Kendal’s multi-award-winning cake bakery and long-standing friend of the network, Ginger Bakers, has achieved the Green Small Business accreditation for the third consecutive year.

Green Small Business accreditation is recognised as the leading environmental certification scheme for the UK’s small businesses and is a proven form of environmental accreditation that demonstrates best practice, sustainable working, and evidences an individual businesses green credentials.

As a business owner Lisa recognised the impact her business had on the environment and three years ago felt that it was important to do something about it in terms of the way she operated her business.

She recognised her responsibility to manage her businesses environmental impacts carefully and as a result has fully committed to reducing that environmental impact and continually seeks to improve her businesses overall environmental performance. Which now forms a major part of her long-term business planning process, particularly with reference to the sourcing of ingredients, packaging, packaging waste and energy use and distribution.

Alongside that Lisa also encourages her customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same in order to create a virtuous circle that maintains not only the local landscape which has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site but also the wider environment in which her business trades.

Each year accreditation is only granted to those businesses who are able to demonstrate a deep-seated commitment to continually meeting the requirements of the Green Small Business standard. As a result, the scheme is widely accepted as a benchmark for small businesses wanting to do their bit and help reduce their impact on the planet.

Lisa Smith, owner of Ginger Bakers, said: ‘’We are delighted to have achieved this accreditation for the third year in a row. The process is really simple and straightforward and a good starting point for businesses to make changes in how we do things. It also underlines our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment which surrounds us and to reducing our overall impact on the planet. Each year working with Green Small Business we put together an easy to manage action plan that breaks down the different aspects of our business practice into manageable and achievable targets. It’s a fantastic way for small businesses with limited resources to achieve an ambitious green business plan that has an integrity rooted in establishing key green and ethical principles without breaking the bank.’’