Awards are great but there’s more to it than recognition

So, we’re in Award season and it’s not just the Oscars and Grammys that matter. 

Whilst the HEVAC industry can’t quite boast as many celebrities as the film or music industries, we do have our own ‘stars', and our own prestigious Awards ceremonies. 

Last Wednesday night, my colleagues and I attended the ACR News Awards in central London to see whether we could secure Online Initiative of the Year for The Hub.

As we sat there nervously waiting for the announcement of the winner, sweaty palmed and heart in our mouths, I took a moment to remember why we had entered – and why we had created The Hub in the first place. We have set this site up for all comers and, as a quick glance will show, this is not about selling our products, it's about helping reduce humanities impact on the planet.

So, whether you are a consultant, a facilities manager, a HEVAC engineer, or an architect; whether you work for yourself or a large global corporation, whether you are in retail, hotel and leisure, social housing, office-based or out on the road; or whether you are a homeowner, a landlord or a tenant, there really is something for you.

As the picture above shows, we did win the Award and the delight is evident on all our faces.

I'd like to thank ...

It is always nice to receive recognition within your peer group and the Award is recognition of all the hard work it took to build the site, as well as continue populating it with meaningful content.

Although we were lucky enough to be there on the night, believe me when I say there are many more behind the scenes who have helped get The Hub to where it is. All the independent contributors, Cyber-Duck, who designed and built the site, photographers and of course, our own colleagues, who continually provide the ideas and the expertise to allow us to include such great content. 

Of course I’d also like to thank my mother, my wife and my agent …

Seek and you will find

Seriously though, if this is your first time on The Hub, please take a moment to search for a subject relating to the built environment.

There should be something informative, interesting or even amusing to occupy you for a few minutes and I’m confident that you will leave with information you didn’t know before.

Whether that is about MEES – the new legislation affecting commercial landlords; or R32 – the new gas affecting the air conditioning industry; The Renewable Heat Incentive; Indoor Air Quality; or EN378, there will be something for you – and your customers.

We also try and jump on trending news items, whether that is Trump rejecting the Paris Climate Change Agreement; the opening of the Premier League football season; or popular TV shows such as Game of Thrones, Blue Planet 2 or Love Island – All with an environmental slant.

All about education 

And this is one of the central points of The Hub – it is designed to provide informative and interesting content that will help everyone understand why it is so important that all of us tackle energy use within our buildings.

That means we have designed it to help educate our customers – but they are also able to use it to help inform and educate their customers as well.

It’s all about getting the message out there that as an industry, we have the technology, the people and the skills to effect positive change on our built environment – and minimise the effect modern life has on the planet.

So, whilst winning this Award for all our effort is really great, it also gives us a wider platform to talk about the reasoning behind The Hub in the first place – cutting energy use in the built environment.

Russell Jones is Content and Communications Manager for Mitsubishi Electric, Living Environment Systems in the UK.

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