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Russell Jones steps in front of the camera to focus on how to reduce energy use in our buildings

In my role, I often ‘put words in people’s mouths’ as I quote them in press releases and magazine articles (all agreed and approved of course). 

I quite often point cameras at them as well, or at least get others to point cameras so that we can record what they say.

My job is then to help edit that into useable footage that we can push out on Youtube, Twitter, etc, promoting our pioneering products and services and hopefully delivering engaging and informative pieces for our customers and their customers – much like the idea behind this blog site.

In fact, it is fair to say that I am happiest on the other side of the camera or keyboard, but occasionally even I have to put aside my reservations and step up to the plate.

This was certainly the case when we wanted to produce a film showing the lessons that anyone could learn from our experiences improving the efficiency of our Hatfield headquarters.

If we were trying to sell anything in the video it was simply the idea that energy savings can be achieved by anyone.

Russell Jones Russell Jones PR & communications manager

I remember a former PR director telling me that he had a ‘face for radio’ which I’m happy to accept myself but when it became obvious that none of the media trained colleagues could be available on the day we had scheduled the filming for, then I knew I needed to put on my best ‘reporter’ face and respond as soon as I saw the red light.

I also wanted to say to other colleagues that if I could do it then so could anyone because although trained in PR, I’ve always managed to find someone else to do this role.

The story really is worth telling though as it focuses on how we got our Hatfield headquarters from an ‘E’ energy rating to a ‘B’ rating, using straightforward upgrades that anyone could do with equipment available off the shelf.

Reducing energy use in your building Russell Jones fronts a short film looking at the lessons learnt from taking the company’s Hatfield headquarters building from an 'E' to a 'B' energy rating.

If we were trying to sell anything in the video it was simply the idea that energy savings can be achieved by anyone.

The other message we wanted to show is that this has taken us several years to achieve as we have had to make a business case for every piece of expenditure, just like everyone else.

So, I hope you’ll take a few moments to watch the video – and that you’ll forgive my first real attempt at reporting!