Check out these 14 exceptional UK-based businesses with strong sustainability focuses to inspire your start-up. They’re great examples of how small businesses can build sustainability into their core operations while still achieving commercial success.
1. Toast Ale
This Yorkshire-based brewery uses unsold loaves and crusts from sandwich makers and bakeries to make award-winning beer. An estimated 44% of bread is wasted in the UK, and Toast gives 100% of its profits to charities campaigning to address food waste. They’ve secured investment from Heineken.
“We hope to eventually put ourselves out of business. The day there’s no waste bread is the day Toast ale can no longer exist.”
Tristram Stuart (Founder)
2. OLIO
Food-sharing app that connects people with their neighbours and local businesses, allowing surplus food to be shared for free rather than thrown away. It’s been a resounding success with food successfully shared in 49 countries by 1.4 million people and has raised more than $10 million in investment.
3. Birdsong
An ethical and sustainable fashion studio based in East London that offers wardrobe staples made from low-impact materials. They work with a network of women makers to lift them and their families out of poverty in some of the poorest boroughs in the UK. They’ve launched a repair service to extend garment lifetime, saving 10kg of clothes from landfill in just six months.
4. Wild
A sustainable deodorant subscription service that came in at number 28 on the Startups 100 list. They have over 200,000 social media followers and use no single-use plastic, with cases made from aluminium and recycled plastic.
5. The Cheeky Panda
A natural, sustainable alternative to tree-based tissue using bamboo fibre. The company has saved 250,000 trees, reduced carbon emissions in the atmosphere by 31,500 tons, and prevented over 10 tons of plastic packaging from entering landfills.
6. Pavegen
A London-based technology company that has developed paving tiles that convert footsteps into kinetic energy via electromagnetic generators. They’ve installed these tiles in high-traffic spots in more than 30 countries.
7. MacRebur Roads
Creates more durable road surfaces by mixing non-recyclable plastic waste with asphalt, helping to recycle plastic bottles while creating more sustainable pathways.
8. Green Courier
A London-based environmentally friendly courier service that operates a mix of zero and ultra-low emission vehicles, including bicycles, electric vans and motorcycles. They record all carbon emissions and offset them via the World Land Trust.
9. Grow Bristol
Uses hydroponics, vertical farming and controlled environment technology to grow high-quality produce year-round without pesticides. In its pilot phase, it grew three tonnes of salad across 60 varieties and delivered it all on an electric bike.
10. Pukka Herbs
A certified carbon-neutral company that creates organic herbal teas and supplements. They’ve won the ‘Best Sustainable Tea Brand’ at the 2022 Marie Claire Sustainability Awards and annually measure their operational carbon footprint with data audited by Carbonfootprint.com. Founded in 2001 with the mission to connect people with the incredible power of herbs, they’re now owned by Unilever but maintain their focus on sustainability.
“We wanted to create a circle of benevolence, where everyone who was a part of the Pukka community would benefit from our presence.”
Sebastian Pole (Co-Founder)
11. Winnow Solutions
A London-based company that develops AI tools to help chefs run more profitable, sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half. They have been a registered B Corporation since 2017 and are used by thousands of chefs in over 90 countries. Kitchens using their platform typically see a 50% reduction in food waste and save between 2-8% on food costs. Between 2017 and 2022, they helped IKEA become the first global business to halve their food waste, saving $37 million!
“It’s all about branding: stop calling it ‘sustainability’ – instead, call it ‘resource efficiency’ and you will find much more resonance in your project.”
Marc Zornes (Founder/CEO)
12. Little Soap Company
An award-winning, organic, cruelty-free natural soap company founded by Emma Heathcote-James in 2008. Her passion was to reduce unnecessary synthetics people put on their skin, making pure soap accessible to all. They produce beautiful soaps crafted with love and sustainability in mind, using only pure essential oils.
13. All Natural Soap Co
A multi-award-winning, artisan producer of 100% natural soaps that are traditionally handmade in small batches without Palm Oil, with options specifically designed for extra sensitive skin.
14. Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go is a social impact company that fights food waste through its mobile app by connecting consumers with food businesses that have surplus food for sale. They’re part of London’s food waste prevention ecosystem and have made a significant impact in reducing food waste across the UK.
