Café owner signs up for free advice to tackle climate
Sustainability-savvy café owner Nicola Dalton is preparing to take a detailed look at her business’s carbon footprint with free advice through the Cool Shropshire & Telford scheme.
Nicola, who owns and runs the two Stop. Coffee Shops in Shrewsbury, has signed up to the free initiative supporting Shropshire’s businesses in making the move towards improving sustainability.
As an early supporter and promoter of the Shrewsbury Cup Scheme, she is already aware of reducing the businesses’ environmental impacts, and saw Cool Shropshire & Telford as a perfect opportunity to draw on the expertise in offer.
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, with Cool Shropshire member Nicola Dalton outside her coffee shop Stop. in St Julian’s Friars, Shrewsbury
She said:-
“Stop. Coffee Shops have championed the Shrewsbury Cup Scheme since it started, and we made some great inroads with it during the pandemic, but sadly that is beginning to wane again now.
“I am very conscious that the catering industry has an awful lot of single-use items, and that they and all the packaging they come in are not really sustainable. We are already trying to deter people from using throwaway items – for example we charge 25p for our paper cups – but we are also keen to learn what more we can be doing.
“I am looking forward to examining our carbon footprint with the experts from Cool Shropshire & Telford. That way we can set our starting point and set some achievable objectives to reduce our footprint and minimise our environmental impact even more.
“It’s about looking at the steps we can take, such as supporting a bike to work initiative which would be of benefit to our staff, and looking at ways we can reduce our waste, working with other local businesses such as linking with refill companies, and reusing or giving away packaging. I want to set achievable goals.”
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said:-
“It is increasingly important for businesses to take this into account when they are developing their corporate plans, but for SMEs and micro-businesses it can seem daunting and sometimes unaffordable.
“On a practical level Cool Shropshire & Telford gives members the potential to save money by becoming more energy and resource efficient and increase their resilience against supply chain shocks and the effects of climate change; and by working collectively to make a difference there is a sense of community. Members’ brand reputation is also enhanced by showing concern and acting on reducing environmental impacts.”
Cool Shropshire & Telford is a £20,000 initiative to aid small businesses in making the move towards improving sustainability.
The council’s climate team has partnered with Telford & Wrekin Council and Shropshire-based environmental consultants E4environment Ltd to steer Shropshire’s SMEs and micro businesses towards understanding and reducing their environmental impact. Local climate charity Zero Carbon Shropshire has also been influential in the development of the scheme.
Deb Cairns, director of E4environment, added:-
“The support provided by Cool Shropshire & Telford is tailored to micro businesses and SMEs based in the county.
“We have aligned Cool Shropshire & Telford with the overarching carbon targets and environmental goals of the council to provide guidance, tools, and grant information linked specifically to Shropshire Council’s and Telford & Wrekin Council’s sustainability initiatives.”
The initiative allows up to 1,000 firms access to expertise which will help them future-proof their businesses by measuring their carbon footprint and setting achievable goals and strategies to help improve sustainability.
Click here to get involved.
Caption: Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, with Cool Shropshire member Nicola Dalton outside her coffee shop Stop. in St Julian Friars, Shrewsbury
