Butternut Box: Pet Health Meets B-Corp Impact

“The only way to be successful for the long haul is by doing business in a way that considers the needs of all our partpners – our customers, our squad, our communities and, of course, our environment” (Butternut Box). Butternut…

Ocean Bottle: Tackling Ocean Plastic and Empowering Coastal Communities

“Our ambition is to create a world where the value of a company is measured by the good that it does, as much as the profit it makes”. (Will and Nick, Co-founders of Ocean Bottle). Ocean Bottle is a business…

Sustainable Seas: The Story of Câr-y-Môr’s Innovative Ocean Farming

“Many are concerned that modern farming practices are reducing our farming land’s productivity and ecosystem health. Creating a sustainable future is a core part of Câr-y-Môr’s aim" (Owen Haines, co-founder Câr-y-Môr [Love of the Sea]) Câr-y-Môr is a Community Benefit…

Sustainable Indulgence from The Goodwash Company

“I was working for a large pharmaceutical company, and it was all about profit margins and driving more and more for the shareholders” - Mandy Powell The Goodwash Company is the brainchild of two Welsh international sports people, Mandy Powell…

Sustainable Suitehearts: Mr & Mrs Smith Craft Luxury Hotels with a Conscience

“I promise to keep sustainability as a key part of our business strategy and to continually promote sustainability to our members, our partners, and our hoteliers. Through these means and through our future innovations, I think it is vital for…

Woven with Value: LittleLeaf Organic Cotton

“Our business is based on solid values: great products with good design, made ethically and sustainably without doing harm to others or our planet” - Lisa and Philip Ingram LittleLeaf Organic Cotton). Lisa Ingram has a DPhil, four young adult…

Bee1’s Trailblazing Path Fostering Climate Awareness in School

"At Bee1, we believe that the most sustainable solutions arise at the intersection of education, innovation, and social responsibility." - Bee1 Mark Douglas, former Director of NatWest Bank across Wales and the Chairman/Founder of NatWest Cymru, transitioned from shaping a…

KeepCup: Brewing Change One Reusable Cup at a Time

“We are a business built on the advocacy of individual users. We are at our best when we arrive at decisions that consider all of the perspectives and look forward with optimism and authenticity” - KeepCup Born in Glasgow but…

Avocado Power: Biofase’s Bioplastic Revolution

“Everything that exists on earth is part of a natural cycle. The problem with plastic is that it does not belong to any of these cycles” - Scott Munguia. In 2014 Scott Munguia, a Chemical Engineering student, founded Biofase in…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

“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…

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…

“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…

“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…

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…

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…