The Green Growth Pledge, launched by the Business Growth Hub, part of MGC, is an online platform that helps businesses to take action to improve efficiency, reduce costs and celebrate their green achievements.

The initiative is part of the Hub’s Green Growth service, which provides specialist support to help companies improve resource efficiency and take advantage of the transition to a low carbon economy.

The Pledge enables companies to commit to actions as diverse as upgrading machinery, re-designing products and eliminating waste, as well as more general issues such as writing an environmental policy or switching off office lights. The platform also helps companies to capture and take stock of the actions they have already taken to become a greener business.

The companies that have signed up so far have already completed 700 actions between them and have committed to over 500 new ones.

For example, DJS Research in Stockport has adopted an environmental policy and put measures in place to reduce paper usage, helping it to win £450,000 in new sales, while Newhey Carpets in Rochdale is reducing its use of raw materials in production by switching to innovative recycled and low impact products.

Other companies like Coleherne in Tameside and Bluebell Fitted Furniture in Trafford have installed energy efficient lighting and solar panels and are saving thousands of pounds a year as a result.

Meanwhile, Resin Surfaces in Stockport has reduced its energy use by controlling heating in its factory and plans to implement a number of green measures to increase process and packaging efficiency and introduce a new range of low VOC and solvent free products.

Martin Wroe, Commercial Director at Resin Surfaces Ltd, says:

“Sustainability is very important to our business – we’ve always been very conscious of the materials we use and we want to ensure that we reduce waste as much as possible. The Green Growth Pledge is a great way to show our customers and stakeholders that we take sustainability seriously and are continuingly taking measures to reduce our environmental impact.”

Samantha Nicholson, Low Carbon Manager at the Business Growth Hub, part of MGC, says:

“We launched the Green Growth Pledge to give companies a platform to shout about all the great things they’re doing to be green and sustainable businesses, as well as help them find new ways to cut costs and become more efficient. When it comes to winning contracts with the public sector and blue chips in particular, the ability to demonstrate your green credentials is now a core necessity, and the bar will only be raised higher in future.”

Councillor Sue Derbyshire, Lead for Low Carbon at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), says:

“The Green Growth Pledge is a key initiative to help engage local businesses and demonstrate the economic as well as environmental benefits of low carbon business – it’s a win-win agenda that every business can take part in.”

To find out more about the Green Growth Pledge and see the full list of companies that have signed up, visit the Green Growth website here.