Conscientiousness is one of our company values. It is a value we live by as people as well as business owners. We deeply care about our planet and its future, and we do what we can to protect it. As such, we make conscious decisions on how we run our business.
The following is an overview of the steps we take to bridge the gap between being eco-conscious and doing what a small business can afford.
1. GREEN ENERGY
Our commercial premises runs 100% on renewable electric energy. We could have opted to go with a cheaper energy supplier, but we didn't. We did a lot of research and settled on the energy provider Octopus. Many advisors have told us to use (green) nuclear energy, but we believe that this is not green in the long run due to radioactive waste.
All our lighting fittings are LED. Most of our appliances have an A+ energy rating.
2. REUSE
When we moved into our current premises in November 2022, there were still some shelving units and tables. We took a close look at all of them to see which ones were still in good enough condition and didn't hesitate to reuse or repurpose them.
As a business, we keep the cardboard boxes we receive from our suppliers and repurpose them or use them as filler. We would rather recycle and send our biscuits out with another brand on the shipping box than create more waste by printing our own branded boxes.
When Adam from Surplus to Purpose in Leeds announced he had access to an abandoned office building filled with office furniture that was going to be thrown away, we went round and took a lot of our office equipment such as chairs, trolleys, folders, and more, in return for a donation to his incredible cause of fighting (food) waste. Some of our other office furniture comes from a local charity shop. They're mix and match, but that works for us!
3. REDUCE FOOD WASTE
All our biscuits are baked to order, which means we have no food waste. If we ever have breakages, our team will take them home, or we will leave them outside The Biskery for passersby to enjoy.
We used to have a listing on Too Good To Go, but we did not have enough wastage to make it work!
4. RECYCLING
We recycle our waste, and we use recyclable materials where possible.
The flooring we laid in our bakery is extremely durable, is made from recycled material and is 100% recyclable.
Our worktops are hard-wearing and long lasting. They are made from repurposed wood, and topped with an eco-friendly food safe resin that should last us for decades to come.
Our packaging and promotional leaflets are made from recycled material (which is usually more expensive), and are recyclable. Our individual biscuit bags are compostable (way more expensive than the plastic alternative).
We chose not to shrink wrap our boxes, which means a compromise on the shelf life of the biscuits, but less waste, and a freshly baked product every time.
5. SAVING RESOURCES
To save energy where possible, we opted for domestic appliances rather than commercial ones. Domestic appliances use much less energy, and are more than sufficient for a biscuit bakery like ours.
We opted for a low energy heater, which resulted in us feeling a little bit cold at times, but wearing an extra jumper usually did the job.
Our bakery sits in our local community, which was really important to us. It means that well over half of our staff can easily get to work on foot, by bus or by bike. Before we moved, we all had to drive into work.
NOT PERFECT
We're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But we're always trying to tread as lightly as possible on this world. We've done this from the start and we will continue to put sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
Eco-friendliness is not just for Earth Day for us. And we hope the above will give other (small) businesses ideas of how to become a little bit greener.
