Blog

Charterhouse School Sustainability Conference

David and I are thrilled to report our participation in the Charterhouse School  Sustainability Conference, that took place on March 14th in Surrey. The conference brought together educators, students, and thought leaders to share and discuss ways in which we can…

Melin Tregwynt: The Revival of Welsh Wool Production and Sustainability

Recently there has been a change in customer buying patterns with many also wanting to buy sustainable and local products” (Eifion Griffiths). While many businesses claim that sustainability does not fit with the business case and consumers do not demand…

Hiut Deim Company, the sustainable denim pioneers

Jean image Source: http://www.albionman.com/ “Companies with a soul are so much more interesting than companies motivated purely by profit" (David Hieatt) In 1995 at the age of 36,  David Hieatt co-founded Howies, a niche active clothing business that wanted to produce…

Crystal Doors Fostering Sustainability and Community Growth

We are a small company with a turnover of £3 million, but we are making an impact way beyond our size. The manufacturing industry is beginning to wake up and take notice of the climate and ecological emergency around us,…

Divine Chocolate that empowers

“We need a future for cocoa farming which is sustainable- not just for chocolate companies and chocolate lovers but for the people growing the crop” (Sophi Tranchell, MBE, Group CEO Divine Chocolate UK, 1999-2020) Each year, some $100 billion is…

Phool and Fleather: India’s transformative biomaterial company

image compiled from images from @ Phool.co FB “Sustainability goes across everything I do….For example, there’s no leather; it’s free from PVC. There are lots of woven materials, which means a lot less waste” (Stella McCartney, fashion designer). The global…

Winds of change – Modvion

“The fact that something has not been done before, does not mean it can’t be done at all” - (Modvion) Modvion, founded in 2015, is the brainchild of two engineers, Joakim Orneblad and Otto Lundman, who graduated from Chalmers University’s…

HES contributes to new Emerald Entrepreneurship publication

David, Iman, and I are delighted to see the publication of the Emerald Publication "Bleeding Edge Entrepreneurship" edited by João J. Ferreira and Patrick J. Murphy.  Our chapter (3) is entitled "The Leopard's spots are changing: an evolutionary approach to ecological…

ICSB – Humane Entrepreneurship Mini-Globe Award

Pleased to share that at the annual ICSB Mini Globe Award Ceremony held on 16th January 2023 I was delighted, honoured and humbled to receive the Award for Excellence in Humane Entrepreneurship for the development and promotion of Harmonious Entrepreneurship. Apart…

TerraWaste

“Towards a pollution-free planet with a pollution-free process" - Kristaps Cirius, CMO TerraWaste Largely as a result of man's entrepreneurial innovativeness, we produce 2.01 billion tonnes of waste a year, 86% of which is non-recyclable,  and, as a result of…

London Christmas Tree Rental

“Having a greener Christmas isn’t about making big sacrifices. If we each take small steps, collectively we can make a big difference” - Catherine Loveless, London Christmas Tree Rental At a time when deforestation is estimated to contribute some 10%…

Call for contribution to Sustainability, An International Open Access Journal

HES encourages you to contribute a research or comprehensive review article for consideration for publication in Sustainability, an international Open Access journal which provides an advanced forum for research findings in areas related to sustainability and sustainable development. HES's Professor…

Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard’s rare organic wine

“We strive to work within and in harmony with the ecosystem rather than attempting to radically alter and control it” (Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt) Hebron vineyard, located on the Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire border in the foothills of the Preseli mountains in West Wales,…

Dafen School showcases fun and focused entrepreneurship education for GEW2022

Our EntreCompEdu Pioneer pupils of Dafen Primary School, Wales supported by UWTSD continue to shine bright as they spotlight their growing entrepreneurial competence whilst remaining focused on their sustainability commitment. Taking the opportunity to celebrate their third Global Entrepreneurship Week…

Earthshot Prize 2022 – HES predicts a winner

HES is encouraged as another of its carefully selected harmonious entrepreneurship case studies has been selected by the Earthshot Prize judges as amongst the best and most ingenious solutions to repair and regenerate the planet. This year, UK’s Notpla. founded…

CAT and Dulas Engineering

“In such seclusion, so far from the pressures under which most people live, I had the feeling that something new,  some fresh and saner way of living might be demonstrated” (Gerard Morgan-Grenville 1931-2009). Located in a 100-year-old disused slate quarry…

Rodda’s clotted cream cultivates community spirit and charity

Cornish Clotted Cream – the food of the Gods (former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, 1809-1898) In the UK, according to the 1935 Goodheart, Sigler and Hoffman song “everything stops for tea” but not only that - on the last…

Takachar transforming waste biomass

In 2021, 30-year-old Vidyut Mohar, an India Engineering entrepreneur and Sustainability graduate of the Delft University of Technology, won the inaugural Earthshot prize with his business partner, Dr Kevin Kung, a biological engineering graduate of MIT. In 2015, they had…

Oxwash: shrinking environmental costs and impacts

“Focus on the team first, then the customer, then the investor and expect from your team what you expect from yourself. You can achieve a lot, but you are only human” - Dr. Kyle Grant Each year the £70bn garment…

Zero Carbon Guildford

“We aim to build a strong resilient community that can cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing planet” - ZERO Carbon Guildford. On  21st November 2021, Zero Carbon Guildford was opened in the centre of Guildford, a university town…

ORB: The National Organisation for Responsible Micro, Small and Medium Sized Businesses

“What was initially launched without specific altruistic intent became precisely that: a passion for making a difference that transcended the desire for personal financial gain” (Jill Poet). The National Organisation for Responsible Micro, Small and Medium-sized Businesses (ORB) is a…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship & its systems thinking roots

Fifteen years ago, I proposed the need for a new entrepreneurship education paradigm (Kirby, 2007). At the International Enterprise Educators Conference (IEEC2022) hosted by Swansea University last week, similar calls were made once more. First, in his keynote address, Professor…

Flawsome! Wonky, Wonderful and Wise on Waste

“Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity” (Karina Sudenyte) Mother of twins, 22 year old Karina Sudenyte and her husband Maciek Kacprzyk were students at the University of South Wales in Cardiff when they set up “Get Wonky”…

Gandaki Urja fuels Nepal’s green economy

“These are difficult times and we wanted to chip in where we could” - Kushal Gurun. Kushal Gurung of Nepal is not just a Carbon Management Masters graduate of Edinburgh University, but a serial entrepreneur back home in Nepal. He…

OLIO, the app driving a food share revolution

"The problem is much worse than we think. We have to wake up" - Dr. Monika van den Bos Verma of  Wageningen University, Netherlands Food waste is one of the major global sustainability problems.  According to the UN Food and…

the August Co. fashioning a better future

“Sustainability has 3 pillars – social justice, economic development and environmental protection – we are trying to contribute to each of these” - Vidhi Singhal Having read a report that a plastic bag had been found in the ocean at…

Flexi-Hex: packaging that protects the planet

“We’re not here to take on big plastic.We’re here to keep making better decisions and to partner with people up for doing the same.” What do a group of designers with a love of the sea and surfing have in…

2022 HES Graduate Enterprise Competition Reveal

Today we report on the inspiring and high energy finals of the first Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society Student Enterprise Competition which drew 16 teams of students and staff from across the University of Wales Trinity St. David (UWTSD) and the International…

Countdown to HES enterprise competition Awards – meet the panel

David and I are so appreciative of the time, energy and expertise committed by all our international expert judging panel of the first Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society (ltd) Graduate Enterprise Competition. We look forward to our celebrations tomorrow. Good luck to…

HES contributes to ICSB MSME Day 2022 publication

June 27th every year is MSME Day (Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises Day). Designated by The United Nations to raise awareness of the tremendous contributions of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development…

Sea inspiration for education and eco-tourism

“I’m motivated to live by, and inspire others to live, a sustainable life that helps to preserve the planet rather than deplete it” - Sarah Holden The human population is fascinated by water and each year millions of people flock to…

Rosario Garden Project: urban regeneration seeds hope

“The best way to help a community is to give it the faith and knowledge to help itself” - New Scientist, 2nd August, 1962 Rosario, estimated population 1.7 million, is located 300kms (186 miles) North West of Buenos Aires, Argentina.…

LabCycle – revolutionising the recycling of Laboratory Plastic Waste

wastes pic: Bath.ac.uk While research is intended to identify solutions to problems, laboratory-based research can also contribute to them, in particular to the current sustainability challenge. Annually some 5.5 million tonnes of single-use plastic is produced by life sciences research…

Ocean Ag startup ALORA unveils ‘the most salt-tolerant terrestrial plants on the planet’

“I would encourage every person, from every age, every colour, religion, gender, location to ask themselves ‘why you are here? Why do you exist?’ It is so important to know the answer to that question”. (Luke Young) Luke’s answer to…

ZeLoop – the app that rewards for not littering

bottle pic: by tanvi sharma “If bottles were made of gold, nobody would litter them in nature” - Eric  Schaffner The damage that plastics can do to the environment is well documented. One million plastic bottles are produced a minute…

Egyptian University ‘Chito-Shrimp’ feeds multiple sustainability projects

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for  a lifetime”. Formerly known a SIFE (Students into Free Enterprise) Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform.…

Pawprint – digital entrepreneurship with purpose

After graduating in 2001 with an M.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, Christian Arno set up “Lingo24” a B2B technology-enabled translation service which grew into a £10 million business employing 200 full-time staff in the UK, Netherlands, New…

Round 2 of the HES Harmonious Enterprise Online Competition

We are pleased to announce that The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society has now completed the first round of its Online Competition beta testing. Six teams from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and the International University of Malaya-Wales (IUMW)…

Riding the Wayve for sustainable, accessible, and safer mobility

According to the World Health organisation, 1.3 million people die each year from car crashes caused by human error, while some 4.5 million people are estimated to die from the effects of air pollution and the particulate matter produced, particularly…

Effa – Ukrainian eco-business inspires

Having worked as a multinational company project manager for 10 years, but never having felt that she fitted in there, Dasha Kichuk founded Kyiv-based Effa1 in 2018 in partnership with her industrial designer husband, Ilya, a graduate of Kharkiv State…

Nuddy: One gal. One shower. One big idea.

Nuddy isn’t just a word, it’s a feeling. To feel free + vulnerable, yet empowered. Not just when you’re ‘in the nuddy’, but all day, everyday - Nuddy Nuddy is a female-led startup. It was founded in July 2018 by…

Launch Event opens first HES Online Enterprise Competition

We are thrilled to share the successful launch of the first Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society Online Enterprise Competition, in partnership with the University of Wales Trinity St. David and International University of Malaya-Wales. A mix of share and signpost, to help…

Welsh Luxury Hamper Co. showcasing local businesses

In 2019 20-year-old Abigail Chamberlain of Chepstow founded the Welsh Luxury Hamper Company Ltd. to showcase the quality products on offer in Wales. Because of her dyslexia, Abigail left university where she was studying music and enrolled on a different…

Nexus Power’s bio-organic fast charge batteries

Nexus Power “Entrepreneurship is not only about everything we do physically…it is about the emotional strength the founders possess. It is about having the same enthusiasm throughout. It is about believing in yourself and your team, and most importantly, it…

Count down to the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Competition

Inter-Uni Competition: UWTSD and IUMW Less than two weeks to go before the launch of the first online HES Enterprise Competition.... Open, this spring, to the staff and students at University Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) and the International University…

Chelsea Rock – disrupting the diamond business?

In 2018 the market value of the 147 million carats of mined diamonds was $76 billion, and the industry employed some 10 million people in 50 active mines, found mainly in Russia (43 million carats), Botswana (23 million), Canada (23…

Vivobarefoot’s regenerative steps

"We believe the closer people are to nature, the more they will protect it" - Vivobarefoot Founded in 2012, Vivobarefoot is an innovative London-based shoe company whose pedigree dates back almost 200 years. In 1825 in the village of Street in…

BoomGrow – saving the planet one vegetable at a time

BoomGrow is an award-winning Malaysian farming company whose mission is to transform farming by producing 100 per cent clean and nutritious vegetables delivered directly to the consumer. It is located in Kuala Lumpur in the Klang Valley and was founded…

Volta Greentech – reducing cow methane omissions

"If all the cattle in the world joined together to start their own country, they would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases” - Bill Gates Globally methane is responsible for 30 per cent of global warming, and the world’s…

The House of Baukjen

“We care deeply about our people, our customers and our planet” (Baukjen de Swaan Arons). The House of Baukjen is a family-run women’s slow fashion business located in North West London. It comprises two branches, the core brand, Baukjen, and their…

Petit Pli – sustainable clothes that grow

Clothes Waste Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels “We believe that designs which meet real human needs will never be thrown away” - Petit Pli The global fashion market is valued at around $3trillion or 2 per cent of the world’s GDP, and…

Entrepreneurial projects bring joy and value

Like Nelson Mandela, we at the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society believe that "Education is the most powerful weapon you have to change the world". While our primary target is tertiary education, we believe it is never too soon to start, particularly…

Burns Pet Nutrition Ltd. and Parc y Bocs

"I want to see people feeling that they're proud of working for [Burns Pet Nutrition Ltd] and [for them to] put that bit extra in, in terms of the activities we're engaged in" - John Burns In the heart of rural…

A HES Letter to Santa

Santa Klaus, Santa’s Grotto, Finnish Lapland. Christmas 2021 Dear Santa, Doubtless, you are busy preparing for Christmas, but we thought we ought to write to you, all the same, mainly to wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas. This time…

Optim Energy – piezoelectric energy harvesting

“Young entrepreneurs and innovators are working hard to create a low carbon energy market” - Jeremiah Thoronka Mankind needs an alternative to fossil fuels. Solar, wind and water-generated energy are all possibilities, but with the present technology, they can be…

The washing machine project improving lives

Humanity is the washerwoman of our society that wrings out its laundry in tears - Karl Klaus, 1874-1936 The handwashing of clothes is a simple but time-consuming and energy-sapping task that has been a significant source of invention for centuries.…

Stella Vita –  world’s first solar powered mobile home

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes" - Marcel Proust (1871-1922) The Coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on international travel in general and international tourism in particular. With the…

Online Harmonious Entrepreneurship International Student Start-Up Competition 2022

Special #GEW2021 announcement Over the past 12 months, the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society (HES) has promoted the concept of Harmonious Entrepreneurship and produced 50+ case studies to exemplify and prove the conceptdeveloped an educational MOOC composed of 10 learning units Now,…

GEW2021 interview: the mind behind the investing in others for sustainable futures

Kay Luan Tay, the recent Vice Chancellor of the International University Malaya-Wales and author of three book on Social and Business Sustainability has wide but unique experience in managing and delivering value across both commercial and non-commercial enterprise. A strong…

Welsh Manumit Coffee Roasters – freedom through coffee

image credit: girl: I.am_nah Another Wales-based case study to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship 2021 #GEW2021 “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free”. ( Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865) While slavery was abolished in most countries 150 or more…

GEW2021 interview: the mind behind Women in Enterprise in Wales

Bev is an experienced practitioner in enterprise, social enterprise, gender equality and rural development/community. She has been and continues to be instrumental in ensuring that the role of women in Wales is consistently enhanced and progressed. As a special GEW2021 deep-dive,…

Bringing hope back to to the valleys

The extraction of oil, coal, and minerals brought, and still brings, a cost to the environment -- Irish singer/songwriter, Bono, 1960 A HES case study based in Wales to celebrate #GEW2021. Wales, often referred to as “the land of song”…

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2021 with HES

a week of activity to celebrate GEW2021 A lot has happened in the 12 months since we launched the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society in GEW 2020. Not only have we published the conceptual article on which the Society is based but…

Two remarkable women of different ages and backgrounds united in their message to the World’s Leaders

In commenting on LinkedIn on COP26 (the UN climate change Conference of the Parties), Suzanne Mooney MBE, Founder of The Lost Food Project, proclaimed, “If only Sir David Attenborough were a world leader”. She was, of course, referring to Sir David’s powerful…

Professor David A. Kirby appointed as UWTSD Professor of Practice

The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society is proud to announce Professor David A Kirby, holder of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, has been appointed as a 'Professor of Practice' at the University of Wales Trinity St David, Wales. The University has…

Float8, sustainable and cost-effective solutions to land shortage

“Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill” (Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018). One aspect of the sustainability challenge, all too frequently…

Sanergy, a HES case study, finalist in The Earthshot Prize

We must “remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem solve. People can achieve great things”. (HRH The Duke of Cambridge) Launched in October 2020 by HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Earthshot…

MarinaTex asking the right questions

MarinaTex, image: licensed to use Plastics waste is a major global problem facing the planet, affecting life on earth both on land and in the sea. The problem is that it is non-biodegradable and can exist in the ecosystem for…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship Principles published

Thrilled to signpost that Professor David A. Kirby and Dr Iman El-Kaffass's Harmonious entrepreneurship – a new approach to the challenge of global sustainability | Emerald Insight is now available online and in print. A perfect Sunday morning read. The…

Argan oil harmonious ventures

oil pic credit: Pixabay “The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield” - John-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) Today Argan oil is considered the most effective anti-ageing oil in…