Green Business Awards coming to Salisbury

Created by Salisbury Transition City (STC), The Salisbury Green Business Association (GBA) will celebrate and promote local businesses that are making positive changes for the environment while providing support for those who would like to do more.

According to the SME climate report, small and medium businesses are responsible for 44% of non-household emissions. Therefore, they will play an essential role in helping to achieve the targets set by Wiltshire Council and Salisbury City Council to “make the country carbon neutral by 2030.”

The Salisbury Green Business Awards Scheme is free to take part in and will launch over the coming months.

The initiative is designed to encourage and inform businesses about simple ways to reduce their environmental impacts, helping them to make sustainable changes that support local climate targets.

Sophia, a GBA project manager, said, "The GBA project has the potential to create a shift in local business mindset, encouraging businesses in Salisbury to ‘Think Global, Act Local’.”

Salisbury has over 200 independent businesses, including waste-free shops, second-hand shops and a Library of Things.

The Salisbury Green Business Awards will help celebrate those already taking positive action for the climate and encourage others to follow.

The project aims to create a thriving, sustainable local economy that keeps money circulating in the community - putting Salisbury on the map of eco-conscious towns.

Dan Collins, Business manager at Salisbury BID said, “More and more businesses in Salisbury are looking for ways to be more environmentally conscious, but it can be very difficult to navigate the best ways to be greener.

“The awards not only promote the efforts of businesses that have already made positive changes, but also give guidance to businesses looking to be greener.”

How do the awards work?

Businesses will be asked to fill out an easy-to-complete questionnaire which will ask about their current business practices. The questions are in 5 main sectors: energy, transport, finance, waste and organisational practices. They will receive a score for each section to indicate the areas they are doing well or that could be improved.

Businesses will also receive an informative toolkit containing specific actionable advice tailored to their business.

High-scoring businesses will win a sustainable award to display in their shop, window or on their website. Those that fall short of the award will be encouraged to make some changes with the help of their toolkit and resubmit - moving them closer to achieving the accolade.

The organisers of The Salisbury Green Business Awards hope that independent businesses will benefit from local social media endorsement for being a green business, while encouraging other companies to get involved.

Another benefit includes direct cost reductions from conserving energy, water or other resource-saving practices. It will also create new networks and increase the visibility of local community action to small business owners.

The awards will allow environmentally conscious consumers to buy confidently, knowing they are making good choices when spending their money in Salisbury.

To nominate your businesses for The Salisbury Green Business Awards, visit the Salisbury Transition City website and complete the form - https://www.transitionsalisbury.org/green-business-awards