Celebrating businesses cutting carbon: Spotlight on… Designworks
This is the first in a series of blogs celebrating local businesses taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact. In this blog, we’re shining the spotlight on Designworks, a full-service creative and digital agency providing web and app development, branding, marketing and design. The business was bought in 2007 by its managing director Rory Black.
The company has always held strong environmental values and wanted a way to demonstrate its credentials. A chance meeting with Tim Maiden, the founder of Green Small Business, introduced Rory and Designworks to the benefits of Green Small Business accreditation.
The benefits include the ‘Environmental Action Plan’ and the fact it’s a small business-friendly alternative to ISO 14001 certification. The Action Plan provides a better understanding of the company’s environmental impacts and puts a clear framework in place to help manage them more effectively. The international standard for environmental management systems, ISO 14001, can be very difficult for small businesses to attain. Green Small Business has created a policy and action plan which follows similar principles to ISO 14001 in an accessible and supported way for smaller businesses.
Rory’s summary on the benefits of Green Small Business accreditation: “ISO 14001 certification is often a prerequisite for large tenders and having a small business-friendly alternative has allowed us to bid for larger contracts. Green Small Business certification will help decrease both the company’s and supply chain’s carbon footprint and it provides the credentials to support and develop our environmental policy.” If your business is looking for ways to operate more sustainably, Green Small Business offers a range of services, currently accessible via a 50% discount thanks to South Lakeland District Council. It’s a great opportunity to join Designworks and many others (see Zero Carbon Cumbria’s website for more case studies) on a carbon reduction journey.
If you know of another local business taking steps to reduce its environmental impact that you’d like to see featured on this blog and our social media platforms, get in touch by emailing anne-marie@kendaltowncouncil.gov.uk
