‘Go Green’ event helps businesses be more sustainable

At a packed-out Harborough Grow-on Centre, businesses from across the district took part in the Harborough Go Green convention, organised by Harborough District Council, to help develop climate-friendly ideas and reduce carbon emissions. It was one of the first events of its kind to be organised by a local authority.

Attendees heard from a series of speakers on the day, took part in interactive sessions, and put questions to climate change experts.

The day also included the launch of an exciting opportunity for local businesses, with Harborough District Council being the first district council in the country to support businesses in accessing the Zellar online sustainability platform. The District Council is sponsoring access for up to 40 local businesses to join Zellar’s sustainability platform, for free for one year, which will help, support businesses to go greener and work towards Net Zero in a structured way. For further details, please contact: business@harborough.gov.uk

Cllr Phil King, Leader of the Council, launched the event, which included a keynote speech from Harborough MP and Levelling-up Minister Neil O’Brien who shared information about some of the Government policies which are helping businesses boost their green credentials.

Cllr Phil King said: “This was a brilliant event; businesses shared how they are already making huge strides in being more environmentally-proactive, and showed a real desire to learn more about how they can work towards being carbon neutral. We had a diverse range of experts share their knowledge of how businesses can achieve their environmental goals, and whilst we know there are challenges, this event hopefully offered inspiration and focus for all. Huge thanks to everyone who took part in helping to make Harborough district, cleaner and greener.”

As well as offering advice about responding to customer demand for a more climate-friendly approach, there were also sessions on carbon reduction, green loans, sustainable business travel, and a demonstration of e-bikes which are saving delivery-focused businesses money and cutting emissions.

Neil O’Brien MP said: “It was great to see so many businesses from across the Harborough community attend the Go Green event at the Grow on Centre and I would like to thank Harborough District Council for organising this fantastic event. Climate Change is obviously an extremely important issue we face, and the Government is committed in meeting its net zero target by 2050. I was glad to talk about policies the Government is implementing both nationally and locally that will help in achieving this goal.”