How masters students can support sustainability in your business

A student consultancy project provides businesses with the opportunity to explore aspects of their business which they may not have the expertise, resource, or time to undertake. The groups consist of MSc students from various academic subjects, providing your business with diverse skill sets and expertise. The recommendations and outcomes can be used for future planning and implementation within your organisation.

In today’s business environment, economic, environmental, and social sustainability is essential to create business value for long-term prosperity. In this blog, Sophie Price from Phoenix Cleaning Company shares the valuable insights provided by our students that will support her business with its sustainable approach.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your organisation and your role within it?

Phoenix Cleaning Company is a commercial window cleaners based in Batley, Kirklees. We’ll be celebrating 5 years in business next month. We’re a SME with 10 employees, delivering commercial window cleaning services to a wide range of clients including hotels, schools, offices, factories & retail units across the Yorkshire district. As Business Manager, I look after the office functions, so the sales, marketing, finance, and HR side of the business.

 

What made you want to take part in the Student Consultancy Projects? How did you find out about it?

I heard about the Student Consultancy Projects when attending Women in Business, a partnership event between Huddersfield Giants and Huddersfield Business School. There I spoke with the Business Development team and learnt about the consultancy projects. During my university time, I did work experience in a business and the knowledge you gain from that real life scenario is invaluable. So, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some really useful input into my organisation, whilst giving back to the students. We've always been interested in learning and growing and getting involved with the local universities.

 

What did your project focus on?

As a business that uses a lot of water as part of our day-to-day jobs, water has a large cost to our business, and we are very conscious of the environmental impact of our core business activities. Therefore, the project investigated the feasibility of harvesting and using rainwater for our purified water. It’s an idea we’ve been considering for a while, but we didn't actually have an understanding of how we could implement it or what the benefits might be. The students considered how we would create the system, how much rainwater we’d need for our commercial activities, the financial cost implications, and whether it was feasible on our current property.

 

What impacts has the project had on your organisation?

The findings were very detailed and specific to us. It was a really valuable piece of consultancy and has helped us understand the cost and the benefits. We will certainly hold onto that piece of work and use it in the future as we look to implement the system, once we have moved location. It is a genuine piece of work that we would have liked to conduct ourselves if we had the money and time. So, the fact that we got that consultancy for free and helped the students in their professional development - it's a no brainer for us!

What would you say to other organisations thinking about getting involved in the Student Consultancy Projects?

I would absolutely recommend the Student Consultancy Project to any organisation that is looking to engage with the local Huddersfield Business School. Ultimately, they are getting free consultancy work. For small businesses, like ourselves, we don't have the spare resource, or time, to carry out these projects or the money to employ a third party to carry out this work for us. So, it's a fantastic opportunity to have professional masters students carry out some research that’s specific for our business. There is a small time commitment involving meetings with the students, but nothing excessive whatsoever. I really enjoyed working with the students and the whole process was really well organised and easy.

 

Want to find out more about the Student Consultancy Projects? Visit https://hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/student-engagement/student-consultancy-projects.

If you’re interested in working with our students, contact our Business Development team at hbsenterprise@hud.ac.uk.