Success stories

Read our success stories to find practical examples of what SMEs around the country are doing to cut their energy use and work towards sustainability.

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…

Cutting costs with simple water efficiency measures: Stoneyford Care Home

Stoneyford Care Home is a residential care home in Sutton-in-Ashfield providing accommodation and personal care. They needed to reduce their utility costs.

Cutting energy costs while protecting an historic building: Vale & Downland Museum

Vale & Downland Museum is a community museum in Wantage. They needed to reduce rising energy costs while maintaining free public access…

Cutting energy costs with solar power: Waldegraves Holiday Park

Waldegraves Holiday Park is a family-focused coastal destination on Mersea Island in Essex. It needed to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.

Cutting energy costs with solar: Earlswood Garden Centre

Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre is a large, independent garden centre based near Solihull. They needed to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions…

Cutting energy waste to protect profitability: Bromford Iron

SUCCESS STORY Cutting energy waste to protect profitability: Bromford Iron Bromford Iron is a specialist steel manufacturer with over 200…

Cutting fuel costs and emissions on construction sites: Minot Brothers

Minot Brothers supplies electric and low-emission construction equipment across the UK. They needed to help contractors reduce fuel costs and…

Cutting fuel costs by switching to electric vehicles: Burnett Barker Solicitors

Burnett Barker Solicitors is a legal practice that installed electric vehicle chargers at its offices to support EV use and…

Cutting water and energy costs: Beaconside Sports & Fitness Centre

Beaconside Sports & Fitness Centre is a multi-use leisure facility in Stafford. The business needed to implement water-efficiency measures across…

Cutting electricity costs with solar investment: Teamworks Karting

Teamworks Karting operates indoor karting and entertainment venues across the Midlands. They needed to reduce high electricity costs from energy-intensive facilities while maintaining profitability.

Cutting energy costs and improving resilience: Hive at 52

The Hive at 52 is a family-run bed and breakfast operating from a Victorian property in Cheshire. They needed to…

Cutting energy costs and improving resilience: Thomas Howse

Thomas Howse is a manufacturing business in the West Midlands. They needed to reduce energy costs and improve efficiency across…

Designing for lower costs from day one: Renegade Reformer

Renegade Reformer is a new pilates studio in Bristol. When creating their space, they prioritised reclaimed materials and energy-efficient systems to reduce upfront costs…

Driving customer loyalty through circular design: Mejuicer

Mejuicer is a London-based fresh juice delivery service with a circular economy approach for its product and delivery system.

Driving sales growth through sustainable branding: 10 International

10 International, a wine marketer and wholesaler, developed its Sea Change range to combine minimal, sustainable packaging with a clear…

Driving sustainable growth through quality and creativity: Nosy Crow

Driving sustainable growth through quality and creativity: Nosy Crow Nosy Crow is a small but growing children’s book publisher. The company's…

Growing market share through sustainable product design: Medicus Caps

Medicus Caps designs and manufactures reusable, made-to-order surgical caps. NHS Trusts are major clients. Medicus Caps needed to develop a…

Investing in efficiency to strengthen competitiveness: Ramsden & Whale

Ramsden & Whale is a family-owned manufacturing business specialising in steel drum reconditioning. They needed to reduce rising energy costs and improve…

Investing in energy efficiency to cut costs at scale: Brockmoor Foundry

Brockmoor Foundry is a UK manufacturer specialising in ductile iron castings. Facing rising operational costs, they invested around £430,000 in energy efficiency measures…

Lowering energy costs through on-site generation: Maclean’s Highland Bakery

Maclean’s Highland Bakery is a fourth-generation family business producing baked goods for local and international markets. They needed to reduce energy costs…

Reducing costs and increasing footfall: Hopes of Longtown

Hopes of Longtown is an independent village store and Post Office serving a rural community. They needed to control day-to-day…

Reducing energy costs and waste: AYT Foods

AYT Foods is an independent African-Caribbean grocery store in Dunfermline. As a new retailer handling perishable goods, they needed to control energy costs, reduce stock…

Reducing energy costs through on-site generation: Grantham Manufacturing

Grantham Manufacturing is a family-run UK paper packaging company based in Grantham, Lincolnshire. They needed to cut energy costs and reduce…

Reducing energy costs through simple changes: Coach & Horses

The Coach & Horses is a community pub near Crewe. They needed to reduce operating costs by cutting avoidable energy use…

Reducing energy costs while growing the business: Michael Smith Switchgear

Michael Smith Switchgear Ltd is a specialist manufacturer of low-voltage switchgear (equipment that controls and protects electrical power systems). They…

Reducing energy costs while increasing capacity: South West Upholstery

South West Upholstery is a Bristol-based furniture restoration company serving domestic and commercial clients across the UK. They needed to reduce energy…

Reducing energy costs with LED and solar: Lakes Story Ltd

Lakes Story Ltd runs the World of Beatrix Potter visitor attraction in the Lake District. They needed to reduce the…

Reducing energy costs with on-site renewables: Swansea Valley Holiday Cottages

Swansea Valley Holiday Cottages is a farm diversification hospitality business in South Wales, based on the historic Plas Cilybebyll Estate,…

Reducing packaging costs and increasing footfall: Beer No Evil

Beer No Evil is a specialist off-licence and bar in Worthing, West Sussex, built around refill, reuse, and plastic-free retail. They needed…

Strengthening farm resilience through soil, livestock and energy: Hemsworth Farm

Hemsworth Farm is a mixed organic farm in Dorset. They needed to improve profitability and reduce exposure to volatile input…

Architecture firm Make put sustainability at the heart of its building projects

Architecture firm Make has become an industry leader in sustainable architecture projects across three continents by applying innovation to reducing…

Crystal Doors: setting clear standards for net zero manufacturing

Crystal Doors is a small Rochdale-based manufacturing company that supplies bespoke doors to the public and private sector.

Dark Woods Coffee’s Path to Net Zero

Dark Woods Coffee is an award-winning specialty coffee roasting business that is on the path to net zero. Based in a…

ekko becomes a UK leader in green finance

London-based finance firm ekko designed a debit card and app so that employers and customers can track and reduce their environmental impact.…

Glyndebourne opera house becomes a UK leader in sustainable theatre productions

Glyndebourne installed wind-powered energy and focused on sustainable modes of transport. This helped it to achieve a 77% reduction in energy-related…