Carbon Negative; Is it within our Reach?

If you are lucky enough to live in Yorkshire, you will have seen Clara on BBC 1 Look North this week, together with Wave Crookes, from Seagrown talking about York and North Yorkshire's commitment to becoming England’s first carbon negative region, by 2038.

It's a bold and yet, in our view, achievable aspiration and one for which a regional ‘Routemap to Carbon Negative’ has already been developed. 

As a small business, we at Cosy Cottage embrace all opportunities to raise awareness of this goal with our partners, customers, fellow small businesses and residents of North Yorkshire and we participate in BioYorkshire as members of the Industrial Advisory Group. Small and micro-businesses, which represent over 90% of all businesses in our region, are uniquely placed to contribute 

• Our handmade products are made using processes which consume minimal fossil fuels and produce no waste nor by-products
• Our independence and streamlined decision making mean that we swiftly implement improvements which improve energy-efficiency and reduce both direct and indirect emissions
• We employ local people, reduce commuting mileages and encourage home-based working where possible. 
• We source local ingredients to reduce manufacturing miles; Seagrown, Whitby Sea Salt, our local lavender, honey and goats milk are all great examples of this 
• We consistently challenge ourselves to re-use and repurpose everything, from cardboard boxes to plastic containers
• Our town centre store encourages customers to 'shop local' and we select our retail partners to proliferate this vision too  

We firmly believe that everyone can play their own part in this plan. With each small action, big impacts are possible. 

Why not take some time to think about opportunities. If you could commute without a car, or if you could car share with someone else. Can you recycle or compost anything that currently goes to landfill?

Take a look at our BLOG HERE about how our team at Cosy Cottage are making sustainable and eco-friendly choices whilst saving money at the same time.