Balancing act: how growing green businesses chart path to Net Zero

In the face of economic uncertainty and shifting policy landscapes, businesses committed to sustainability are having to dig deep to maintain momentum on their net zero journeys. At a round table discussion hosted by theBusinessDesk.com today (19 March 2025), leaders from Greater Manchester’s green economy shared their experiences navigating this delicate balance.

“These businesses need to be more resilient than a traditional business in a different sector, but they also need to be flexible enough to pivot,” explained Amy House, Director of Green Economy at the Growth Company. As the organization tasked with delivering decarbonization support services across the region, House has a unique vantage point on the challenges facing green-minded enterprises.

“We’re asking businesses to make difficult financial decisions today for future savings, and the businesses that can do that will,” House continued. “But there are certain businesses and certain sectors that just can’t do that, and so we do need to see a shift to make that accessible and open up.”

Asif Ghafoor, CEO of electric vehicle charging operator Be.ev, echoed the need for greater policy consistency to provide businesses the confidence to invest. “If I’m a fleet operator, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. What target am I trying to hit? That then has a knock-on effect on our ability to roll out.”

Ghafoor’s experience highlights the ripple effects of policy uncertainty, which can stall progress even among the most committed green businesses. “That then has a knock-on effect on our ability to roll out,” he said

Navigating a Shifting Landscape

For Gary Brandwood, Managing Director of solar installer Perfect Sense Energy, the lack of consistent policy support has been a persistent challenge. “I think the biggest hurdle we have, really, is confidence to spend at the minute,” he said. 

Brandwood believes an interest-free or low-interest business loan scheme from the government could provide the boost his sector needs. “I think what we do makes sense, I believe, from an environmental point of view, also from a financial point of view, but capex is always tight in a lot of economies and a lot of businesses.”

The need for innovative financing solutions was echoed by Gary Boon, Managing Director of retrofit specialist Thematic. Boon highlighted the restrictive nature of local authority frameworks for delivering energy efficiency measures, which have forced his team to seek opportunities outside their home region.

“We’re not able to deliver that. And the companies that are involved in delivering that haven’t always stepped up to the plate,” Boon lamented. 

Adapting to Shifting Priorities

Beyond the policy landscape, green businesses are also having to contend with evolving consumer priorities and behaviours.

“We’re heading towards another potential ‘popping event’ in sustainability,” warns Will Beer, sustainability consultant and co-author of environmental impact studies. “Right now, there’s significant consumer pressure to be more sustainable, but I sense this might be simmering out.”

Beer’s provocative stance comes with a critical challenge to the sustainability sector: the need to move beyond rhetoric and demonstrate tangible, business-driven value. “The easiest way to get someone to do something is to not have a choice,” he argues.

“Sustainability can’t just be an expensive add-on – it needs to be about good business sense.” His approach is pragmatic. By reframing sustainability as a cost-saving strategy and long-term business improvement, Beer believes companies can overcome scepticism.

Andy Conway, co-founder of independent fashion retailer Underfound, shared the challenges facing his bricks-and-mortar business.

“We’re a small business, so I do our marketing, run the sales operation and we are also facing the impact of national insurance and the minimum wage going up, there’s all these additional costs that as an owner of a small business, that are certain compromises that we need to make in order to protect the legacy of our business.”

For Sophie Pinnington, Sustainability Manager at global HVAC manufacturer Armstrong Fluid Technology, the added complexity lies in navigating a web of international regulations and standards. “We’ve got it in a Toronto location and a Buffalo, New York location. So it’s how, how we’re trying to achieve the same target in Manchester compared to Toronto. And then obviously we’ve got the whole issue in North America with tariffs and deregulation.”

Pinnington’s experience underscores the need for businesses to build resilience on multiple fronts – from policy to supply chain to customer demands. “We’ve got EU legislation, UK legislation, and a local Manchester strategy.”

Investing in the Future

Despite the challenges, many of the businesses represented at the roundtable have found ways to leverage their sustainability commitments as a competitive advantage. Brett Mendell, Managing Director of textile manufacturer Thomas Kneale & Co, shared how his company’s focus on sustainability has helped them win tenders.

“We’re finding that they’re securing the tenders a lot easier without actually reducing price. We’re asked whether we can give the assurance that the product is being made in the most sustainable way?”

Steve Mulcahy, CEO of packaging artwork and origination supplier Contact Originators, has also seen his sustainability efforts pay dividends. “We started to go into Europe, with 71 people, over the last five or six years, we’ve had a real drive on sustainability and we are working on making us more sustainable and green, working on things like waste.”

For Mulcahy, the key has been taking a long-term view and making sustainability a core part of the business strategy. “We’ve reduced our waste year on year by about 25% general waste, and looking to get to we are carbon neutral, but internet zero.”

Building a Skilled Workforce

Amy House with guests

As businesses navigate the path to net zero, the need for a skilled, adaptable workforce has become increasingly critical. Amy House highlighted the challenges of encouraging tradespeople to pivot into the green technologies sector, where demand for skills like heat pump installation is rapidly outpacing supply.

“We’re running a solar accelerator programme at the moment where we are working with training providers to identify newly qualified electricians, to remove all the barriers and make it as easy as possible for them to not just go and start making a tonne of money as an electrician, to give us their time and effort to further qualify to be a solar installer,” House explained.

Amer Gaffar, Director of the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration to address the skills gap. “If you take this from a sales perspective, it’s understanding what is a sustainable skill. I don’t like when people keep talking about green skills. We’re moving to this greener economy. It should just be a skill.”

As the green economy continues to evolve, businesses committed to net zero will need to demonstrate resilience on multiple fronts – from policy advocacy to workforce development to customer engagement. By drawing on the collective experiences and insights shared at the roundtable, these enterprises can chart a path forward that balances growth with sustainability, ultimately strengthening the foundations of the region’s green economy.