Sustainability is becoming more than just a trend today. People are becoming highly aware of the impact they have on the planet and how it affects their daily living. It has urged them to make better choices that are healthier for the planet and themselves. The sustainability trend is becoming a lifestyle necessity more than anything else. Large corporations are now becoming more accountable for the waste they generate and they are being forced into taking action to become more sustainable or make efforts and investments into the sustainability sector.
ESG Consulting is also becoming a growing sector because of this because the companies need to be more aware of the top trends in sustainability and need to choose where to invest. It has given rise to sustainable companies in general that focus on reducing waste, reusing material and recycling existing waste to create greener alternatives. The industry spans many other industries such as food and hospitality, green energy, and more.
The article consists of a list of the top sustainable companies in the UK that are going above and beyond to create a positive environmental impact in society. Read on to find out about what these ecofriendly companies are and what it is they do to make a difference in the world today.
Olio
About 9.9% (Action Against Hunger) of the total population in the world goes hungry every day. That is more than 811 million people who do not have enough food to eat. At the same time though, there is also abundant food wastage that takes place. People go out to eat meals and do not end up finishing their food, which gets thrown away. Even home cooked meals go to waste regularly because the leftovers just sit in the refrigerator till it goes bad and then you throw it away in guilt.
Olio started as a company to bridge the gap between hunger and wastage of food. They wanted to reduce the amount of food waste that takes place on a daily basis and also help those who are hungry and need food. The surplus food is shared among the needy and none of it gets thrown out. All the users have to do is download the Olio app, upload a picture of all the excess food or supplies they have, and the interested parties can go and pick it up. It’s one of the most sustainable brands and it is also conscious of the people in need.
Bulb
Sustainable energy is the next step for countries around the world. The green energy market is currently booming. The green products companies industry’s worth nearly $693 billion (Business Wire) as of 2020 and the industry is only going to grow as the Paris agreement’s final date draws closer. Bulb is a sustainable company in the UK that wants to take charge of the green energy market and supply in the country and has been steadily growing in popularity and reach since then. They provide clean, green energy sourced from wind, solar and hydroelectricity to homes around the UK. The gas they use to make this energy is completely carbon neutral as well, so there is minimal wastage of exhaustible resources and the maximum benefit derived for the planet. According to their website, the eco-friendly company reduces the impact of carbon emissions by 3.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, and their only aim is to grow more and do more for the country and the world.
Pavegen
Pavegen is a unique concept company that uses tiles and grids to create energy that can be used to power different things – whatever the clients that use the tool want to use it for. They promote creativity, whoever the company partners with has full freedom of what they want to use their tiles for. They aim to make sustainability fun and exploratory and they do that with every project they help create and every client they work with. It is one of the sustainable companies that help in the UK create smart cities, transportation solutions, retail, education and work with brand activation projects as well.
Unpackaged
Unpackaged is a zero-waste store where people can come visit and pick up their food and groceries without any packaging waste. The idea is to get their customers to bring their own containers to carry all the food they are picking up from the store. The food at the store is kept in giant glass containers that they keep refilling as they run out of stock. Whoever comes can buy their groceries in bulk and take them with them and store it directly in their homes.
Toast
Toast is a sustainable and conscious clothing brand that promotes longevity and durability. They believe in the slower way of living and want to work towards eliminating the fast-fashion culture. 8% (UN Environment Program) of all carbon emissions come from the fast fashion industry alone, making it a toxic culture that people need to step away from.
All the materials that Toast uses are sourced and used in their clothes are durable and long-lasting – so you don’t have to keep buying new clothing items all the time. It promotes conscious clothing and is one of the first fashion brands that started with sustainable fashion. The fabrics they use are completely biodegradable as well so when you do dispose of your clothes, they won’t have an environmental impact.
They want to work towards going beyond reducing impact and creating change with their ideals and clothes – a slower, more sustainable way of living. It is one of the top sustainable and environmentally friendly companies in the world of fashion and they supply its clothes across multiple stores all around the world.
Green Tomato Cars
Green Tomato Cars prides itself to be London’s only sustainable public car service company. The rise in eco-friendly vehicles as sustainable companies for public use pushed the founders to make the transition to create zero-emissions or low emissions more accessible for public use. Customers can now book the cabs whenever they want, and they can book it for on-the-spot pick-up and drop or for much later as well. They are already carbon negative, and those who ride with them add on to the cause as well. Green Tomato Cars also participates in a lot of initiatives and investments to reduce the carbon emissions rate to improve the air quality of the city.
Grow Bristol
Grow Bristol is one of the environmentally friendly organizations in the UK that works in the agriculture sector. Their primary focus is growing crops with hydroponic and aeroponic methods. These tools allow them to grow a lot more produce with no soil. Vertical farming and agriculture technology has advanced enough to let farmers become more innovative with their produce. Grow Bristol wants to promote this culture to push a more sustainable and plant-based approach to food and agriculture.
Vertical farming uses no pesticides so the produce is automatically healthier, and the amount of land usage is also a fraction. Since it doesn’t need soil, there is no need for farmland – technically it can be executed anywhere – which is what the sustainable company started to do. They use shipping containers as their location and transport their produce by using electric bikes.
Buzzbike
Buzzbike wants to make biking everyday culture in London. They have a community of bikers who connect with one another and go on trips, explore the city, and ‘unlock’ it on their terms. The company wants to help people move away from other means of transportation and focus on using the most eco-friendly tool they have available – the bicycles have no emissions. Buzzbike team members provide the bikes on a monthly subscription basis where you can get freebies, discounts at their partner cafes, and more. It creates an incentive for people to sign up and use the application and their services, and they create a greener lifestyle around it as well.
Library of Things
Library of Things is another one of the sustainable companies in the UK that are focused on reusing products and giving them a new home. Their entire model is based on the aspect of borrowing.
For example, if you need camping gear for a two-week long vacation, normally what you would end up doing is buying it at the store. It will sit in your house for many months after, unused, and maybe even result in never being used again. It’s wasteful in terms of money and the environmental impact. What if there was a way you could just borrow the tools you need for your vacation instead? Won’t it be much cheaper? You save yourself the hassle of going out, buying, storing, and maintaining your gear over time. You use what you need when you need it and then return it once you’re done. This is the entire idea behind a sustainable company.
It creates less waste because it reduces the demand and increases the longevity and usage of these pre-existing pre-bought products. It also becomes more affordable to rent for a short period and save money instead of buying something outright and spending more. So the company gives people a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative.
Verto Homes
Smart and sustainable homes will be the future, and Verto Homes is at the forefront of this upcoming change. They build and design homes that have a zero-emissions rate and they are completely automated. They are equipped with smart tools and alternative resources for energy consumption, reducing the carbon emission rate you would have produced drastically. Verto Homes is focused on designing the homes of the future, and they know that the future is sustainable. Smart homes adapt to your usage and save energy based on your consumption as well. The contemporary home design company has built homes in the southwest of the UK and will continue to grow and expand in time.
Read also: Top Sustainability Trends 2022: Taking a Greener Approach
Conclusion
ESG consulting services can help organizations that aren’t based on a sustainability model become more aware of their carbon emissions, their impact, and help them come up with solutions where they can invest in building a greener future. There are many more sustainable companies around Europe and the world that want to work towards creating a greener planet for us and the future. Zero emissions, neutrality, and carbon negativity is what we are trying to achieve for ourselves and we want to use the technology we have and build on it to create a smarter, greener future.
