesses like mesothelioma.

Acorn is a professional asbestos consultancy helping organisations deal with asbestos compliance using asbestos surveys, asbestos air testing, and asbestos removal management. Please call one of the team, or use the online form to obtain your free quotation. If you would like further information or advice on asbestos and asbestos training, contact the team on 0844 818 0895 or Contact Us