Henley Business Partnership: Can we really being green?

Henley Business Partnership members were asked this month at their 3FM meeting – can we really be green? Is there a product or service that is both amazing (having made a real difference) and that also has a positive impact on ecology or the environment?

This question generated a lot of interesting ideas and discussion.  For example, while an electric car is lovely to drive and has a positive impact on the environment in terms of reducing carbon emissions around town, we are fully aware that the manufacture of the batteries will have had a negative impact elsewhere in the world – so perhaps we are just shifting the problem elsewhere?  There was talk about toiletries and products such as sun cream: those that work really well and fulfil the criteria of a wonder-product might contain all sorts of ingredients that aren’t necessarily great for us, or the environment.  Even going paper-free at work was deemed a double-edged sword: while we all clap ourselves on the back for reducing our paper usage and printing costs, we realise that most of the time, going paper-free actually means storing documents electronically, which necessitates large data centres and therefore has a negative ecological impact.

Jo Eddon, founder of Honeys of Henley, then gave a most fascinating talk about the life of a beekeeper. She runs a small business producing honey, which depends entirely on the welfare of thousands of tiny beings, who, in turn, rely on our wider ecosystem for their survival.

Jo looks after about 150 bee colonies, spread over a 6-mile radius around Henley.  She explained that in addition to producing several different types of delicious honey, the bees support crops that could end up in supermarkets and local farmers’ markets. The hives also provide a home for various other insects – wasps, ants, spiders, butterflies – who may be nesting, breeding or taking honey for themselves.

Photo credit: Kathryn Fell-Willis