In this episode of the Bicycle Association podcast, we join Peter Eland (Bicycle Association Technical Director), Assistant Commissioner Charlie Pugsley (London Fire Brigade) and Stephen Holt (Bicycle Association Trade and Retail Manager) to learn what makes lithium batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes, particularly problematic from a fire safety perspective, how the Bicycle Association is working to avoid knee jerk responses and what we are doing to help remove end-of-life batteries from the market safely, responsibly and cost-effective manner.

Join us on our next webinar at 1230 on 02 June. We will be back with Stephen Holt and David Middlemiss to look at 'Using Retail Finance and Market Data to Grow Sales and Profit'.

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Links to things discussed during the episode

LFB CHARGE SAFE CAMPAIGN

LITHIUM FIRE VIDEO

HOME FIRE SAFETY CHECKER

BA GUIDE – ELECTRIC BIKE BATTERIES 

COMING SOON: BA GUIDE - UK E-BIKE REGULATIONS 

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According to new research by McKinsey, the business case for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the UK is 'stronger than ever'.

Diverse businesses are more profitable; they recruit the best talent; make better decisions; have more motivated employees; and have a superior understanding of customers' needs. An Accenture study found that 41% of shoppers removed at least 10% of their business from a retailer for their lack of focus on Diversity, equity and inclusion.

In this, the first episode in the third season of the Bicycle Association podcast, we join Sally Middlemiss, Isla Rowntree (Founder of Isla Bikes) and Bianca Carlin (Group Human Resources Director at WiggleCRC) as they take a deeper dive into some of the key points raised by Gemma Lloyd (co-founder and co-CEO of WORK180) in the recent Bicycle Association webinar 'Quick Wins to Improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Your Business'.

Sign up for the Webinar Lithium Battery Fires and the E-Bike Market: Risks and Responses.

 Inspiring the Future - Redraw the Balance

Diversity in the Cycling Industry Report, Survey and Pledge.

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The last few years have seen the cycling industry not only responding to COVID lockdown and supply chain shortages, but to increasing environmental regulation, changing consumer habits, and heightened awareness.

With those challenges come opportunities for smart and connected technologies. For example, responding to changing consumer habits enables new ways of working to deliver value while also providing tangible sustainability dividends.

We are here at Brompton to speak with Julian Scriven, the managing director of Brompton Bike Hire, to find out whether Brompton was already positioned to benefit from these changes or whether a company, famously consistent, is beginning to evolve.

Links to key things discussed:

https://bromptonhire.com
https://cyclingindustry.news/brompton-by-subscription-pilot-launches-in-germany/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadeneville/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.park-active.co.uk
https://www.britishparking.co.uk
https://zagdaily.com/places/brompton-turns-petrol-station-into-green-transport-hub-for-car-free-day/
https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/citys-metals-skills-helps-brompton-build-lightest-bike-ever-3542372
https://circularcycling.nl

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At this year's Eurobike, Schwalbe announced their new tyre recycling scheme. In a world first, they can not only recycle bicycle tyres, but just like their inner tube recycling scheme, they will recycle any and all bicycle tyres with their partners at Pyrum Innovations AG.

Given that this development is so significant, it is no surprise that Schwalbe enjoyed considerable media and dealer interest in the scheme. Consumers, however, were surprised recycling tyres was only now an option.

In this episode, we join Felix Jahn, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Schwalbe, to learn about their new tyre recycling scheme, the hurdles they have overcome, who they worked with and when the scheme will be available in the UK.

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Two years of supply chain disruption, container shortages and rising fuel prices have led many firms to examine their supply chains to look for ways to reduce their risk and increase resilience in future disruptive events.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, we join Alan Weatherill (Hope Technology) and Scott Cain (Bicycle Association) to discover what being a UK-based manufacturer means in practice, why the BA is talking about a 'Bike Valley' and how reducing risk could lead to a more sustainable business too.

Hope Sustainability
How to join the Bicycle Association
Mark Shayler - Coffee Cups
Mark Shayler - Cucumbers 

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The electric bike market continues to grow in the UK.  Once seen as an industry niche, electric bikes have moved into the mainstream, and brands have been quick to offer electric versions of a broad range of bike types. 

Yet despite good sales figures, buoyed in part by covid, the UK market still lags a long way behind countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

In this episode, we join Lee Kidger, the Managing Director at Raleigh and Peter Eland, the Technical Manager at the Bicycle Association, to talk about how the industry developed, what to expect in the coming years and why we need to stop describing them as e-bikes and call them electric bikes instead.

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From impact reports, climate commitments, packaging pledges and the road to net-zero, there has been a flurry of activity and announcements from a cycle industry keen to get ahead in sustainability.

There has been wide recognition that cycling's green credentials do not give the industry a free pass reducing its own impact and there has been a lot of work already completed to understand where the impact lies and how it can best be reduced.

For some companies, there is scope to hire consultants, create teams and even dedicate positions to sustainability, but that is not an option for everyone. Equally, in an industry awash with varying standards and proprietary solutions to shared problems, there is a danger we will all create our own versions of better and best that, at worst, might reduce our collective, positive impact or at least confuse and confound our customers as they try to make values-based decisions.

Unfortunately, reducing our impact and becoming more sustainable is not straightforward. Even if we accurately assess our impact today, we need to decide what would be better tomorrow and what steps to take to get to that happy place.

B-Corp provides an internationally recognised, tried and tested, and independently verified methodology to assess and reduce your impact across social and environmental sustainability aspects.

It means you can spend less time, energy, and resource understanding what constitutes good and more time making the changes that will have the most impact on whether your business is involved in manufacturing, distribution, or retail. The best part? You can follow the process for free.

We caught up with David George, BIKMO's CEO, to find out what being B-Corp means to them as a service provider and what the journey to reduced impact and business for good has entailed so far.

Here are some useful links from the podcast.

BIKMO

BIKMO Impact Report 2020

B-Corp Video YouTube

B-Corp and B-Corp month

B-Corp Impact Assessment

Giki Zero

David George (Linkedin)

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Steve Garidis, the Bicycle Association's Executive Director, dons his Santa outfit and fake beard to give us a BA themed 12 Days of Christmas!

Completely lacking pear trees, gold rings or swans a-swimming, Steve nonetheless takes us through his highlights for 2021 and looks forward to 2022 in this festive edition of the Bicycle Association podcast.

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In this the second of our sessions from the Bicycle Association's Annual Members' Meeting, we hear from Simon Irons and Kirsty Ratti as they talk about the Local Bicycle Economy with some of our partners in the first trial area; London.

With £2 billion now committed nationally to supporting cycling and walking in the Government's Gear Change policy, the BA is focused on supporting the delivery of cycling investment at a local level by putting a value on the economic contribution the industry makes and how many "green" jobs are created.

The BA is now bringing together data, cycle industry and advocacy partners and policymakers to increase cycling investment on the ground in what we call "The local bicycle economy".

Listen in as Simon and Kirsty talk with Dr Ashok Sihha from the London Cycling Campaign, Nick Brown of HaveBike and Mark Murphey of Fudge & Sons to explore what we mean by 'local bicycle economy' and what it will mean for you as a cycle business.

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