Bradford Go-Greener Fund shares £20,000 to help 10 sustainable SMEs blossom

Ten small businesses in Bradford have today been awarded £2,000 from the Bradford £20k Go-Greener Fund to give their sustainable business plans a boost.

The fund was established by First West Yorkshire with support from Green Street, an organisation helping small retailers to become more sustainable which is pioneering its first project in Bradford, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The aim of the fund is to help small businesses in retail, leisure, hospitality, health & beauty and other consumer services encourage eco-friendly high street spending and boost customer-led sustainable growth. Small businesses had to make the case for how they would use the money through an online application which closed on June 19.

The 10 successful firms were decided by a judging panel of Paul Matthews, managing director of First West Yorkshire, Green Street founder Victoria Robertshaw and Vincent McCabe, programme lead (Clean Growth & Innovation) at the Combined Authority, who reviewed 34 applications.

A plethora of business activities are represented by the winners including fashion retail, food and drink, artisan products, cafes, community projects and pharmacy.

Paul Matthews commented: “The fund has uncovered many imaginative ideas and a real purpose among small businesses in Bradford to develop their sustainability. All these plans will encourage customers to consider environmental choices when shopping and enjoying leisure time in the city and its communities.”

“We intend to provide the funding in the next month so business can get started as soon as possible and continue efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of Bradford.”

Victoria Robertshaw added: “We’re so pleased to be partnering with First Bus and that the fund has given these ten great Bradford businesses a boost on their road to be more sustainable.

“We hope that lots of people will visit to see the new herb gardens, wormeries, reusable packaging, mending workshops, community gardens and other exciting activities which this investment will deliver for customers to enjoy and benefit from.

“Green Street is proud to support the green movement in Bradford and encourages everybody to visit the many small, independent businesses who are ‘Working towards a Greener Bradford’.

Videos of the 10 winners will go to a people’s vote in July with the winner receiving a fully-funded sustainability review of their business with advice from experts, paid for by the Combined Authority.

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