In the October print edition of Professional Security we featured people; we enjoyed the end of covid lockdown restrictions by catching up with the industry, asking how they had got on and what they were doing. In the January print edition, we hope to do some more, with a focus on those who besides holding down a job in private security are making a further, often voluntary, contribution, whether to an industry or related body, or society in general.
Jon Webster has joined his local police and crime commissioner’s (PCC) scrutiny panel, in Humberside – more about that in the January magazine; we talked to him mainly about his positioning of his company EOS Security on a green and environmental footing.
He was about to work on installing a solar-powered security system on a remote farm in east Yorkshire. Such farmers Jon reports are open to using wind and hydrogen energy and renewables generally. After the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow he foresees more companies reporting their carbon footprint. That could add a reason to ‘buy British’ in video as in any products; if you are importing cameras or anything, in carbon terms you have to off-set that. Jon feels that more people will look to source locally, and in sustainable and ethical ways, including in security. “It’s exciting times ahead,” he says, “and I certainly think the environment will play a part in everyone’s thoughts.”
Set up in covid
Jon set up his company – named after the Greek goddess of dawn – in summer 2020. “We are a micro-company. We are tiny,” he admits. He was a policeman; he worked for the contractor VSG and was made redundant by Mitie which took the firm over. He was not the only one who sat there during covid, as he recalls, and thought: what shall I do with my life? The answer was security in the sense of protecting people and property – and ultimately the environment.
Causes
That directed Jon to the customers he would aim at: farming, waste recyclers, and companies that treated green issues as important and not as boxes to tick. “I just wanted to make a difference.” It’s striking that he started by setting out ‘core values’, that were important and unchangeable to him; and in business terms starting ‘slow and steady’. “I didn’t want to be actively putting myself out there, sales-wise, I wanted three or four customers who I could prove my worth to, and then start to form the reputation of EOS.”
More from this interview in the January magazine.
