Salons have high energy use, high water use and produce large amounts of waste. But salons are learning to make their business more sustainable and their customers appreciate the effort made. A typical salon uses double the electricity of a standard household at 7,000-12,000 kilowatt hours (Business Energy Comparison). Included in this is the heating […]
A sustainability policy is a short, written commitment that sets out what a small business will do to protect people and the planet and how they will measure progress. For Blue Patch members, it is a way to show how everyday choices in the business align with the community’s ethos. Do you need a sustainability […]
The UK Broker Awards 2026 recently shortlisted Sustain Insurance Brokers for ESG Champion of the Year. Environmental, Social and Governance is increasingly important in insurance. Insurers are facing direct financial impact from climate change, shifting public opinion, and tighter regulations. Insurers may not cover a business in a high-risk or high pollution industry. A business […]
Our founder, Jane Langley, joined a panel at the British Library last week to launch Hana Towobola’s Sustainable Fashion Vocabulary encyclopaedic dictionary. The dictionary ‘codifies sustainable fashion’ and aims to break down complex sustainable fashion terms into easy understandable language (Women’s Wear Daily). The British Library, a space associated with the preservation and circulation of […]
A Community Interest Company is a UK limited company designed to benefit a community and not just the private shareholders. It is popular with social enterprises and purpose led businesses, like Nemi Community CIC who support refugees into work in London through their Trampoline Cafes. What does CIC stand for? CIC stands for Community Interest […]
The newspapers are reporting that the UK is on the verge of food shortages. It’s a topic covered by the National Emergency Briefing that we think should be watched by every UK citizen. The UK has experienced four consecutive heat waves and three prolonged dry periods. Rainfall in July was just 4.4mm, one of the […]
We all agree that something must be done about the vast quantities of packaging that are produced each year. The Extended Producer Responsibility regulations are a step in the right direction. They came into law this year, and apply to every organisation that imports or supplies packaging, including charities. You might think that doesn’t extend […]
The UK faces an increasing risk of wildfires. Just last week the Met Office issued a red warning for wildfires that covered an expansive area. It was followed by a fire in Walthamstow where one house was destroyed, thirty gardens and a railway embankment were affected. There were no injuries. The London Fire Brigade was […]
In the UK, “natural capital” is attracting the attention of investors, but who owns our natural capital and who should control it? Should it be under the control of the government, conservation charities, or local communities? Is it safe in the hands of large corporations and private equity firms? It is big business. “The total […]
Blue Patch’s ‘It’s Good Business’ course Blue Patch’s It’s Good Business workshop provides practical steps in sustainability for micro and small businesses. The workshop was kindly funded by Southwark Council’s Neighbourhood Fund, We were delighted that Fitzroy Lewis from the Neighbourhood Team came along to show support! We held our first It’s Good Business workshop […]
A rewilding project in Yorkshire is being supported by an investment fund. A serial entrepreneur has set up a nature-positive investment company in Scotland and a circular affordable housing company. There are signs that nature restoration is attracting investment. Broughton Estate in Yorkshire, under the direction of the 32nd generation owner Roger Tempest, have redeveloped […]
Kemone S-G Brown recently joined Blue Patch as a board member, bringing her expertise as a transformation strategist to support founder Jane Langley in developing the Blue Patch: It’s Good Business course. This series of in-person events, funded by Southwark Council, is designed to help SMEs take meaningful steps towards sustainability and carbon reduction. As […]
June 7th 2026, Dulwich The first Bell House Festival of Retrofit was great! It felt like home – the home we’d all love to hang out in. The atmosphere was simply happy, full of people sharing insulation tips and their experience of installing renewable energy in their home. This is community at it’s best, helping […]
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has cleared a decade of backlogged applications for grid connection and approved over 700 clean energy projects since the start of the year. They did this by filtering out speculative applications and only approving those that were ready to start work. The approved projects make up more than 60% […]
A new report by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, which was compiled by CBI Economics, finds that the net zero economy in the UK generated approximately £105 billion in gross value added (GVA) in 2025 – a 26% increase on the previous year (£83.1bn). That brings it to around 3.8% of UK economic output. […]
Un-Earthing is the title of an exhibition by Blue Patch’s first Associate Curator, Douceline van Caloen, a Hong Kong-Belgian curator and recent masters graduate from Curating Contemporary Art, at the Royal College of Art, London. Un-Earthing engages with de-colonial perspectives on the legacies of extraction across land, people and labour, revealing how these practices continue […]
This weekend we will be at The Bell House Festival of Retrofit where there will be a series of workshops and talks on retrofitting your home to make it more climate resilient. A selection of Blue Patch members’ work will be on display, including Chimney Sheep’s ‘chimney sheep’ which prevents warm air from escaping up […]
On Sunday, June 7th, Bell House will be open for the very first Festival of Retrofit in Dulwich, a free event (book your tickets) for anyone keen to explore and get practical advice. Running from 11.30 to 3.30 the festival will include workshops for all ages, from how to build a brick wall to Cardboard […]
We have invested in shares with Kent Community Energy, a green energy community that champions decarbonisation initiatives across Kent. Kent Community Energy Kent Community Energy is a community owned, non-profit energy group based in Kent. They develop renewable energy projects, in particular solar energy, to cut carbon emissions and keep benefits local. It operates as […]
Circular business models like repair, reuse, resale, refill, and rental help households (and businesses) save money while reducing waste during a cost of living crisis. Cost of living crisis Energy, food and housing costs in the UK are rising, causing a cost of living crisis. That financial pressure is leading to changing customer behaviour. Consumers […]
Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th May 2026, 11am – 6 pm, at The Hub, 42 Bonar Rd, London SE15 5FB. Un-Earthing is an exciting new exhibition that explores decolonial perspectives of land, power and the ethics of sustainability. Featuring six artists, all with global roots, whose work ranges from painting and sculpture to digital works, […]
The UK Government intends to reform Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) so that they give a fuller picture of building performance to drive EPC compliance. Here’s what every small business needs to know. What are the reforms to EPCs? In 2024, there was a consultation about what Energy Performance Certificates should measure and when they should […]
