Monitoring and evaluating social enterprise and community food initiatives

Sustainable development isn’t just about the environment, it’s about social responsibility and economic benefit. This is widely talked about, but when it comes to putting sustainable business into practice it can raise different challenges that requires a new set of skills.

In recent years political, academic, industry and consumer interest has grown considerably in this area which has given rise to the development of businesses with social and environmental conscience. Social enterprises are seen as way forward by enabling communities to take ownership of initiatives that contribute back.

Like any business, social enterprises need to demonstrate their benefits they provide to the communities they serve. However because these can include environmental and social benefits aswell as a financial profit the way these benefits are captured requires so much more than a profit and loss balance sheet or an environmental management system.

Over the last year or so Ecostudio have been working with leading social enterprises and community initiatives to establish sustainable performance indicators and a practical methodology for benchmarking these benefits. This has provided a straightforward way to demonstrate a social businesses contribution to a sustainable future and offers a practical way forward for planning for the future.

A feature on one of our clients will follow……please check back soon….or contact us for more info.

Ecological footprinting for SMEs, Sustainable Supply Chains, Developing Sustainable Food Business, Food packaging & Food Waste, True Taste Awards, rural development, alternative land use..................all in a day's work (well 4 years or so actually!)

Now into our 5th year we thought it was about time that we began spreading the word about some of the projects we've been involved with since we started way back in 2008.

Click here to download an update to some projects we've completed.

In the new year we'll publish the findings of some current projects that involve benchmarking and measuring the sustainable performance of a social enterprise, developing best practice guidnace for packaging in the horticulture industry, and news of our policy work on food waste and food packaging waste.

Drop us a line if you would like to find out more.

Hot off the press! Recent articles about Ecostudio's work featured in trade and national press!

Our recent work with the Rural Development team in Torfaen has been featured in the Farmers Guardian. Read more here.

We are also delighted to be featured in the Western Mail's Autumn Business Supplement Environment section. Read more here.

Rural businesses in Torfaen set to benefit from support for green innovation: Ecostudio press release

A new report highlights how rural businesses in Torfaen can be transformed into competitive sustainable enterprises that could lead the way for the rest of rural Wales.


The report, "A land based production study in the rural areas of Torfaen" identifies ways to enhance Torfaen’s natural resources through sustainable land use which will create new business opportunities for tourism, renewable energy, arts and crafts, forestry and community food production.

The report demonstrates how land owners, farmers and businesses can enhance the rural economy and environment through low impact livestock farming and increasing horticulture and biodiversity in the area.

It aims to help Torfaen County Borough Council meet the challenges presented in Torfaen’s Rural Development Plan for creating and maintaining a viable and sustainable supply chain in the region.

Iain Cox, the report's author and director of Ecostudio led the project, with support from f3 and IBERS at Aberystwyth University, says that Torfaen County Borough Council have shown their ambition and vision for making sustainable, economic and rural development happen.

“This report offers a blueprint for rural development activity not only in Torfaen but in other Welsh regions. It’s unique because it makes the links between rural business and sustainable land use and it demonstrates how this can reinvigorate the rural economy.

“Torfaen has an important industrial past and rich cultural heritage that when combined with its natural resources provides opportunities that will enable businesses in Torfaen to adapt to the challenges of a tough economy and a changing climate.”

The report has been commissioned by Torfaen Rural Action Group (CreaTe) at Torfaen County Borough Council and recommends practical ways for developing a sustainable supply chain for Torfaen produce through business mentoring, linking heritage sites,creating areas for biodiversity and branding the region through a producer quality mark such as ‘Made in Torfaen’.

"Torfaen County Borough Council is committed to supporting innovation and sustainability in the local economy and the findings of this report will help us meet the challenges set out in Torfaen's Rural Development Plan,” said Councillor Bob Wellington, leader of Torfaen County Borough Council.

“The report is a great example of how Torfaen can embrace sustainable practices and help farmers and rural businesses thrive in the longer term.”

Ecostudio consulted with over 50 rural businesses across seven rural wards of Torfaen during six months. Several businesses were shortlisted to receive individually tailored advice and a practical sustainability plan.

Andrew Tovey from Penyparc Farm took part in the project because he wanted to discover ways to grow his business and protect it from rising fuel costs. His business provides feed to livestock farmers and animal owners. The feed is made from grain grown on farm and by-products from energy crops and the food industry that would otherwise go to waste.

Commenting on the project he said “Ecostudio helped us look at ways to reduce our fuel bills and to market ourselves in ways that show how we benefit the local economy. We’d like help from the CreaTe Team to develop ways to share distribution runs with other farmers and we’re planning to use this money to market our feed to a wider customer base.”

The findings from the report will be prioritised and implemented during the current Rural Development Plan for Torfaen which runs until the end of 2013, and for activities that can be done beyond that.

• to read an executive summary of the report click here
• to find out more about Torfaen Council's Rural Development Plan click here

Legislating for Sustainable Development: Ecostudio's response to the Welsh Government's consultation

If you are interested to read our 1 page response to the recent consultation to legislate for sustainable development please click here to open the document.

In our experience the Welsh Government needs to act to ensure sustainable development is a reality in Wales and its important to do this because - aside from the commercial, environmental and community benefits - it offers a strong point of differentiation.

We don't think that the focus that the Welsh Government is putting forward is clear enough or practical to engage the majority of people or businesses - their approach is to obligate the public sector and this simply doesn't go far enough.

Let's push things forward....

Alternative land use, rural business development, food packaging waste...we're keeping busy!

Here's a taste of what we've been up to:

A land based production study with Torfaen Council’s Rural Development team – this first of a kind project focussed on land use and rural business links.

By tackling questions such as how the rural land is currently being used, what alternative land use options exist, and how these changes can bring economic benefits to the rural economy we’ve been able to work with the Torfaen Rural Development team to design a practical plan for sustainable tourism, biodiversity, forestry, community food production and renewable energy.

We’re also advising policymakers at the Welsh Government to engage small business on the issue of food and food packaging waste – building on our work from 2011 on the Food Manufacture Service and Retail Sector Plan Consultation to help implement their Towards Zero Waste policy.

Our capacity building masterclasses on sustainability (yes we need a better name for these!) are growing in demand, we're supporting the development of some social enterprises and working with the horticulture sector to provide accessible toolkits for small business use.

It’s exciting times…we’ll keep you posted...we promise!

Sustainably speaking at the 6th Organic Research Centre Producers Conference and 3rd Sustainable Food Planning Conference (AESOP)

We were delighted to be asked to present our work on sustainable business innovation and the practical tools and techniques that we’ve designed for food business to benchmark and improve their sustainable performance.

Our presentations and background notes are available for download directly from the conference websites:

3rd Sustainable Food Planning Conference (AESOP), Cardiff University, 28th-29th October 2011

6th ORC Organic Producers' Conference, Aston University, Birmingham, 18-19th January 2012 (cut & paste this link into search bar: http://www.organicresearchcentre.com/?go=Information and publications&page=2012 Conference O1)

Attending and speaking at conferences is a great way to learn from leading thinkers and doers from our sector. It’s also a great opportunity for us to connect, share and gain feedback from international specialists from industry, policy and academia.

We’d like to acknowledge our partners at BRASS, Cardiff Business School and Organic Centre Wales for their support with this – keep up the good work!

Please drop us an email if you’d like to find out more.