Supporting Bee Clean Soaps on their net-zero journey
Bee Clean Soaps is a Yorkshire-based, family-run producer of home-made, natural, and sustainable soaps, lotion and lip bars. The team, led by Wendy Crow, wanted to see “more natural products on the market” and respond to the consumer demand for cruelty-free, sustainable, eco-friendly products made from locally sourced ingredients.
"more natural products on the market"
For Bee Clean Soaps, the natural ingredients – derived from nature - are part of their business philosophy. The company uses Yorkshire honey, rapeseed oil and seaweed in their formulations that support other local businesses and reduce transport miles. They offer plastic-free packaging, which is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The soaps are packaged in craft card boxes. Any secondary packaging is also recyclable and compostable including shredded wood, paper tissue and hemp strings. The Bee Clean Soaps also offer refill options for their lotion bar tins in their partner shop, Selby.
Wendy said: Sustainability is at the core of our business and is one of the brand values that we look to when making decisions. Our whole business model is a belt around creating sustainable products from all-natural ingredients and using recyclable packaging so that nothing we sell should ever end up in the landfill.
Bee Clean Soaps was keen on understanding how the company can align with circular economy business models by reducing waste and carbon emissions and utilising novel technologies to reduce their carbon footprint.
Through the Bioeconomy Growth Programme for Yorkshire SMEs, the Biorenewables Development Centre supported Wendy and her team in their journey to net zero. The BDC team organised and facilitated a 1:1 section with Erin Wheeler - Circular Economy Officer from York & North Yorkshire (Y&NY) Local Enterprise Partnership. Using a Net-Zero Business Toolkit developed by the YNY LEP, the carbon footprint for the Bee Clean Soaps was calculated and several actions were outlined.
Wendy commented: The YNY LEP toolkit allowed us to measure our carbon footprint and propose further actions. We can now confidently say to our customers that Bee Clean Soaps is a low-carbon emission business.
Erin added: It was great to be able to work with Wendy and understand some of the challenges around decarbonising for small businesses. The work also highlighted the real strength of small businesses – having smaller operations and short supply chains allow them to become more sustainable much more quickly then a big business, and to grow in a sustainable way.
The BDC and BioVale teams also supported the marketing and communications strategy for the company. The short video was created during the visit to the Refill It shop in Selby which stocks Bee Clean Soaps products and will be used by the company as a great promotional tool.
Responding to consumer demand for cruelty-free, sustainable, eco-friendly products made from locally sourced ingredients
Supporting other local businesses and reducing transport miles
Plastic-free packaging
Notes to editor:
This project has received funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
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