Key Takeaways from the Event:
Sustainability isn’t just about compliance or cost mitigation. It is a strategic opportunity to future-proof your business, unlock new forms of innovation, and build profitable, resilient growth. The right culture is key to this success. Embedding sustainability into a team’s culture encourages fresh thinking, creates new value streams, and makes companies more adaptive to future regulatory shifts.
Unfortunately, there are multiple barriers to adoption of sustainability at scale. Whilst many SMEs are eager to adopt sustainable practices, they’re often held back by limited access to finance, regulation that’s heavy on “sticks” not “carrots”, and a lack of clear, practical guidance. Meanwhile, current UK government frameworks and regulations tend to favour large corporates, despite the fact that SMEs make up 50% of the jobs in the UK economy. They urgently need fit-for-purpose tools, jargon-free advice, and lighter red tape to thrive.
Working with key stakeholders, Barclays is focused on ensuring financial solutions are accessible to start-ups and SMEs — clear, actionable, and tailored to their scale and needs.
We also heard valuable insights from:
Chloe Collins, who is the Director of Operations at OurCarbon. She shared how their platform supports SMEs to track Scope 3 emissions, which larger corporate procurement teams will increasingly demand from their supply chains..
Jenny Skinner, CEO of Voltsmart, introduced their smart fusebox solution which modulates voltage to cut energy usage and extend the life of appliances. This was a powerful example of innovation in action that offers double-digit energy savings.
Our Partners directly contributed to the event in the panel discussion. Woon-Hui Oh and Philip Cholerton were joined by Abdul Qureshi and Maggie O’Neal from Barclays, where they addressed questions from the audience around the financial and business model barriers that SMEs encounter on their sustainability journey.
At NovAzure, we apply our expertise to scale innovations that create a more sustainable future. Have you already checked out our Sustainability White Paper for an in-depth look at overcoming some of the challenges to turning Sustainability into a competitive advantage for your business? You might also want to read the Willow Report on Sustainability, co-chaired by Barclays.
The feedback from the first Sustainability Breakfast session was overwhelmingly positive and we are already looking forward to the next event in the series. The energy and collaboration during the event suggest that the future is bright for sustainability-led innovation.
Links to the reports:
NovAzure’s Sustainability White Paper — exploring corporate attitudes and behaviours in the space.
