The Blog: Green Business
17/06/2011 - Major Commendation for the bakery at Prestigious Environmental Leadership Awards
The Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards scheme is the longest running, and one of the most prestigious, environmental award schemes in the UK.
The BCE Awards are sponsored by businesses for business, and are given to companies that the judges recognise as meeting the commercial demands of the present, without compromising the environment for future generations. The BCE Awards aim to provide a unique opportunity for any business to demonstrate clearly that corporate responsibility is an integral part of their organisation, they are innovative and are ahead of the competition.
We entered the awards as a means of pitting ourselves against the very best businesses in the country. Those that are on the frontline of responsible, sustainable, ethical business. The process was gruelling. After a lengthy application form was submitted we were delighted to hear we had made the next stage. A visit from a senior environmental consultant, (part of the judging process) ensured we weren't all talk and we were delighted to show him round our premises and talk about the very many processes we have in place to minimise the impact the business has on the environment. These include anything from meticulously segregating and then weighing the recylable, compostable and landfill waste we produce to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep what we send to landfill to an absolute minimum (which by the way is less than what an average family household produces. Other measures include running our delivery vehicles on Biodiesel made locally in part from waste vegetable oil we collect from restaurants we supply, and growing or foraging for as much of our ingredients as possible, and limiting the rest of our sourcing to within a 40-mile radius.
The event was fantastic, with awards and commendations presented by the sustainability goliath that is Sir Stuart Rose, who had this to say:
"I’ve been very impressed with the quality of this year’s BCE Award winners and commend them for their commitment to the environment, particularly in the face of such challenging economic conditions. They’ve really set the bar for other companies. I know from my own experiences at Marks & Spencer that businesses need to display qualities of leadership, innovation and excellence to succeed with sustainability initiatives. These demanding attributes are also required to win a prestigious BCE Award and all the winners deserve enormous credit."
We were delighted to be a finalist in these awards, pitting giants like Sony, BAE and Sharp to the post, and were even more delighted to be awarded a Major Commendation, which I collected from Sir Stuart Rose himself.
You can see the short video we produced for the awards by clicking here.
Find out more:
More on the BCE Awards
01/06/2011 - Duncan Glendinning named Food Hero
Founder of The Thoughtful Bread Company scoops “Food Hero” award at this year's Good Housekeeping Magazine Food Awards.
After being invited to deliver some bread samples to the prestigious Good Housekeeping Magazine judging panel, Duncan Glendinning, founder of The Thoughtful Bread Company with its bread shop in Green Park Station at the heart of Bath's City Centre was recently awarded the accolade of Food Hero at the awards.
Andrew Fleming, Assistant Editor/Head of the Good Housekeeping Institute, explained: “This year we have once again enlisted the help of Slow Food UK to draw up the shortlist for our small producer award categories. This movement started in Italy and endorses small-producer products with minimal environmental impact or high standard of animal welfare - at a price fair to both producers and consumers. It is clear that bread-making for Duncan Glendinning at the Thoughtful Bread Company is a labour of love. Each hand-rolled loaf is made with ethical ingredients that are seasonally and locally sourced or foraged.“
Alice Murray, from Slow Food UK, commented: “Slow Food UK are delighted that their ‘Food Hero’ award went to Duncan Glendinning at The Thoughtful Bread Company. The tireless energy and passion that goes into Duncan’s bread is reflected in each hand-rolled loaf bursting with local and seasonal ingredients. This eco-artisan bakery is a true labour of love”.
Duncan was unfortunately not able to attend the big night in London on the 25th of May as he was committed to his night's baking: “I was bitterly disappointed not to be able to attend the awards night but I am absolutely delighted to be the recipient of this prestigious award and would like to dedicate it to the rest of the team at Thoughtful Bread, and my gorgeous wife, who have been such a big support throughout the infancy of the business.”
Andrew Holloway, head of logistics and health and safety at The Thougthful Bread Company was invited to attend the ceremony and was presented the award by BBC's “Great British Menu” judge Prue Leith: “I really enjoyed to be amongst such good company at the awards and was honoured to collect the award on Duncan's behalf”. The Good Housekeeping Magazine Food Award is one of several recent awards recognising the continuing efforts the small artisan bakery are making to root themselves firmly into Bath's community. Their shop is open tuesdays through to saturdays in Green Park Station in Bath.
Find out more:
Good Housekeeping Magazine
Photos of the event
19/07/2010 - The Thoughtful Bread Company Scoop Gold at Prestigious food awards!
The Thoughtful Bread Company, based out in Farrington Gurney at the popular Farrington's Farm Shop, with their bread shop situated in Green Park Station in Bath have scooped two awards in this year's Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards. The awards, completely independent and uncompromisingly rigorous, are trusted by retailers, buyers and consumers nationwide and are considered to be to speciality food and drink what MICHELIN is to fine dining.The artisan bakery was awarded Gold for their Cheddar Gorge Vintage Cheese bread, and their Irish Soda bread. Duncan, Founder of The Thoughtful Bread Company commented: "We were thrilled to hear that we are now an award winning bakery! As a relatively young business we were anxious at entering the awards and pitting ourselves against the best bakeries in the industry, so were delighted by the results".
Genuinely working to source ingredients of the highest quality, and as locally as possible is just one of the many lengths to which The Thoughtful Bread Company go to produce products of real quality.
John Spencer, Director of The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company based in Cheddar who supply the bakery with the cheese for the award winning Cheddar Gorge Vintage bread had this to say: "Working with The Thoughtful Bread Company is a pleasure. Not only do they have the skill to take first class ingredients and produce a gold class bread, but they also care passionately about the authenticity and quality of their supplies. Couple this with the incredible level of enthusiasm Duncan brings to the whole operation and they have the recipe for long term business success. " The bakery also sources it's Rapeseed Oil from Fussels who grow and press their oil just a few miles away in Rode. Gary Holloway, commercial Director from Fussels said: "The guys at The Thoughtful Bread Company genuinely care about sourcing locally. We have supplied them from day one and we are proud to be associated with such outstanding products".
There would of course be no bread without the premium organic flour supplied by Shipton Mill. Alan National Sales Manager for Shipton Mill commented: "We are proud to have been working with The Thoughtful Bread Company from their early beginnings supplying them with the organic flour which has contributed to their success through these awards. Winning Gold for their breads is testimony to the hard work and passion they have for what they are doing, producing Real Bread, of real quality and pedigree".
Patrick Ryan, Head Baker at Thoughtful Bread says: "Having my recipes recognised at a national level after all the long hours and the effort we have all put in is a huge honour and as a proud Irishman seeing our Irish Soda Bread take gold makes me very proud".
It is simply by not making bog standard bread that has enabled The Thoughtful Bread Company to set up the Bakery as the country was entering a recession. Duncan said "There are plenty of bakeries producing fairly unimaginative breads so we have created our niche by doing something a little different. Our specialist range of breads that include herbs we grow ourselves and ingredients foraged from the wild larder means that we have enjoyed working with the best restaurants and food outlets in the area. For businesses and foodies who want something a little refreshing and different, come find us in Green Park Station".
The bread shop is open in Green Park Station, Tuesdays through to Fridays, from 9am until 6pm. They are also open Saturday mornings when the Bath Farmers' Market is in full swing but you are advised to visit mid week or early on a Saturday not to be disappointed!
Find out more:
See the Great Taste Awards page here
18/12/2009 - Greenest Market Trader in Britain!
The Thoughtful Bread Company was rewarded this week for it's continuing commitment to reducing it's impact on the environment in it's day to day activities when it was awarded national recognition in the Greenest Trader category of the national "How Green Is Your Market" competition.
The competition launched by the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF) was devised to encourage markets and traders to become more environmentally friendly. NMTF Chief Executive Officer Joe Harrison had this to say: “Duncan’s entry into the Greenest Trader Competition 2009 was very thorough and clearly explained his efforts to ensure that his company is socially responsible and environmentally friendly. From sourcing ingredients locally to using recycled packaging, Duncan is very passionate about bread and his business. He is a true inspiration proving that it is possible to run an environmentally accountable business, whilst providing good quality reasonably priced produce.”
Janine Woodward, Regional Manager of Ethical Property who manage the Green Park Station, said "We’re delighted that we’ve been able to support The Thoughtful Bread Company at the Station and Duncan really deserves this award. Small, local businesses such as the Thoughtful Bread Co. are really important in helping us create a more sustainable economy. Green Park Market is fast becoming the destination in Bath for all things local!"
Dick and James Strawbridge from the hit BBC 2 TV series "It's not easy being green" were keen to support The Thoughtful Bread Company in it's early start-up stages and visited the shop in Green Park Station to hand Duncan the award: "We simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to shake his hand and congratulate him for all his efforts in not only setting up a business in a time of severe economic downturn, but one that is also so forward-thinking and caring for the environment in everything that they do".
We are always on the hunt for new ideas to further reduce our environmental impact, so if you have any ideas or suggestions, no matter how small (or how silly they may sound) please get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you!
Find out more:
National Market Traders Federation (NMTF)
More on Dick and James Strawbridge at New House Farm
14/10/2009 - Thoughtful Bread Company scoop awards!!!
The last couple of months have been incredible... some of you may recall our asking that you support us by nominating us for the Bath Life Awards. To our surprise we made the shortlist in the New Business of the Year category.
Having to run the shop and with an early start that night for the following day I hadn't intended on going until a call from the lovely guys at the Bath Life office suggested that we take the trouble to come. I doned my army gear (WW2 themed evening) and my lovely fiancee and I attended the glamourous evening.
To our surprise when the winners were announced we were among them and I was invited to go on stage to pick up the award!!!! In case you weren't some of the few who attended I did take the time to thank all of those who have supported us in the last 6 months...that means YOU!!! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, we wouldn't still be here without your regular visits to our querky bread shop.
Other awards in the last few weeks have included the Federation for Small Business' Best Environmental and Ethical Award which we scooped at a fantastic event at the Guildhall, with thanks of course to Angela Ladd the hingepin of the event and someone who has opened so many doors for us. We were delighted to snap up an award that recognised the lengths to which we go on a day-to-day basis to minimise the impact the business has on the environment.
13/08/2009 - Like what we are doing? Please nominate us for a Bath Life Award
PLEASE NOTE: Voting has now closed.
We work very hard at The Thoughtful Bread Company to try and offer you something a little different in the bread stakes... so, if you have had a nibble on one of our loaves, or simply want to support what it is we are doing, we would love you to show your support by nominating us for a Bath Life Award.
There are plenty of categories, but those we think may be most appropriate are the New Business category and the Green/Ethical Category. (If you are interested in finding out what makes us green, have a read of our About us page...)
To nominate us, please visit the Bath Life website by clicking here: www.bathlifeawards.co.uk/vote.php
We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your continuing support for our fledgling business!
Very best regards,
Duncan Glendinning
10/08/2009 - Bartering update
I never thought that we would get the response we have had from the little bartering scheme we recently set up. The idea always was for people to bring in their glut of garden produce for barter against some of our tasty muffins or a discount off our bread. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of those getting involved. From tender rosemary tops to green gage plums, the last of the gooseberries to some exciting berries and a fair few beetroots (which will be perfect for making our ever-popular beetroot bread!) the variety has been incredible and the quality second to none.
So, a very BIG THANK YOU!
Please do continue though, and if you are not sure of whether we can make any use of what you have to offer, why not swing by the bakery shop in Green Park Station in Bath or drop us an email?
21/07/2009 - The old-school bread of the future
Today at the Thoughtful Bread Company, an English eco-bakery, Duncan Glendinning barters with a loyal customer for home-grown Japanese wineberries. The man brought the ruby-coloured fruit for Glendinning to sample, possibly for use in sweet bread. “Delicious,” says the freckle-faced, 27-year-old founder and owner, as he pops a berry into his mouth. “We’ll pay you in muffins or some bread if you could bring the plant around when it’s ready.”
Bartering for local ingredients is just one way Glendinning keeps costs down and his operation green. The environmental friendliness is no mere marketing gimmick: this bakery is green down to its foraged ingredients and the shelves the bread sits on, made of refinished pallet wood. From Tuesday to Saturday, Glendinning delivers bread from his bakery in Radstock to his shop in Bath in a van that runs on clean-burning bio-diesel fuel. To fill the van’s tank, he uses a solar panel to charge a car battery (salvaged from a scrap yard), which powers the pump that gets the fuel (local and renewable) into the van.
To read the whole article, please visit the More Intelligent Life website.
Find out more:
Read the full article here
30/06/2009 - Bartering is here!
The idea is simple. Why source our herbs from as far afield as Jersey or Guernsey when our loyal customers have them growing in their garden? Similarly, why purchase fruit for our mini mini muffins (and more) at great expense when you can be rewarded for the glut of fruit you have growing in abundance in your back garden?
Whether you grow your own, or have a keen eye when walking in the countryside and some knowledge of what the wild larder has to offer, we would like to hear from you. With too many herbs, fruit, veg and nuts to mention, if you have something you think we can make use of, then please do pop down to our shop to suggest it to us, or get in touch by email.
Here is a quick bit of feedback from one of our good customers Angela:
"I am delighted and proud to be part of an extremely local and dedicated supply chain - fresh fruits and berries straight from my garden turned into truly scrumptious muffins by The Thoughtful Bread Co. May all customers, friends and neighbours in Bath enjoy every mouthfu! Keep it local!"
We are currently looking for:
Nettles: Preferably the young tops of the nettles, although the leaves from further down are fine as well, although no stalks or no heavily infected leaves if this is at all possible.
Rosemary: Used regularly in our Potato & Rosemary bread, we are after the tender young, new shoots of the plant which can be picked at this time of the year.
Herbs: Sage, Parsley, and more (any suggestions?)
Fruit and Nuts: If you have anything to offer, the please get in touch.
All that is left to say is: have we forgotten anything? If you have something you will know us to find irresistible, then please don't delay, get in touch with us... my mouth is watering already.
NB: If foraging in the wild, please observe good foraging etiquette, respect countryside bylaws and continue to respect our countryside so that it is there for people to enjoy in generations to come.
24/04/2009 - Construction of our Eco-Cabin is complete!
A key requirement in our hunt for suitable premises was having the outside space to store the firewood for our clay oven. Having found a unit we thought might make a good home for The Thoughtful Bread Company, we negotiated permission to erect a small wooden cabin in the place of one of our car parking spaces.
With pallets a plenty, methodically collected over time and painstakingly dismantled (with helps from friends of course!), other timbers salvaged from skips and freecycle, and old sash windows, I set about starting to erect what turned out to be quite a sizeable little wood store!
As you will see from the photos below, the cabin was built around a 1000 litre IBC container, which would eventually store the biodiesel we use to run our little delivery van. Building the wood store also gave us the opportunity to work with some sustainable building materials and allowed us to take our first steps into the realm of renewable technologies:
- The "Ardesia" roof tiles sourced from a british company called E-B-C UK Ltd are made from a high proportion of recycled plastic and were an absolute dream to work with. Scored with a stanley knife they will snap easily making working in and around joists etc. a doddle, yet you can nail a slate right near the edge without it breaking it. They also look just like the real thing, so much so that we decided to tile our WC as well so that people visiting us would get the opportunity to see them from a little closer (if they are using the facilities). Definitely worth considering if you are erecting a new build or considering re-roofing an existing one.
- A small 15W Solar panel, wired to a charge control and then a car battery powers a small pump which allows us to re-fuel our little van with the biodiesel. For those who own a diesel car or van, biodiesel is well worth looking into. At the time we negotiated the purchase from our fantastic supplier BioSulis based just outside of Bath, diesel was well over the 100p/Ltr and we paid just 77p/Ltr - in this case being green does deifintely mean saving a few pennies as well!! What's more, the biodiesel they produce is made from used vegetable oil (not virgin oil, something to avoid if you can...) collected locally, and we have already taken steps to start collecting the waste vegetable oil from the businesses we supply with bread, so in time their bread will eventually be delivered in a van powered by their own used vegetable oil, which would be a fantastic achievement.
- We are also trialling a brand new product which is yet to be released. Although we can't name names, it is safe to say that this will be very popular amongst those considering investing in either solar or wind renewable technologies. With so many people buying equipment which is simply unsuitable for their specific location, this device is designed to measure solar and wind over a period of time, and provide you with a report on the feasibility of such technologies for your given location. More to come on this in due course.
A shed or other structure of similar size would cost well over £600, so with a total cost of just £100 this is another example that being thrifty and a little skip-scavenging really does pay!
~Duncan Glendinning~
Find out more:
If you are near Bath and looking to source some biodiesel, Biosulis are the people to speak to.
For eco-friendly cladding and roofing materials, get in touch with E-B-C UK Ltd.
24/02/2009 - More eco-sourcing for the bakery
I was both saddened and delighted to hear that a small family-run bakery up in Northampton had shut up shop. Saddened because I strongly believe that local “convenience” stores such as Tesco Metro, Sainsbury's Local and the other culprits are solely responsible for the demise of the local butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers and bakeries that used to grace almost every high street, and it'll be a sad day when they are all but gone, leaving nothing but a series of cloned, soleless and indifferent high street stores for us to browse through.
Speaking with the gentleman who's family had been serving the local community for over 60 years, he saw the price war and the convenience that a local supermarket has to offer as the cause of dwindling sales that inevitably led to him having to close.
We were however very fortunate as there was equipment galore for us to pick up at a very thrifty price. As you know we are all about the thriftiness and truly see it as a way for us to get ahead of the game in otherwise uncertain economic times. Paddy and I eagerly drove up there early on Monday morning, and along the way the thought of driving all these miles did play on my mind. I did however come to the conclusion that if it wasn't me driving up and we had bought from a dealer instead then the equipment would have still have had to do all those miles to reach us. This way, however, we cleverly avoided the middle men, and snapped up a whole plethora of tins, trays and other interesting pieces of bakeware, as well as some of the last items of machinery on our kit list.
We were very excited to also be able to take possession of a few antique bakery relics including a large set of platform scales which he reckoned to be at least 100 years old, and some bread peels used to take the bread out of his large oil-fired oven. Here at The Thoughtful Bread Company, we are all about stories, as at the end of the day when our bread has been reduced to a few crumbs on plates around a crowded table we want people to remember the stories, what we stand for, and the lengths to which we went to produce our quality range. Therefore taking guardianship of these antiques means their story can live on. Our haul even included some Hessian oven gloves made in the Bedford prison by the inmates!!
03/02/2009 - Thrifty business at it's best
Sourcing the kit for our bakery has been something of concern to me. With such a tight budget, and such little time to turn the bakery unit around since acquiring the lease, we were facing having to buy rather expensive reconditioned units from ebay or specialist suppliers, or worst still, buying new. This made little sense to me as the kitchen needs to be something that is used, a tool of the trade, and therefore provided it is in good condition there is no need to buy new and pay extra for it.
This is why keeping our ears on the ground produced a real result last week. We heard that the local fantastic Priory Hotel were updating their kitchen following the appointment of celebrated Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines. After contacting the Hotel's general manager Sue Williams I was delighted to find out that there were all manner of catering sinks, prep tables and other delights for us to salvage.
After some work struggling to get the salvaged kit out of the kitchen and loaded onto the lorry, we were delighted to have bagged ourselves thousands of pounds worth of equipment including a catering fridge (pictured) and a cooking range, for less that a thousand pounds.
This is a perfect example of how we are trying to keep our costs in the current economic recession, and what's more this really was a win-win for both ourselves and the hotel. They had to get rid of the kit, and we needed. Had we not turned up it would almost certainly all had gone to the scrap metal merchants.
This is also an example of how local businesses can work together for mutual gain and we are excited at the possibility of working with other bath-based businesses as our bakery starts to take shape.
One final note simply to say that I was hugely impressed with the Priory's approach. With so much to do, so little time to do it in, and all the resources they need not to have to worry about re-use, it is refreshing and commendable that they did show an interest and were supportive of what we are setting out to achieve, so, thank you to Sue and to Michael.
18/12/2008 - Investors sought
As a fledgling business we are still interested in hearing from people who would like to get involved in the business. If you believe The Thoughtful Bread Company to be an ethical, environmentally-friendly business, and one that you see to have real potential, then please get in touch.
It may be that you would like to invest in the business but may not have time to commit to it. Alternatively it may be that you have some time or expertise you would like to apply to our unique business; or it may be a combination of both.
Either way do get in touch, we would love to hear from you. Exciting times are ahead - join us.
17/12/2008 - Successful first outing to the Bath Farmers
Whilst experiencing continuing difficulties in securing the right premises from which to run The Thoughtful Bread Company in the build-up to the New Year, it's not all doom and gloom. We made the most of an opportunity we negotiated with the coordinator of the Bath Farmers' Market and last Saturday ran a stall offering tasters to the market go-ers so as to gauge peoples' reactions at our products, ask for suggestions and generally start to introduce the Thoughtful brand to Bath.
The going was tough on the Friday preceding market day, with large quantities of dough being prepared to our Baker Patrick's precise measurements, and a sleepless night ensued so that we could bake the bread to be as fresh as possible using as much of the wood-fired clay oven as manageable. Varieties included a vibrant red beetroot bread, welsh clay pot bread, nettle & chive, vintage cheddar cheese, sourdoughs and an indulgent chocolate brioche.
We did make it to market on time and people started crowding around our stall before we were even open for business. The response was actually quite overwhelming. People felt us to be a breath of fresh air, offering them something new that they can't buy in their supermarket or local bakery. Their was also genuine interest in the eco-friendly and ethical approach we have adopted in running the business.
The big lesson learnt from my point of view was that it is not where the bread is made that is important, it is how it is made, and what is made that counts. I realise now that my elusive hunt for that perfect barn or farm outbuilding may not have been as necessary as first thought, and we are now looking for somewhere that will offer all of the practicalities we require without necessarily having all of the aesthetics I first believed to be so important.
The highlight was watching a young boy write on our Thought board. The Thought Board, resting on an easel (all of which were made from old pallets and some blackboard paint) was designed as somewhere people could write some words of encouragement and any suggestions they may have. A young man who had just tasted our Nettle & Chive bread wrote "I really like the nettle bread as it is something new. yum yum".
Other feedback included:
"Beetroot bread - brilliant"
"Great! Please have a shop in Bath"
"Beautiful tasty bread. Good luck!"
"Fantastic! You must open a shop in Bath"
Please browse the photos from the Bath Farmers Market below. You can view captions for photos by clicking on the photo itself.
30/11/2008 - Thoughtful Bread Company Founder inducted into exclusive network
Duncan Glendinning, founder of The Thoughtful Bread Company was recently awarded with a place on the 2009 Courvoisier Future 500 list of innovative business brains and creative talent – signifying passion and determination to succeed in the future.
Find out more:
Click here to read the Guardian article
Click here to visit the Official Courvoisier The Future 500 web site
