ACE in the Community

The primary objectives of Alloa Community Enterprises and the ACE Recycling Group CIC are:

• To assist with the relief of poverty by the alleviation of unemployment for the residents of the Council areas within which we work; and
• To provide and assist in the provision of training opportunities for the said residents with a view to providing such skills that will assist those most removed from employment to become more employable and find work

Core to these objectives is our commitment to provide opportunities to Individuals having physical or mental impairment, long and short term unemployed, offenders seeking pre release training and work experience, long term prison inmates seeking to enhance their future employment options and employability, financial or management support to local initiatives projects and community groups and organisations also engaged in the above noted activities.

We play an active part in the social enterprise community nationally and regionally. As members of the Community Resource Network for Scotland (CRNS) we believe that Communities and Social Enterprises in particular play an important role in alleviating poverty, tackling discrimination and disadvantage, environmental management, area regeneration and community economic development. ACE are also the main sponsors of Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) Forth Valley.

We are proud to have been recognised by the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) as best large Social Enterprise in 2009 and in 2010 we received the Forth Valley SUSE Business Diversity Award, which highlights the commitment of the people that make up our organsiation to a community based ethos, and of us delivering community benefits.

Our furniture re-use programme provides over 250 households per annum with recycled furniture and other household goods. This activity is supported by way of a Service Level Agreement with Clackmannanshire Council who are one of the few local authorities in Scotland to use recycled furniture in their housing starter packs.

ACE were supporters of the Future Jobs Fund in 2010. In total we took on 14 trainees three of whom are now in full time employment with ACE. This is saving the local community around £55,000 per annum in benefits and housing support. ACE will continue to engage with such employment programmes including Life Skills courses, supported employment, criminal justice programmes and links with educational establishments and key partners such as CRNS, PSYBT and YES.

ACE always seek to ensure the carbon footprint of our operations. This includes reviewing our own fleet operations and costs, our actions as a company and most importantly reducing handling and transportation of materials as much as possible. Over 95% of the materials we collect are reprocessed in the UK rather than shipped overseas.

In 2008 we formed our Employee Liaison Committee, this is a group of general staff who meet quarterly to agree what charities or individuals will benefit from some of the funds accrued within ACE the Charity.  We are dedicated to quantifying the community benefits arising from our activities in monetary terms. Our financial contribution back to our communities in 2010/11 will be in the region of £110,000.

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