Bradford chosen for UK’s first Green Street sustainable high street pilot
Bradford city centre has been selected as the location for the UK’s first Green Street action research pilot that aims to help small and independent businesses to go green.
Businesses in the area are now being encouraged to sign up to Green Street, following which 30 retail and hospitality businesses will be selected to take part in the pilot. If is successful, the scheme will be rolled to into dozens of towns, cities and high streets across the UK.
Led by Bradford retailer and businesswoman Victoria Robertshaw, with initial funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Green Street is supported by the Retail Sector Council, Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, with support from the European Regional Development Fund.
Robertshaw said: “Green Street is a truly innovative sustainability scheme that focuses on retail and hospitality businesses. It’s all about supporting those businesses and enabling them to work together to achieve more by becoming greener. This not only helps the environment but can also positively influence shopping behaviour and impact their bottom line.
“More and more consumers want to become greener and embrace lifestyle changes, and they’re looking for businesses that will help them make the transition. We also believe that by being more sustainable, it will help Green Street businesses cut costs, reduce waste, increase sales, as well as help the planet.”
The initial Green Street Bradford participants will be given a free sustainability review which will look to identify quick wins, cost savings and innovations that will help them to become greener businesses. Other benefits will include unlimited and free access to digital tools to help them understand and reach new customers who want to lead more sustainable lifestyles. There will also be opportunities to attend free workshops run by some of the UK’s most successful retailers.
Ursula Sutcliffe (pictured), owner of Plant One On Me, said: “I’m very excited about Green Street and what I can learn and take away from being part of the project. City centres can be very harsh places but they don’t have to be and something like this could make a real difference where we build a community that people want to visit and shop in.”
