Business leaders who are championing the green agenda are putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to helping save the planet.
And the small steps taken by organisations from across Staffordshire to reduce their carbon footprint are making a big impact when it comes to sustainability.
Now company bosses who are leading the change have revealed how other businesses can do the same.
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Pioneering sustainable packaging company Woolcool has introduced a wide range of schemes over the last few years to help reduce its environmental impact on the planet.
This includes the launch of a 'circular economy scheme' which enables customers to return wool insulation to be cleaned and reused, offering eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging and switching to renewable energy at its warehouse facility in Stone.
And last year it became the first 海角视频 packaging manufacturer to achieve certification as a registered B Corporation, which is awarded to companies which meet rigorous social and environmental standards.
Now the business is looking at new ways to become more sustainable – including the possible installation of solar panels and an enhanced ‘'returns scheme' for its packaging.
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Managing director Josie Morris said: "All of this costs money, but it's about the future. If we still want to be in business in 10 years' time we need to start thinking about doing these things now.
"We have taken these steps over the last three or four years – it's not happened overnight.
"Sometimes, to make these investments right now is difficult because you might not have the resource, the people or the knowledge, but there’s loads of benefits of looking at sustainability.
"It's an opportunity for everyone."
Josie – who was awarded an MBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours – added: "With everything that's gone on over the last 18 months – whether that's covid, Brexit, rising energy prices or haulage issues – businesses are currently battling on all fronts, but it isn't a competition. There's a rhetoric of absolutes at the moment and, for me, it's about finding a middle ground that's sustainable and balanced.
"No business is perfect, and we have our flaws as a company, but we always strive to improve and strive to do better."
Josie was one of a number of speakers who took part in the 'embedding sustainability into your business' event at Keele University earlier this week.
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It was one of a series of COP26 events hosted by Keele to coincide with the UN's 26th Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.
The Stoke-on-Trent BusinessLive Awards
The Stoke-on-Trent BusinessLive Awards in association with The Sentinel and Stoke-on-Trent Live 2022 are back and .
Businesses and individuals from across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are being encouraged to enter across 14 categories including the coveted Business of the Year award.
You can find more information about all of the categories .
The deadline for entries is Monday, January 10 and the ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 28.
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Staffordshire lawn mower manufacturer Allett Mowers designs, manufactures and assembles lawn mowers for the home/garden sector and for the grassroots and international sporting industries.
As part of its sustainability targets, the Hixon-based company has pledged to stop producing petrol lawn mowers from 2025.
It has recently worked on a project with Keele University to assess the costs and carbon emissions for both its petrol and electric mowers.
General manager James Till said: "We believe that every company has the ability, opportunity and responsibility to look at how they can become more sustainable and have a lesser impact on the environment.
"It is quite difficult as a small business to take on a sustainability challenge, but it's the small things that we do that make a difference.
"We want to educate customers on the commercial and environmental benefits of using electric lawn mowers. We're trying to lead the way in our industry and get people to understand the need for change."
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The event also heard from Viv Bradford from Lymestone Brewery, in Stone, via video.
Through Keele University's SEND project, the brewery – which Viv runs with her husband Brad and daughter Sarah – is exploring ways to become as "efficient as we possibly can."
Viv said: "We've always been interested in conservation issues, sustainability and keeping our carbon footprint as low as we can.
"The brewing process spends a lot of time heating things up and cooling things down, so we are looking at how we become more efficient with that in terms of our energy use and we also want to look at how we deal with our waste. We're hoping to learn a lot about our business and share that with other people."