SUCCESS STORY

Cutting costs and building a standout brand through sustainability: The Wellbeing Farm

The Wellbeing Farm is a wedding and events venue in Lancashire. They needed to build a profitable business while reducing operating costs and creating a distinctive, values-led brand in a competitive market.

Impact at a glance

• Reduced operating costs through on-site renewable energy, waste reduction and low-cost behaviour changes
• Generated additional value by turning food waste into biofuel through a paid collection service
• Strengthened brand reputation and customer demand as a B Corp-certified sustainable venue

The business

The Wellbeing Farm is a countryside wedding and events venue based in Lancashire. It operates as a hospitality business hosting weddings, corporate events and celebrations and actively promotes environmental awareness as part of its brand identity.

Sector: Retail, Hospitality & Leisure

Location: Northwest

Size: 1-49 employees

Why they took action

After suffering from ‘burnout’ in a previous managerial career, the owner took over the farm with the conscious intention of making it a viable hospitality/leisure business that was also built around a sustainability/wellbeing ethos. Embedding sustainable practices across the farm became both a useful source of operating cost savings and a powerful factor in building a unique brand with strong appeal in the wedding and events market. The owner was able to not only lower operational costs, but also be a pioneer for B Corp certified venues in the UK, which has created customer loyalty in the brand and trust in the brand.

What they did

High-impact investments

Installed a wind turbine to generate on-site electricity

Nature and resources management

Planted 500 trees across the site

Composting food waste to use as bio-fuel with collection by a local company

Behavioural change initiatives

Second-hand sourcing of furniture and materials across the site

Switched to clear bin bags instead of black which makes waste visible, encouraging staff to correct recycling behaviours

Circular prop-shed for events where customers donate and reuse decorations

Energy-use reminders placed on lights and equipment to remind staff to shut off when not in use

Seasonal ingredients are used to create seasonal, flexible menus

Switch to LED lightbulbs in the venue to decrease electricity costs

Staff training and leadership engagement are reinforced daily with leadership actively monitoring behaviors

What difference it made

The Wellbeing Farm’s sustainability strategy has delivered both environmental and business benefits. It demonstrates that culture and behaviour- not just technology- drive sustainability outcomes. These costs have further been lowered by reducing waste through composting, which acts as fertiliser, and reuse products whenever possible. A local company pays a monthly fee to the Farm to collect their food waste, which is then turned to bio-fuel. As it has achieved a B Corp score of 108.6, which is more than double the typical business score in a similar industry, the Farm has strengthened its brand positioning as a sustainable events venue which attracts like-minded customers, increases reputation and differentiation in the brand.

How were the changes funded

The Farm applied for the Woodland trust grant helped to fund the tree planting. They also used support from the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce to initiate low-carbon guidance and reporting. Many of the changes were low or no cost, relying on behaviour changes rather than capital investment to decrease operation cost throughout the venue.

Lessons for other businesses

The Wellbeing Farm shows how fully committing to operating in a sustainable way and then making the central part of the brand can reap business benefits alongside the positive environmental and social impacts and culture change that puts sustainability at the centre of everything it does. While they have invested in larger infrastructure projects like an on-site windmill, they have found that simple interventions, like visibility, reminders to staff and staff engagement, have delivered immediate cost and carbon savings. Through the creation of their prop-shed, where guests can donate their items after their event for future customers, The Wellbeing Farm has seen immense success when prospective customers visit the site. The use of the prop-shed allows customers to decrease their own event cost, and has successfully been implemented by other event venues in the sector.

As a pioneer of sustainable hospitality venues in the UK, the Farm is a role model for other businesses in the sector that are looking to grow their business in a truly sustainable way.

Find out more about The Wellbeing Farm