Nature Friendly Farming, Esgairllaethdy Farm, Myddfai

“Producing high quality food, looking after the environment, managing air and water quality, enhancing biodiversity and wildlife and taking care of our most valuable asset -SOIL – is what we as  farmers should be doing. We are on this planet…

Loch Fyne Oysters: Empowering Communities, Restoring Oyster Waters

“Johnny’s contribution to the Cairndow area transformed it from a place with few jobs, a dwindling population and little ambition to a thriving, forward thinking community” (Virginia Sumsion, Johnny Noble’s niece). Loch Fyne is a Scottish sea loch or lake…

Tap Social: Brewing Change Through Beer, Baking & Second Chances

“I used to channel my energies into the wrong things. I was successful but now I know that if I had channelled my energies into something positive I could have succeeded there too”. (Cooper an ex-offender and Tap Social employee)…

Avallen Spirits: The Planet-Positive Spirit Brand with moral purpose

“The truth is that few companies are making the changes required to their business practices to make the urgent impact we need…” - Tim Etherington-Judge Stephanie Jordan and Tim Etherington-Judge launched Avallen Spirits, a private producer of Calvados (a cider brandy…

The Wellbeing Farm – journey to B-corp

“The sustainable equilibrium of our planet is facing huge challenges. But at The Wellbeing Farm, we are working to create a solution, and to make our green story even greener”. (Celia Gaze) Who would have thought a wedding and corporate…

Reviving Rural Economies: The Inspiring Story of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association

“We have to think big. Who would have thought 20 years ago we'd have got where we are now". (Dr. Matthew O'Callaghan, OBE) In 2015, food historian Dr Matthew O’Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, was awarded…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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”…

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…

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…

“The people who give you their food give you their heart” (Cesar Chavez, 1927-1993)

The tragic scenes of refugees fleeing from war-torn Afghanistan bring home, all too vividly, the plight of the “barefoot entrepreneurs” – those people who live ”primarily in marginal, poor and excluded places and contexts” (Imas et al. 2012). While the problem is…

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world” (Margaret Mead)

Antur Cymru (Welsh Adventure) is a social enterprise providing support for businesses in Wales. Owned by shareholders in the community who do not profit individually from their investment, they have agreed surpluses should be reinvested in the company. It was…

“May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out” (J.R.R. Tolkein)

Originating in the 16th century, but not becoming commonplace until after William Murdoch’s invention of the gaslight in 1802, street lights are now regarded as an essential feature of modern living. Not only do they aid security but they contribute…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that” (Martin Luther King)

WaterLight (E-Dina) According to SDG 7, by 2030 the aim is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. The problem is that in 2021, only 9 years away, some 940 million people (13% of the…

“He was a wise man who invented beer” (Plato, 427-347 BC).

Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world. Its origin dates back some 5000 years, possibly more, and by 2018 188.79 million kilolitres were being consumed, the equivalent of approximately 298.2 billion bottles. However,…

Notpla: God created seaweed…The seaweed made the world”

Seaweed is an extremely versatile and important product. Amongst others it is a food, a fertiliser, a medicine, a fuel, a cosmetic and, significantly, a vital element in the ocean ecosystem, producing oxygen, absorbing nutrients and providing a habitat for…

“On a bicycle made for two”…or three, or more!

Despite its image of pure, unpolluted mountain air, the air quality in Nepal is one of the worst in the world, particularly in the country’s capital city, Kathmandu. Here the incidence of smog is five times greater than it was…

“There’s a way to do it better – Find it” (Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Though a profound invention that has impacted significantly on modern society, plastics are a major sustainability challenge as they do not decompose and contribute to environmental problems both on land and in the sea, as well as to the health…

Tred: The Millennials Lead The Way

Water pollution: Brian Yurasits, 2019 How did a meal in Glasgow lead to the UK’s first green debit card made from recycled ocean plastic? Well, it is quite simple, over a meal with a friend, one of the co-founders of…

“Waste not want not” (1772, idiom) or “wilful waste makes woeful want” (1576, idom)

For two student entrepreneurs, Josh Shefner and Claire Friona, long-established idioms are a living reality. Both are students of Engineering at Milwaukee School of Engineering, and both are passionate about poverty elimination and the eradication of waste. They are also…

An Innovative UK solution to the Global Pollution Problem Caused by Urban Trucking

In the USA it is estimated that trucks/lorries (Heavy Goods Vehicles/HGVs) account for 5% of the number of vehicles on the road but 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, while in Europe the Environment Agency estimates that HGVs…

The world is green and beautiful, and we are its custodians

(Image credit: North Wales Police) In an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, it has become law in many countries for people to wear disposable face masks. 129 billion face masks are being used globally each month and in…

The “Grameen” Bank of Wales

Outside of Wales few people know of Karen Davies but in South Wales, she does what Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank do in Bangladesh. Through her not-for-profit microfinance social enterprise, “Purple Shoots”, which she established in…

Latika Golyan demonstrates the need for graduate entrepreneurs in Nepal

Nepal, population 28.61 million, is a factor-driven economy meaning it relies on its people and natural resources. Over 55% of the population is under the age of 25 and there are some 450,000 students enrolled at different universities in the…

Affordable Sustainable Social Housing in Wales

As a result of urban-rural migration and the demand for second homes in the countryside, there is a shortage of affordable social housing in Wales, and, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, this is contributing significantly to the level of…

Too Good To Go

In 2016, three entrepreneurs from Copenhagen, Leeds and Paris co-founded “Too Good To Go” (http://toogoodtogo.org) a social impact company intended to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 Sustainable. Consumption and Production, also supporting 13 Climate Action. Globally 1.3 billion…

Solving one global problem but creating others: the need for Harmonious Entrepreneurship

The world population is growing at around 83 million people a year or 1.1 per cent. Apart from needing space to accommodate such a population increase, there is another major problem facing the planet. The topsoil responsible for supplying 95%…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship and the Tourism Industry

Globally tourism accounts for 10.3 per cent of GDP and some 330 million jobs. Thus, it contributes significantly to income generation and job creation and is set to grow further. Traditionally, however, it has not been eco-friendly. Apart from the…

Dr Laila Iskander and the Zabbaleen

Dr Laila Iskander Dr Laila is a former Egyptian Minister of the Environment and founder of CID (Community and International Development) Group, a consulting firm that “strives to create holistic growth solutions by bridging corporate and development objectives”. In 1994 she…

Saltaire, a 19th century manifestation of Harmonious Entrepreneurship?

Saltaire The concept of harmonious entrepreneurship is perhaps not entirely new. Possibly one of the earliest proponents of it is the industrial entrepreneur Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876) who, in 1851, built Saltaire, now a UNESCO World Heritage site in the…